The Old Routine

Bus Departure Time: 7:02
Bus Arrival Time: 7:16
T Departure Time: 7:19
T Arrival Time: 7:42
Weather as I call it: A bit foggy, but humid
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: Nah

------------------------------

After a bit of a hiatus (still recovering from my sister-in-law's wedding and the Police show on Sunday night), today's commute served as a bland reinstatement of my normal routine.

The bus was uneventful as I sat droopy-eyed, trying to stay awake.

The subway trip was a little more exciting because I sat on a different car on the Orange Line this morning. I usually sit in the second to last car, but since the crowd was a little lighter down the platform I stood where the third to last car comes to its final resting place...and I boarded the train through its doors. There was a seat across from me that was torn apart. It wasn't pretty.

The subway is still take two minutes longer to get from Malden to Back Bay. Boo.

MBTA Rule #5,347

Bus Departure Time: 7:03
Bus Arrival Time: 7:17
T Departure Time: 7:18
T Arrival Time: 7:45
Weather as I call it: Hazy sun, warm, around 70
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 3
Feared for my life: No

------------------------------

The bus was a-rockin' this morning. Not sure why people in the back we having such a good time, but they were laughing and singing the Boston Now song (he's back!) and calling out to the driver to open the back door when a passenger needed to be let out.

The pinnacle of their exuberance was shouting out to the driver to hit a bike rider who crossed in front of the bus as it was taking a right turn onto Pleasant St. I believe the quote was, "Hit him, the bastard!" Ahh, summer mornings...they allow people to let loose. Must be the result of too much heat...it effects the brain. :)

Ok, again I'm not preaching, I'm just teaching (somehow by typing this phrase I can be absolved of any accusation of being an "old fuddy duddy").

If you are wearing a backpack and riding the T, do one of two things. Be very careful when you are turning or leaning back or take it off and place it front of you so you can have more control. I can't tell you how many times I have been almost been knocked over big bloated backpack by people not aware of their extended personal space.

I was guilty of inadvertent backpack bludgeoning until my wife pointed it out to me. I guess I almost knocked down a few people while turning around on the Red Line. When my wife tried to tell me about what I had just did, I didn't hear her...and in true scripted, physical comedy style I turned back to face her and knocked the people over in the opposite direction! They didn't laugh much.

Anyway, be careful with your backpacks. You may not know who you are knocking over.

I will be out until next Tuesday. So, enjoy the ride until then.

Upgrade From Yesterday

Bus Departure Time: 7:02
Bus Arrival Time: 7:15
T Departure Time: 7:19
T Arrival Time: 7:42
Weather as I call it: Sunny and warm
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: Nope

------------------------------

The T must have read my post from yesterday...which resembled the 95 Theses. Today was a much better ride. Sure I had to wait for the Orange Line a bit and it was a little slower than "normal", but much improved from the day before.

Just a few other notes:

The singing Boston Now guy at Malden Center was not on duty. There was a mute stand-in instead, passing out papers methodically. Does this mark the end of singing Boston Now hawker's reign?

I haven't noticed anyone reading the Harry Potter book on the T. Is it too big to carry around?

I should present my thoughts on backpacks on the T tomorrow. Good times.

Detailed List

Bus Departure Time: 7:05
Bus Arrival Time: 7:21
T Departure Time: 7:23
T Arrival Time: 7:48
Weather as I call it: Cloudy and humid
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 6
Feared for my life: No

------------------------------

Yeah, I typed it. The annoyance level was at a 6 today. Let's get into the details:

• The bus was late

• The A/C on the bus was off when we got on - It kicked on eventually, but the first seven minutes of the trip were pretty uncomfortable

• The Orange Line was delayed again due to some track/signal/traffic problems

• My evangelist buddy got on at Wellington and was pushing his pamphlets and his beliefs onto everyone on the train with me.

• The Orange Line's wheels make an incredibly loud screeching noise on the tracks between the New England Medical Center and Back Bay stops. The noise is a recent development; it's only been a problem for the last week or two and I am not sure what brought it on. Maybe the warm temperatures have expanded the tracks and it has caused some new awful contact with the train? I now count how many people cover their ears as we ride through it.

That's all. Tomorrow has to be better.

Delayed and Delayed

Bus Departure Time: 7:03
Bus Arrival Time: 7:17
T Departure Time: 7:19
T Arrival Time: 7:46
Weather as I call it: Cloudy and in the mid 60s
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 3
Feared for my life: No

------------------------------

It was cool in temperature outside waiting for the bus at the stop, but once we got on the bus it was different story. The air was dead and sticky. My comrade in riding, Mike, was sweating up a storm. The A/C unit didn't kick in until we were 2 minutes away from the Malden Center T station. It seemed to be an awful joke. I am guessing the unit was set to a thermostat and only kicked on once we reached some preset temperature. If not, the driver was being cruel.

