Tourists On The T

There were some tourists on the bus today. You have to respect the courage of strangers trying to navigate their way on the MBTA. There were lots of printed out maps and schedules being passed back and forth. Many shaky questions from some of the tourists too.

"Are they going to announce when we get to Malden Center?"

Don't worry, just follow the rest of us.

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Bus Departure Time: 7:10
Bus Arrival Time: 7:24
T Departure Time: 7:25
T Arrival Time: 7:46
Weather as I call it: Cloudy...it's looking like the sun may peek out.
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 3 (tourists pay with bills/change)
Feared for my life: No. I am no xenophobe.

Mystery Liquid On T Seat

How do I describe it? It was just gross. Nobody want to sit on this seat. It was only when I looked to see what was on the seat did I understand.

There was a clear liquid on it...it had things floating in it. It swayed back and forth with the motions of the train.

My first thought was that it was vomit.

I stopped looking at it because I thought was going to add to it.

Sorry about that, folks. Sometimes you have to report the ugly side too.

Maybe it was some kind of brew.


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Bus Departure Time: 7:10
Bus Arrival Time: 7:22
T Departure Time: 7:25
T Arrival Time: 7:46
Weather as I call it: Sunny again. A bit less humid.
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2 (not annoyed - just grossed out.)
Feared for my life: Nope. Just feared tossing my cookies. Yes, I ate cookies for breakfast.

Watch The Doors Please

The conductor on today's Orange Line repeated himself a lot. He kept telling everybody to "Watch The Doors, Please!"

I watched those doors every single time we stopped. All they did was open and close. I didn't see them do anything special.

He also let people know that they should not block the doors and move into the center of the train. Again, he repeated himself a lot.

People started to laugh out loud at this guy's "routine". It shaved a minute off of my normal commute time.

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Bus Departure Time: 7:09
Bus Arrival Time: 7:23
T Departure Time: 7:27
T Arrival Time: 7:46
Weather as I call it: Really sunny. Should have brought the shades.
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: No

Delay and the Moscow Transit System

Not sure what the deal was, but it wasn't looking good there for a moment at Community College. The Orange Line stopped and stayed there for a while. The air brakes were making weird noises and the train didn't want to get going.

We started to roll after a four minute wait...I estimated that from today's T Arrival time.

As we descended into the underground, some guy started talking about the Moscow transit system and how people there do not wear deodorant and are packed into the trains tightly.

Made me feel lucky.


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Bus Departure Time: 7:08
Bus Arrival Time: 7:22
T Departure Time: 7:25
T Arrival Time: 7:50
Weather as I call it: Partly sunny. Warm
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 3
Feared for my life: Nope

At Least No Derailments

I read there was a derailment on the commuter rail today (Fairmount Line). I didn't have that kind of trouble, but I did have a large delay on the Orange Line. It added 9 minutes to my trip and probably was the reason there was a lot of pushing and shoving this morning.

Word to the wise: If you have two bags of luggage, don't set them right in front of the Orange Line doors unless you are going to move them at every stop.

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Bus Departure Time: 7:08
Bus Arrival Time: 7:22
T Departure Time: 7:25
T Arrival Time: 7:54
Weather as I call it: Sunny. Yay.
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 4
Feared for my life:

Into Each Commute A Little Rain Must Fall

How about a whole lotta rain? These downpours are pretty intense. I wasn't outside for a long time, but enough to see some flash flooding. People had to step away from the curb to avoid the huge splashes from the cars roaring by.

I am glad I wasn't driving in this stuff. The rain made people drive worse than they do when it snows.

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Bus Departure Time: 7:08
Bus Arrival Time: 7:23
T Departure Time: 7:25
T Arrival Time: 7:46
Weather as I call it: Rainy! Muggy!
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 3
Feared for my life: No

Better Today More Awake

Sorry about yesterday's post. I was still asleep and not really back in the swing of things.

