Welcome Back to School....

Well, today was the day I have been dreading all summer: the first day of school. Oh no, I wasn't dreading this day because I was headed back to school. I have been done with school for nine years now (and by that I mean done with college, not high school...yes, I am old). I was dreading this day for an entirely different reason.

See, I work on a University campus and even though summers can be slow for me as far as my workload is concerned, they also offer me a wide array of joys. The biggest two joys for me? Empty trains and empty sidewalks. Campus is SO quite during the summer and I love to go outside on a break, take a walk, and enjoy the beauty and the serenity around me without feeling like I am going to get trampled by herds of adolescents. For three long months, I have been basking in the joy of having no students around.

So imagine my utter disappointment when I boarded the train this morning. It was still fairly empty by the time I got on and therefore, I managed to get a seat. But by the time we reached campus, there was not one square inch of available standing/sitting space. I felt like I was going to suffocate. Literally. When the train stopped at my station, I pushed my way through the throngs of people and darted off that train faster than you can say hello. Yep, that's pretty darn fast.

By the time everyone else managed to shove themselves out the train doors, I was way up the road, nearly racing to my destination. Out of sheer curiosity, I decided to look behind me just to see exactly how many people had gotten off the train, and what did my eyes behold? Every single one of those students was following me! It was almost as if I was their own personal Moses, leading them to the promised land. I walked faster and took some twisty detours. A few minutes later I looked back again and noticed the crowd was much thinner. Hopefully I didn't lead too many of them astray.

When I finally made it into my office I shouted, "I have never been happier to sit in a basement in all my life!"

Welcome back to school!

Never Before and Now Twice?

Something is happening to me. I'm not exactly sure what it is but I know that I don't like it much. It causes me to do things that I have never done before. Things such as putting on two entirely different pair of shoes and actually walking out of the house in them.

This, I assure you, has never happened to me before. At least not until January 22, 2010. That date will be forever burned into my memory* because it is the day this traumatic occurrence first took place. I was standing in my office talking to my co-workers when I looked down and happened to glance at my feet. Something didn't appear quite right. I looked a little harder and then just started laughing! Brown boot, black boot. Boy did my co-workers and I get a kick out of that. Of course, I was completely self-conscious the rest of the day and I vowed it would never happen again.

Well, never say never my friends. This morning I was running a little late and knew I had a train to catch so I grabbed my stuff, slipped on my shoes and ran out the door. I got to the train station, jumped out of my car and was heading to the train platform when I once again looked down.

"You have GOT to be kidding me!" I shouted.

Yes, I shouted it. Out loud. I can guarantee people heard me.

What was I to do? Go to work in such a humiliating manner or run back home and change my shoes?

Honestly, there wasn't even any question about what I was going to do. I immediately jumped in my car and drove the 3 minutes back to my house to change my shoes. Unfortunately, I did miss my train and therefore ended up driving to work, but I was more than happy to pay the $6.00 for parking in order to avoid any humiliation the "shoe problem" would have caused.

Never before have I had this problem and now twice in five months? Something is definitely happening to me. Maybe you guys can tell me what it is.


*When I say "forever burned into my memory" what I really mean is, "forever written in my journal." I actually had to look the date up.

Thursday Night Confessions...

Some of my friends do this thing on their blogs called "Friday Night Confessions"...or Sunday, or whatever day it may happen to be. I love reading their confessions and so I decided to give this a go. Not that my confessions will be nearly as earth shattering (or hilarious) as theirs but here goes...

• I throw away more food than I eat. I like to buy fresh produce but I never manage to eat it before it goes bad.
  
  
• I never answer the door if I'm not expecting anyone.
  
  
• I never answer my phone if I don't recognize the number.
  
  
• I have a certain spot where I stand everyday while waiting for TRAX.
  
  
• It bothers me when someone else stands in my spot.
  
  
• There's this girl that tries to stand in my spot everyday.
  
  
• My blood starts to boil the instant I see her pull into the parking lot.
  
  
• Yes, I know what car she drives.
  
  
• When I see her, I will sometimes speed walk to my spot just to beat her.
  
  
• I love my new TV. Sometimes I don't go to activities just so I can sit home and watch it.
  
  
• I'm watching it right now.
  
  
• I called my friend earlier and left her a message that said she can call me back but if I don't answer it's because I'm watching TV.
  
  
• My TV addiction may or may not be resurfacing.

What To Do...

