A discussion of gentrification, or, why there are pimps throwing down at 2 am outside my window.

I wrote a diatribe about the pros and cons of gentrification and how that relates to me getting woken up at 1:30 by a couple of panderers having a fight outside my window, but I decided I didn't want to be so political.

Instead, I'll talk about cellphones. Remember when they were a status symbol (a la Clueless) and everybody walked around with them out just to show how hip and trendy they were? It's so comforting to see that nobody *really* does that anymore (there are still a few holdouts, but they live in Georgetown.) I was thinking about this as I waited on a busy corner with some other pedestrians and whipped out my phone to check the time and my messages. I thought about how two years ago, everyone would be standing there just pulling out their phones to show how IT they were. I do it secondly because there's no better time than walking home alone to catch up with people, but firstly, so I don't ever have to make eye contact with people waiting on the corner with me. (Yes, I know this makes me a target.)

What I *have* noticed though, is the increased incidence of people talking to themselves. I mean, honestly, are you SO on the go as you saunter down the street that you need a bluetooth headpiece because you are far, far too busy to HOLD A PHONE TO YOUR EAR. Maybe you just didn't realize you do that with empty hands, and didn't realize that your hands, too, are empty! *Gasp* How novel an Idea! Use my EMPTY hands to hold my phone, rather than look like a nimrod running around with a little earpiece! *Sigh*