Today I kept my eyes open and tried to capture the trip for the blog.

1. There was a beer bottle broken at the bus stop. It was a bottle of Busch Light. Mmmmmm Busch Light.

2. A woman who I have never seen before came to the stop today. She said "Good Morning" to me when she arrived. That's not something that happens every day. I replied with the same greeting.

3. The woman picked up the broken bottle pieces and somehow wedged them into the full trash barrel at the stop. The barrel was full of garbage including a rusty muffler.

4. The bus got to Malden Station just in time for me to run up the stairs and catch the Orange Line. My cold, black heart was a-pumping after sprinting up the stairwell. (just kidding about the heart condition...but I think I need to get back to running.)

5. Standing on the Orange Line was good for me today. I got to hear people explain where the Comcast Center is...you know...the Tweeter Center...Great Woods? Yeah, same place.

Let's do it all again tomorrow.

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Bus Departure Time: 7:10
Bus Arrival Time: 7:25
T Departure Time: 7:25
T Arrival Time: 7:46
Weather as I call it: Cloudy, 65F
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: Nope

Jumpstart

I can't say I missed my morning commute. I was just not into it this morning.

I hear the bus has been coming later and later.

I need a jump start.

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Bus Departure Time: 7:10
Bus Arrival Time: 7:23
T Departure Time: 7:25
T Arrival Time: 7:46
Weather as I call it: Sunny 68F
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: No

No Problems At All

If I could talk about the ride home in this blog, I would. Since I am contractually obligated to write only about the morning commute, I will.

This morning was great. Sun shining. All modes of transportion were prompt.

Can you tell I am off tomorrow?

Boo to Wade Boggs wearing a Yankee hat and boo to buses not appearing in the evening commute. There, I said it.


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Bus Departure Time: 7:08
Bus Arrival Time: 7:24
T Departure Time: 7:24
T Arrival Time: 7:45
Weather as I call it: Sunny and pleasant
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 1
Feared for my life: Nah

Vaca Mind

Things have been quiet on the MBTA for me. I heard at Malden Station that the Red Line was having problems, but we have been cool over the past few days.

I think my brain is in vacation mode...everything seems great!

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Bus Departure Time: 7:07
Bus Arrival Time: 7:23
T Departure Time: 7:25
T Arrival Time: 7:46
Weather as I call it: Sunny and not as humid.
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: Nope

Fine Morning

I only have a three day work week this week. I am focusing on getting through Wednesday. That's all I have to do.

My family and I had a good weekend. Yesterday's weather was really great. I think the sunshine was good for my mood.

It wasn't that tough getting up this morning. The bus was a little late. Some people paid with change but it didn't hold up the bus all that much.

The Orange Line flowed well. The conductor was yelling at people to stay behind the yellow line because the doors were closing.

Fine morning.


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Bus Departure Time: 7:08
Bus Arrival Time: 7:23
T Departure Time: 7:25
T Arrival Time: 7:46
Weather as I call it: Partly cloudy, it's supposed to rain today
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: Nope

Seven Eleven

Not just a convenience store, but a date too.

Pretty easy day on the ol' MBTA. No delays. I actually caught an earlier Orange Line train.

Hope everyone had a good week. Type to you on Monday.


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Bus Departure Time: 7:06
Bus Arrival Time: 7:19
T Departure Time: 7:20
T Arrival Time: 7:41
Weather as I call it: Hazy sunny, but dry.
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 1
Feared for my life: Nah

Can You Talk Over My iPod?

No birds today. Pretty quiet at the bus stop. Just stood around and got on when the bus pulled up.

The Orange Line was pretty normal...well...as normal as the Orange Line can be.

I sometimes like the exchanges people have with each other... This one woman shouted to another as she took a seat, "Well you should expect that if you sit in front of an open seat!"

I guess she shoved the other woman..not sure though.

The best part was they both had iPod buds in their ears. I wonder if they even heard each other.

