Yesterday, I went to the dentist to have my braces adjusted. In the past
I always made sure to visit in the morning but I had to go somewhere, and I couldn’t
put it off til Monday because I would be quite busy, so I decided to fit it in
on a Sunday afternoon. I called the clinic first to find out what time it
closes and I was informed by the receptionist/dental assistant that it’s until
5:30PM. I requested to be scheduled for 4PM but she said they no longer accept
over-the-phone appointment reservations for that day because there were a lot
of patients and only two dentists. She assured me, though, that I could still
be accommodated as long as I was willing to wait so I agreed and off I went to
Quezon Ave.
I arrived at the clinic five minutes before 4PM and there were, indeed,
many patients on queue. I was second to the last on the patient list so I found
a seat near the door and tried to read a Sherlock ebook on my phone. However, I
couldn’t concentrate because there was this very familiar music that’s filling
the air even louder than The Buzz being shown on the TV screen in the reception
area. It was the music from the android
game, Pou, specifically from the mini-game Jump Cliff. I remember it quite clearly because Patrick’s
cousin used to borrow my phone just to play that game and I always told him to
put the phone on silent because the music, catchy as it is, can be very annoying
when you hear it over and over again. Here, let me share the agony:
I have to admit, the music is fun. But try to listen to that for over an
hour, over and over again, on full volume. It overpowered even the noise of a
room-full of people, the sound from the TV, and the whirring of the AC and the
dental equipment.
I remember another instance when a similar behavior bothered me. It was
when I went to a job interview a few months ago. The recruitment
lobby had a very serene ambience that compelled people to maintain silence or
at least speak in hushed voices when they must do so. There was a flat-screen
TV playing Hansel and Gretel but the sound was too low it was pretty much just
there as gray noise. Then in came a guy who's obviously applying for tech support: casual attire of jeans and huge, branded hoodie - check; huge headphones - check; real maangas swag - check. This guy proceeds to wait in one corner of the lobby and listened to blaring music which I could still hear faintly three feet away from him through his headphones. Worse, he was tapping his feet along with the music on the tiled floor! That time I didn't bother controlling myself and told him to quit the tapping because it's distracting. I did it with as much control and courtesy as I could, though, so he stopped and even apologized. Peace restored. :)
I guess what I'm trying to point out here is that people should always
be mindful of the things they do, no matter how petty it may seem. The littlest things such as music on loud speaker can be distracting to others and the same goes with phone
calls. As a rule, NEVER PUT ANYTHING ON SPEAKER IN PUBLIC. Not everyone enjoys
the music you listen to no matter how awesome it is, and certainly, nobody gives a rat's ass whomever you're talking to.
Phone calls are meant to be private; keep it that way.
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