Most of you know I ride the TRAX train to work each day. Well, last week there was a slight hiccup with the commute as UTA was doing construction on the powerlines (upgrades, etc). Because of this, the schedule was completely thrown off and fewer trains were running between longer intervals. This meant a lot of wait time at platform stations as well as a lot of crowded trains.

Last Wednesday after waiting for nearly 25 minutes to tranfer from one train to the next, I finally pushed myself onto the train, found an open seat and plunged my butt down on it. Upon sitting down, I noticed I sat across from a guy I knew. So, to be polite, I said hello. He looked up, said hello back and we engaged in a brief conversation. In the process of this, an older woman (early 60's) asked this guy if she could sit next to him (he had his bag sitting there). He started to move and then stopped and said "You know, there just isn't very much room".

He made her stand.

My mouth fell open and I just stared at him. I could not believe he just did that. Well, the person sitting next to me stood up and said to this lady, "Here, you can have my seat". I was still staring at this guy trying to figure out if he really knew what he was saying/doing. He then looked up at me and mumbled "I really just don't like to be crowded". Oh, I see.

About 10 minutes later more people crowded on the train and once again, someone asked this guy if they could sit next to him. This time, he changed his story and said, "You know, I'm actually waiting for a call from my girlfriend to find out if she's getting on the train or not. So I'm saving this spot until I hear from her."

For the record, this guy doesn't have a girlfriend. I rode the rest of the way in silence with my mind trying to figure out what just happened. Should I have stepped in and said something or did I do the right thing by remaining silent and not making a scene?

A week later and I still wonder...

FIGHT!

For the first time since I've been riding the train to work (going on 5 years now) I witnessed my first fight. These two men got on the train and one of them was completely hammered. The other guy asked him if he was okay and all of a sudden the drunk guy started cussing up a storm and told him to stay out of his business or he was going to punch his lights out. The non-drunk guy told him they'd have at it at the next stop. The trash talking continued until another guy stepped in and told them to knock it off because there were people on the train. So the drunk guy walked farther down the train.

But don't think that stopped them. They both kept swearing (never heard the F word so much in my life) at each other and threatening to beat the crap out of the other person. Then the drunk guy walked back up and got in the other guys face and they started shoving each other around. Women started freaking out, men were trying to break them up, and people were yelling for someone to push the red emergency button. It was chaos. It only lasted a few seconds though because when someone did get a hold of the train driver on the little intercom the men looked a little anxious to get out of there.

When the train came to a stop, they both jumped off. The train driver came back to talk to them but they were already standing on the other side of the street so she called it in for the authorities to take care of and we continued on our way.

I hope I don't have to experience that again! Though I was never threatened in anyway and no punches were ever thrown, either of those men could have had some kind of weapon on them and it could have ended up a lot worse than it did. I'm thankful for the men who were willing to step in and stop it and I'm thankful for the train driver who took the situation very seriously.

Venting Session...

1) If the speed limit is 35mph, you are expected to drive 35mph. If it's 65mph, you are expected to drive 65mph. Do you understand? I really don't care about excuses. If you don't have a valid reason for going below the speed limit (exceptions are road construction, accidents and rush hour) then speed up! If you are going below the speed limit without an exception, I will ride your bumper and I won't feel bad about it.

2) If you are ever invited to speak at the Democratic National Convention (or Republican...I don't really care which), then please don't have a botox session 30 minutes before you speak. You'll look like a complete freak standing up there speaking through a crack in your lips and not being able to move your face. I don't care how passionately you feel about women's rights, it's not attractive and nobody in America is going to take you seriously.

3) If you insist on taking mass transit then it is your duty to 1) shower before boarding the train in the morning and 2) re-apply deoderant before you board the train at night. I don't care where you live. Trains are often crowded and nobody needs to suffer through their ride home because you smell like a decomposing animal.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly....

As most of you know, I've been taking the TRAX train to and from work now for over 4 years. Sometimes the commute goes well, other times it does not. For example, the last few days on the trek home there has been no air conditioning on the TRAX cars. And with it being nearly 100 degrees outside you can imagine what it feels like on the train. It's been so hot, in fact, that a colleague told me they had a medical emergency the other day due to the heat. The train conductor wouldn't even answer their call for help and finally someone on the train had to call 911 on their cell phone and have emergency personnel meet them at a nearby stop. I wasn't on the train that day, thank goodness. But I was on the train two days ago where it was so hot and smelly and everyone around me was speaking in Spanish that I actually turned to the guy next to me and said "Did I get on the right train? I think this is the train bound for Mexico".