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Bus Departure Time: 7:06
Bus Arrival Time: 7:21
T Departure Time: 7:25
T Arrival Time: 7:46
Weather as I call it: Sunny and cooler as predicted
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: No

Birds of Prey

As I walked out of my house today, I heard a clunking sound on the rooftop. I looked up to see if I could find what was making the noise but I didn't see it from that angle. Walking away from the door and looking back allow me to see this large bird on my overhang. It was a red-tailed hawk.

I have seen this bird in my neighborhood but not this close. We stared at each other for a few seconds until the hawk decided to fly away with a screech.

I looked up the symbolism of having an encounter with a hawk. I got this answer:

Hawk teaches us to be observant and to pay attention to what we may overlook.

I will continue to observe.

The bus lost some seats due to some water spill. I hate when that happens.

Orange Line was still packed when I got to Back Bay. Generally it clears out after Downtown Crossing...I had to climb over some people to get out.

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Bus Departure Time: 7:07
Bus Arrival Time: 7:23
T Departure Time: 7:25
T Arrival Time: 7:46
Weather as I call it: Partly sunny. One more day of haze before it supposedly breaks tomorrow.
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: Nah

Held On Tight Today

My fellow rider who had the coffee spill yesterday got on the bus with another creamy-looking iced coffee. My heart sank a little. I thought we would have another sad end to his refreshing beverage. Thankfully he held on tight today and we did not have a messy, wet mishap.

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Bus Departure Time: 7:07
Bus Arrival Time: 7:24
T Departure Time: 7:25
T Arrival Time: 7:46
Weather as I call it: Hazy again. Very humid
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: No

Iced Coffee Spill

Welcome back everybody.

Today I witnessed an iced coffee spill of biblical proportions. This gentleman got on the bus with a wonderfully delicious-looking iced coffee from the Dunk. He had it prepared with a lot of cream (or maybe half and half) because it had a very light caramel color. Mmmmm creamy.

He departed the bus at Malden Center and sat down on the Orange Line along with me and about 25 other people.

Somewhere between Malden and Wellington, all hell broke loose and his cup fell to the ground. All the creamy coffee goodness rolled down the floor.

People offered him napkins to wipe himself up, but the majority of the coffee just rolled back and forth with the inclines and the declines of the tracks....It made for a wet ride.

Not much else you can do outside of passing along the warning to others about holding on to your iced coffee while on the T. Those things can get slippery.

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Bus Departure Time: 7:07
Bus Arrival Time: 7:23
T Departure Time: 7:25
T Arrival Time: 7:46
Weather as I call it: Hazy/Foggy. What's up with this summer?
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 3
Feared for my life: Nah.

Summer's Here And The Time Is Right

...for a long weekend. With gas prices high, the housing market in shambles, the war in Iraq still waging (as the Metro reminded me this morning), it's time to hang out with family and relax-ish.

Hope you don't have to work tomorrow.


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Bus Departure Time: 7:07
Bus Arrival Time: 7:18
T Departure Time: 7:20
T Arrival Time: 7:41
Weather as I call it: Hazy humid...not that hot though
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: Nah

To My Advantage

I kinda like the new schedule. I get to sleep in a little later...I get to move around the house a little slower. I think I will use the time shift to my advantage this summer.

The bus moved fairly swiftly this morning. I made the Orange Line that is usually in the station at 7:20...and pulls away before I can get on.


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Bus Departure Time: 7:06
Bus Arrival Time: 7:19
T Departure Time: 7:20
T Arrival Time: 7:41
Weather as I call it: Hazy sun. A little less humid.
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: Nope

July Started Already?

Ok, I don't think I can keep the surprise at the passage of time theme going for two days in a row.

Maybe I can.

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Bus Departure Time: 7:07
Bus Arrival Time: 7:20
T Departure Time: 7:24
T Arrival Time: 7:45
Weather as I call it: Muggy!
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: Nope