We experienced more delays on the Orange Line this morning. It was bad. I finished the Metro before we went underground. The conductors did not announce the reason for the delays, but hopefully it doesn't continue. For the most part, the Orange Line has been pretty consistent since I started riding it regularly back in February. It would be a shame for it to become flaky.

Signal Problems at Community College

Bus Departure Time: 7:02
Bus Arrival Time: 7:15
T Departure Time: 7:16
T Arrival Time: 7:44
Weather as I call it: Cloudy and uh, moist. See below.
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 4.5
Feared for my life: Nope

------------------------------

Yep, I said it. Today it was moist outside.

I know people who hate that word.

And when I say people, I mean my wife.

Say it to yourself...slowly...moy-oy-oy-st...MoooooyyyyyssssssT.

Give you the shivers a little bit? No? It creeps her out.

She hates "plug" too.

Where was I? Oh yeah. The bus was rolling today...and like it has for the past few days it dropped me and the rest of us off just as the Orange Line rolled into the station. I joined the mad dash and made it in before the doors closed. Sweet A.

All the running didn't matter much because the ol' subway was delayed due to signal problems at Community College. It was a spectacle! There were conductors coming on and off the train...walking through the sacred "between car" doors that mere passengers are forbidden to use. Walkie-talkies were squawking. Apologies were raining down from the overhead speakers....

The signal problems added 7 minutes to my commute. I guess I'll take it.

Have a good weekend.

MBTA Toe Stepping

Bus Departure Time: 7:02
Bus Arrival Time: 7:15
T Departure Time: 7:16
T Arrival Time: 7:37
Weather as I call it: Cloudy and muggy. Very sticky!
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: No, not today.

------------------------------

On the bus, a gentleman motioned to me and moved his bag so that I could sit down. I told him thanks but it wasn't necessary. I guess someone read my bags on seats post.

Here's the real item for today. On the Orange Line as we were pulling out of Haymarket, I could hear women chatting about some guy who was stepping on everybody's toes and not saying he was sorry. Big No No, guy.

Here's the tip: It's summertime. There are a lot of people wearing open toed shoes each and every morning. If you are standing on the T, be very careful where you place your feet. Look down and make sure you are stepping on solid subway floor and not someone precious toes.

If you do step on someone's toes, and believe me it happens no matter how careful you are...often due to sudden stops...say you're sorry. Look the person right in the eyes and say, "I'm sorry." and then say it again so they know you mean it.

I stepped on a woman's toes a month and a half ago on the ride home, and I said I was sorry twice. I saw her expression lighten up immediately...she knew I meant it.

Let's watch out for each other.

Snack Attack

Bus Departure Time: 7:02
Bus Arrival Time: 7:16
T Departure Time: 7:19
T Arrival Time: 7:40
Weather as I call it: Cloudy and cool 60s
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: Nah

------------------------------

So, the bus wasn't that crowded today. Here's my theory: Since there are other buses that travel down the same street as the one I take every day, people have made the switch and are choosing to get picked up by those other buses. I stand by this theory because I see people who I recognize standing at other stops or who continue to stay put when my bus rolls up to their stop.

Good for them. More space for me.

I saw a kid who I think might be attending summer school, since he gets off the bus in front of the school. (I'm clever) He had two snack size bags of Funyuns with him. I wonder if that was going to be his lunch.

Funyuns (which I guess is the correct way to spell the name of this snack - I thought it was Funions) are one step above Andy Capp Fries in the world of wacky snacks....but one step below Bugles.

Wow, I have resorted to sharing how I rate certain snacks...you know it was a quiet day on the T when this happens.

MBTA Observation about Bags on Seats

Bus Departure Time: 7:03
Bus Arrival Time: 7:18
T Departure Time: 7:19
T Arrival Time: 7:40
Weather as I call it: Partly cloudy, high 70s
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: No

------------------------------

Here's something I have seen many times on the T, but I saw it twice today
so I thought I would comment on it now that it is fresh in my mind.

Why do people put their bags down on the seat next to them on the T? Are they saving
the seat for the first person that comes by and asks them to move the bag so they can
sit down? Isn't it a rule to keep all your stuff within the invisible borders of the seat you are sitting on?

To be fair, I don't think most of these people are selfish seat-hoarders. From what I have witnessed, people will get on an empty car with plenty of seats and they will put their bag on the empty seat next to them. It's no big deal because of the aforementioned abundance of seats. It only becomes a problem later on when there is a stop with a large number of people entering the train and seats become a scarce commodity.

I'm not preaching, I'm teaching. If you don't want to look like a jerk, keep your bag with you while riding the T. Keep it on your lap so people can sit next to you if they wish.