Those experiences don't happen often, but when they do happen, they are very frustrating. It's those times when I think to myself "Why do I deal with this? If I just drove to work, I'd have air conditioning, I'd get there on time, I'd get home on time, and I wouldn't have to listen to all the people cursing and threatening to kill someone at UTA". Sometimes all of that just feels like so much to deal with!

That is exactly how I've been feeling the last couple of weeks. But then something remarkable happened. Yesterday I got on the train after work and it was packed full. I walked on looking around for a place to stand when all of a sudden, a man stood up and offered me his seat. Then another man stood up and offered another lady his seat. And then another, and another. It was like a chain reaction. This rarely happens, and I was extremely touched by the sight of what I saw. Then today I was walking to the platform to wait for my train. Another train was already at the station and was about to depart when I looked up and saw a guy standing in the doorway poking his head out and waiting for me. I didn't know this man, but he saw me coming and assumed I needed to get on that train so he was holding the doors for me. I waved at him and yelled "Thank you so much, but I'm not getting on this train!". I felt bad but was extremely grateful for his kindness.

In the four years I've been on the train, I have definitely had my share of bad experiences and even down right ugly ones. But somedays I have really good experiences. I have definitely seen my share of crazy people and rude people. But I have also met some amazing people who are very thoughtful and gracious.

So in pondering over whether I should say goodbye to mass transit or continue to stick with it, I I have decided for now to stick with it. Because in some cases, the good generally outweighs the bad and the ugly.

Kicked Off the Train...

Did I really get kicked off the train? Yes, but not in the way you are thinking. About 1,000 people were booted off trains last night at 900 South where we had to wait for another train to haul us to Sandy.

There is never a dull moment when it comes to riding TRAX each day. As mentioned in previous blogs, I usually can always find something to blog about. Last night is no exception. The day actually started off rough when UTA had some kind of problem with the TRAX line around 2100 South. Because of that, all the trains had to share the southbound line, which was cause for delays. I knew this before getting on the train, but still decided to brave the situation. I made it to work only 30 minutes late.

The commute home was a different story. All went well until we got to 900 South. Here the train driver made an announcement that we all had to exit the train because she wasn't going any farther south. Another train would be coming to pick us up and take us on to Sandy. So, we disembarked and we waited. Another train came, everyone piled off and we waited. Another train came, those people piled off and we waited.

And we waited, and waited, and waited.

Did I mention that we waited?

After about 35 minutes of waiting the transit police showed up. Either they were worried the 1,000 unruly people on the platform might start a riot, or they just wanted to look cool by yelling at all of us to "stand behind the yellow line!!" I'm not sure why they showed up, but they weren't much help. At one point a cop yelled:

"You! Get off the track and get behind the yellow line! You! I am talking to you!"

Who? We all looked aimlessly around as he hollered, not exactly sure which of hundreds of people standing there, he was referring to. Then we heard one very disgruntled gentleman yell:

"If you'd get us a train, we'd get off the track!"

Police Officer: "A train is coming."

Another gentleman: "It better get here fast because my pass is going to expire in about four days!"

(Loads of laughter ensues, police officer walks away).

For the most part, everyone kept their cool, but we were all clearly frustrated with the situation. A UTA guy kept driving by in his truck yelling "We are doing the best we can". Really? Hundreds of people were stranded on a UTA platform with NO idea of when a train was going to come pick us up. There weren't even shuttles to haul us to different stations. Everywhere I looked people were on their phones calling for rides. Some were walking down the street to find the nearest bus station, and others were jumping into Taxi's that pulled up to the station.

After standing there for 45 minutes to an hour in the cold night air, a train finally arrived. All of us weren't able to squeeze onto that train, but we tried our best. And when the train started to move we all burst into applause and shouts of "Hurrah!" We were going to make it home after all.

Trash Collector...

Last night on my commute home, I sat down on the train next to a lady who was reading the Salt Lake Tribune. She read it the entire way, but I noticed that after she would finish one section of the paper, she would fold it up and then shove it down next to her between the seat and the window. As soon as she finished the entire paper and it was all neatly shoved away, she put on her gloves and got her keys out of her purse.

Now, I had a hunch that she wasn't going to be taking that paper with her and in my mind I was trying to form how the conversation was going to go when she stood up to leave and I kindly mentioned that she forgot her paper. I had hoped that she would take the paper when she left so I wouldn't have to say anything. But when we got to her stop, she stood and walked away, leaving the paper behind.

And I didn't say anything.

