I'm not sure if everybody has a little quirk or strangeness about them but I have discovered something about myself. Don't be afraid, unless you travel with me on public transport. While I am sure this is not my only quirk, it is the most recently discovered. I don't have great balance.

I know that will shock and amaze some of you, and not others. I am not particularly challenged in a physical sense, and mostly I have good balance. I might even go so far as to say I have above average balance, which seems to be in diret contrast to my previous statement, and it is. Clearly I could have planned this better. Anyway, my balance "issue" relates to the Public Transport thing. Those who travel on the Met in Melbourne will be able to attest to the current overcrowding problem and how difficult it can be to get a seat. Well, if you don't get a seat you want at least to have something to hold on to, a hand rail, a roof strap, a pony tail, though the last one requires lots of apologising. So what happens when you can't reach any of those things? You sway.

This is a problem for me. I don't sway well. I have watched other seasoned swayers and they just go with it. They don't grab at people or swear, they just sway. I've seen newbies get on and they occasionally stumble and bump into other people and apologise and swear and so on, but it doesn't take them long to start swaying with the best. So why can't I sway? I have no idea. So, what do I do instead? This is the quirky part. I stomp.

Despite the rail noise, people on public transport usually don't chat much and so when someone stomps, heads turn. Its worse when there is a bunch of kids chatting noisily and then they all stop and look at who stomped. Even worse is when I've just drawn everyone's attention and the train takes another corner, because everyone is watching me, even the swayers, as I stomp again. Unfortunately, I also blush which ensures that anyone who wasn't sure who stomped can direct their gaze accordingly.

I suppose you might wonder why do I stomp. Its not like I just stomp for fun. When I feel my center of balance shift from above my feet, such as when a train goes round a corner, I have to reposition my feet. Somehow, I cannot do it quietly. Occasionally I am tempted to break into a bit of a stomping dance routine with a big hand flourish at the end but there really isn't much room and people are already annoyed. I don't think they would clap.

So that's it. I wouldn't mind so much if other people did it but it always seem to be me. Regular travellers are starting to notice that as well. At least no one can say I'm not prepared to put my foot down on Public Transport. Hard.

Ciao!

If I were Neil Armstrong, I would have said "YIIIPPPPPEEEE!!!"