Not Much Luck

Bus Departure Time: 7:02
Bus Arrival Time: 7:16
T Departure Time: 7:17
T Arrival Time: 7:38
Weather as I call it: Cloud cover, pleasant
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 3
Feared for my life: No

------------------------------

Ah, a mid-July Monday morning. I had a good weekend: enjoyed the sunshine and the pool...maybe a little too much since I have a little burn on the top of my back and shoulders.

On the bus route, it appeared we were going to take advantage of the late riser phenomenon that tends to happen on Monday until we ran into a delay. It looked promising; the bus arrived at a number of stops early in the route that are usually crammed with people, but today they had only small gatherings.

One of those small gatherings had a person who hadn't encountered the new(ish) collection system yet, and we were stopped for what seemed like an eternity while he figured it out. The bus driver was doing her best to help him. She did say something funny while working with him.

"You got to leave earlier if you are going to hold up people like this."

Since we were delayed, the stops had enough time to populate themselves to their normal levels and we picked up everyone until the bus was filled to capacity. Wah.
It was a little uncomfortable.

The Orange line car I was in didn't have its air conditioning unit on and it became pretty steamy in there with riders fanning themselves for relief. The unit didn't kick on until we were underground somewhere...around State Street, I think. I guess they had the thermostat set to 110.

RIP Mr. Butch

Bus Departure Time: 7:02
Bus Arrival Time: 7:16
T Departure Time: 7:19
T Arrival Time: 7:42
Weather as I call it: Sunny and nice
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: No

------------------------------

I guess some people took the day off today since the bus was pretty empty. We even stopped for everybody waiting on the route. There was a delay at Wellington for a "scheduled adjustment" for a minute or two...but the conductor woman did her best to make up for it by thanking us profusely for riding the T.

And now for my salute...even though it doesn't have to do with getting to work in the morning, I couldn't post today without typing something about this Boston icon.

As I was riding home yesterday, I got a text message from Jim Larkin that read "RIP Mr. Butch".

It took me a second for the message to sink in, but once I understood what it meant I came to the realization that yet another piece of what made Boston fun/different/ours is gone.

Mr. Butch was a fixture in Kenmore Square while I was going to school, and later on in Allston when I was living there between 2000 and 2004.

Although I didn't know him outside of a drunken conversation after a show at the Rat in the mid-90s, it was always good to see his familar face. When I moved back to Boston in '99, it was comforting to know that he still around, doing his thing.

I'll miss you, Mr. Butch. That's my salute today.

Sorry - The Bus is Full!

Bus Departure Time: 7:04
Bus Arrival Time: 7:19
T Departure Time: 7:19
T Arrival Time: 7:40
Weather as I call it: Sunny and less muggy
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: Nope

------------------------------

I think our bus is really starting to tick people off. Today marked the second day in a row that we reached capacity early and drove past stops without stopping. I wonder if any of these would-be passengers will be complaining to the T. What would the T do with their complaints if they received them?

My singing Boston Now friend at the Malden Center Orange Line stop was in good voice today. Sadly, the "drop it like it's hot" Metro hawker has disappeared for good, it seems. His absence makes me a little forlorn. He was good for a laugh or two.

Overheard on Someone's iPod: Jay-Z's "Show Me What You Got"

Malden T Station Singer

Bus Departure Time: 7:01
Bus Arrival Time: 7:16
T Departure Time: 7:19
T Arrival Time: 7:42
Weather as I call it: Soupy.
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 3
Feared for my life: Not today.

------------------------------

It was a good day to ride the bus. The other 45 passengers and I filled it up by the 10th stop of the route and the driver decided he couldn't take any more. We sped by 3 or 4 stops that had crowds waiting and wanting, which ended up just watching....watching us drive right past them. I think I heard some passengers laughing as they saw the reactions of some of the people as we drove past them.

Ok, there's a guy who hands out Boston Now papers at the Malden T station who needs to be discussed. His technique is starting to grate on my nerves. He sings out to people as they approach the station. I'll do my best to describe it here through extending words by repeating vowels:

"Goooood Morning Everybody...Get Your Boston Noooooooooooooooooow!"

The "now" part of the song is really nasally.

Today, I saw a guy take a paper from the singing hawker and responded with a little tuneful, "Thank Yooooooooooooooooooooooou!"

I need to ask him if he knows any other songs.

No Jackets Required

Bus Departure Time: 7:02
Bus Arrival Time: 7:16
T Departure Time: 7:19
T Arrival Time: 7:39
Weather as I call it: Whoa, Foggy! I didn't see that one coming.
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: Nah.

------------------------------

As I walked out of my house, my neighbor exclaimed "It looks like London out here!"

"Yes, but without the charm..." (I thought this).

It was foggy all right, which led to a peculiar occurrence: People wearing jackets.

It may have been cool this morning...and that's a big MAY I am putting in there...but isn't it supposed to be around 90 later on today? People, people, people...you're way overdressed.