It seems we always hear these stories in the news where someone said something to someone else and they ended up getting punched or stabbed or shot. The lady looked kind enough that I don't think she would have killed me...but at the same time, I didn't want to cause a scene. So, I let her walk away.

For the next three stops I sat next to that paper, irritated over the fact that people can be so irresponsible and so disrespectful that they leave their trash lying around for others to pick up. Aren't people taught to pick up after themselves anymore? Well, it's clear that most of today's youth don't, but this lady was much older than me...I'd assumed she'd have a little more class than that.

I got to my stop and I stood up to leave, but before walking away I took one last look at that paper. Then I leaned over and picked it up.

Commuting Nightmare...

Do you remember my post from a week or so ago where my roommates and I had to dig ourselves out of our driveway because we got about a foot of snow and the drifts were 3 feet high? Do you remember the question I asked at the end of that post? If not, let me refresh your memory.

"Why does this never happen on a work day?"

Yes, that is what I asked and today I got my answer. This DOES happen on work days and the reason why we usually hope it doesn't is because it's an absolute nightmare getting anywhere!

Take last night and this morning for instance. Yesterday it started to snow around 2:00pm. The wind was blowing pretty hard, but it didn't look that bad. I jumped on the train and headed home at the usual hour. I arrived to my car at the usual hour. But I did NOT arrive home at the usual hour. I arrived home an hour late. It took me almost 1 1/2 hours to drive 7 miles. I went 20 mph the entire way. The roads were covered in snow and traffic was completely backed up. But, I never lost my cool. I always say it is better to be extremely cautious than to end up dead in a ditch. And I figured that they'd have everything all cleared for the morning commute.

Boy, did I figure wrong.

Do you remember in my last post how I posted a picture of my roommate's car nearly covered by snow drifts? If not, let me just refresh your memory:


Well, that's what my car looked like when I woke up this morning. Did you ever think I would get out? Not me. I was outside at 6:15am shoveling and digging, shoveling and digging. Finally around 7:00am, I jumped in my car and slowly made my way to the train station. I drove those same 7 miles in about 40 minutes today, which was definitely better than last night. I got to the train station at 7:40 and a train finally showed up around 7:55am. Obviously, that's the time I am supposed to be to work. But the trains all seemed to be malfunctioning for some reason and so I didn't get to my stop until 8:55.

Oh, but at least I made it by 9am, right? WRONG! That would be too easy. I still had to catch a shuttle to my building. I waited for 10 minutes in the blowing snow, by this time looking like a wet mutt, and when the shuttle never showed, I just decided to walk. Normally the walk is about 10-15 minutes. But today, see, none of the sidewalks were shoveled and the walk is entirely uphill. So in my attempt to not slide back down the hill or go crashing to the ground, it took an extra 10 minutes to make the trek.

But never fear! I made it to work. I walked in the door with my nose running, eyes watering, chest burning, hair wet and ragged, face bright red and pants completely soaked up to my knees, at 9:30am.

It's days like this I am so glad I can shut the door to my office so nobody has to see me. And never again will I hope this happens on a work day.

The Joys of Mass Transit...

I'm not sure I'd consider myself "lucky" to take the train to and from work each day, but I have to admit that it sure beats dealing with rush hour traffic. Most days I get on the train, find a seat, and then either read a book or slip into a coma for 40 minutes. For the most part the commute is relaxing and stress free. But there are days when something happens that is either so funny you burst out laughing, or else it's so annoying that you wish you could hit someone in the head. Today was one of those days.

I got to my station to catch the 7:13 train and it didn't show up until 7:25. When it did show up, it was only 2 cars long instead of 3. Therefore it was standing room only. I figured that since the conductor kept saying another train would be coming in five minutes, most people still wanting to get on would wait for that train rather than shove themselves (or each other) onto my train. I was wrong.

I guess if it hadn't been 10 degrees outside, more people may have waited for the next train. But since they didn't, the rest of us just kept getting smashed closer and closer together. Aside from completely taking over someone else's personal space, the commute wasn't that bad. But I did find myself getting quite annoyed with the lady behind me who kept complaining about it.

Now, I have had some pretty bad commutes in the past and I've learned to deal with them. I realize that if I am making the choice to take mass transit, I can't always help the fact that I may end up sharing one square inch of space with a 250 pound guy. Though it's far from pleasant, I try not to complain. But I know that some people need to complain and I try to deal with that too. But this lady was so annoying that by the time I got to my stop this morning I was literally at my wits end. The one recurring thought in my head was 'that lady better hope she's not on my car the next time this happens or else my hand may accidentally find her head instead of the hand rail'.