People watching is like scanning the highway for out-of-state license plates.
Most of my people watching is done on the run--walking to work, walking to class, walking to a store--so it's more like a hurried glance and my impressions are usually quick and decisive. So if you're wearing a sparkly boa, I will definitely remember you in contrast to the guy standing next to you in khakis and white shirt.
I don't stare, though. Or at least I hope I don't. (If you do catch me staring, don't hesitate to tell me to stop. I only want to suck up the details so I can write it down later, somewhere.) Often I glance at something, it registers in the back of my brain, and it stews there for a couple of hours. I don't actively think about anything while I'm looking at people although sometimes I consciously chant to myself, "Blah, blah, blah" because I'm afraid some people in the world are mind readers. So far there's no scientific evidence for telepathy, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't exist. So just to be on the safe side, I usually try not thinking at all while walking alone.
It's one of the reasons that I enjoy "getting away from home." I get to see strange, different people and pretend that I'm in another country, or even another world.
I didn't see many people today, unfortunately. I was stuck all afternoon in the lab. But I did see wedding people (not surprisingly) and some assorted random visitors. Two wedding guests struck me though. One was a haughty woman in sharp heels. She was wearing an outrageous white dress trimmed with black mink. She was strolling ahead with her husband (I assume) in tow who was wearing a tan suit. His hair was slicked back and he was lugging a large box covered in silver wrapping paper. These two made a jarring composite next to the guy walking the opposite way. This guy had on a rather loud leafy green shirt and baggy purple pants. He was walking his huge white shaggy dog that was probably as big as me.
It would have been funny if the dog jumped the woman. Too bad the animal was too well behaved.
Gratuitous cat links (because I don't have a cat): Library Cats Map. I used to work at a library where the next oldest librarian was 40 years older than me. They looked down upon animals. Shopcat. However I did visit a bookstore in Ohio once that had a bunch of cats. Don't Let This Happen To Your Cat. Some people just don't know how to pick names.