Because jacket wearing was in fashion this morning, I was subjected to a guy wearing an old tweed jacket that smelt like decomposing celery salt on the Orange Line. I didn't get any relief until Downtown Crossing.

Today marks the one year anniversary of the Big Dig Tunnel Collapse. Do people fell any safer today?

No Problems

Bus Departure Time: 7:02
Bus Arrival Time: 7:17
T Departure Time: 7:19
T Arrival Time: 7:41
Weather as I call it: Cloudy and humid
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: No

------------------------------

Happy Monday everyone. I had a short weekend, how 'bout you?

Got on the bus and discussed the sweep of the Sox in Motown. I wasn't happy about it, but Mike still thinks they're going be ok. We'll see. They should have won at least one game.

The Orange Line was fine. People came and went with no problem. A woman next to me received a frantic phone call and it sounded like she had to convince one of her children to go somewhere today. I think she was successful before we went underground.

Summertime T riding has been fairly uneventful. Maybe this is the way it's supposed to be all the time...

Easing Into the Weekend

Bus Departure Time: 7:02
Bus Arrival Time: 7:14
T Departure Time: 7:19
T Arrival Time: 7:39
Weather as I call it: Sunny and a little humid
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: Nope

------------------------------

I had to run for the bus today...well a little bit. I heard it roaring down the street, and when I saw it...I jogged to the stop to make sure I didn't miss it.

We went through the route without too many delays and I thought I would be able to take an earlier T, but not so much. I had to wait around 5 minutes for the next one.

My friend who was handing out pamphlets yesterday was back on the Orange Line today. Same car, same speech...but today he stayed on the other end of the car. Around Chinatown, he made his way towards me...but he was done talking to people and handing out stuff. He stood there quietly reading his book...the Good one.

I guess everybody likes to take it easy on Friday.

Spreading The Word

Bus Departure Time: 7:03
Bus Arrival Time: 7:17
T Departure Time: 7:19
T Arrival Time: 7:40
Weather as I call it: Cloudy and cool
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 1
Feared for my life: No, but a concern for my spiritual welfare was brought to my attention.

------------------------------

I got to the stop this morning and nobody was around. I felt like I forgot it was the weeked already or something, but the bus came on time and I jumped on and got a seat with no problems.

Once I got on the Orange Line, I took another seat with no problems.

At Wellington, I could see a gentleman handling out pamphlets on the platform. When the doors opened, he stepped on and walked around the car trying to hand out his folded sheets of paper to other passengers. When he inevitably got to me, I said, "No thank you." as politely as I could. He told me that judgment day was coming and that I would not find salvation in my Metro (yeah no kidding).

I watched him go around and ask other people if they would take his pamphlet. He didn't have a lot of takers. At some point, he had exhausted his options...but as new people came onto the T he started the whole process again.

Right before Chinatown, he came my way again. He must not have remembered me because he said "Good Morning" to me again while holding out his message.

This time I took it, and said "Thank you."

I really expected a long speech from him...but he said "God bless you." and continued down the car.

889 Accidents

Bus Departure Time: 7:03
Bus Arrival Time: 7:19
T Departure Time: 7:19
T Arrival Time: 7:40
Weather as I call it: Sunny and nice
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: Nope

------------------------------

I took a seat on the bus today after standing for the past several days. Hey, it's July 3rd, I deserve it.

I grabbed a Metro before running for the Orange Line...the bus dropped me off right in time.

The Metro had an article discussing the number of accidents MBTA buses have been in since the beginning of the year: 889 in total. At first I thought that was a high number, but when you learn that there are about 15,000 one way bus trips a day everyday...it's a pretty small number (multiply 15,000 by 181 days and you'll get what I mean).

I have yet to encounter a bus that I am riding get into an accident. I will be sure to let you know if I do.

I'll be out tomorrow. Hopefully you will be too. I will be back Thursday...hopefully you were smart and took the rest of the week off.

The North Shore Is Where You're Gonna Soar

Bus Departure Time: 7:03
Bus Arrival Time: 7:19
T Departure Time: 7:26
T Arrival Time: 7:47
Weather as I call it: Sunny and cool. High 50s
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: No

------------------------------

The bus was its usual packed self today, filled with people who were quiet. There just weren't the normal conversations happening this morning. Everyone seemed dazed from a weekend of fun...or dread.

Hey, it was quiet on the bus and I don't know why so I am making up stuff.

I think we had one too many stops on the ride today because I missed the Orange Line that usually leaves Malden at 7:19 (at least from I can tell from my own blog!) by a few moments.

I took the next Orange Line train and getting onto the train made me smile. There seemed to be a mad dash to get a seat today. It reminded me of musical chairs. It was like the music had stopped and we all had to scramble to get a seat to stay in the game.

And the people who didn't get a seat weren't happy....