pardon my zinger

it seems that i'm not used to people laughing at my ignorance.

i mean, i'm the subject of jokes and jibes, yes. but i'm not used to simply being laughed at outright. the example:

"vikas, did you go to 30th Street?" someone asks me, here in Philly. she sounds surprised; given the heat, i figure she thinks i walked a far way to get the food currently in my hand.

"oh, no, i went to the train station."


and so she laughed. and then a passerby, being told of the situation, also laughed. a serious sort of laughter, chorts and chuckles and a very hearty core. for you see, although we are on a cross street that is not close to the number 30, the train station i went to is nevertheless called the 30th street train station.

hence, i was ignorant. hence, i was laughed at.

now this wasn't mean or malicious or anything close to that tint. it's more of a sort of unexpected laughter, an unheard laughter. i'm just not numbed to the sound of someone saying "you don't know such-and-such?? hahahahahahaha"

and i'm fairly sure i don't do it to others. i usually try to get other people to laugh, rather than find a reason to laugh myself. so if i do jab at someone, it's only so that they laugh with me.

maybe that's what they were trying to do, and maybe i just wasn't laughing. not like it matters, it's just making me aware of the fact that there are things that go on in normal life that i'm just not a party to as much as most.