Free Coffee at North Station

...or at least across the street from it.

Chinet is promoting their new "comfort cup". They were handing out free coffee to show off how their new cup would save your hand from the burning sensation of hot liquids.

I think the cup is okay. Not sure if it is recyclable...If not, you are probably better off with a travel mug you can use over and over.

The cup kept my hands from getting burnt. The coffee wasn't that hot though...I would like to test it on near boiling liquids.

I took the free coffee and the coupon.

There were some dudes handing out Sox schedules near Faneuil Hall. I declined.

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Departure Time From Home: 6:50 - got out of the house early
Departure Time From Train Station 7:26
Arrival Time at North Station: 8:05
Weather as I call it: Cloudy. No rain yet.
Shady Gas Price: $2.71
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: No

Wrecks Near The Rails

There is an old truck. Must be from the 1940s or so. It is sitting there rusting on the side of the tracks between Woburn and Winchester.

You think with so much visibility that someone would make somebody junk it?

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Departure Time From Home: 6:39
Departure Time From Train Station 6:59
Arrival Time at North Station: 7:42
Weather as I call it: Cloudy, 30s
Shady Gas Price: $2.71
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: No

Shaking Hands At North Station

I think the biggest news from today is that Martha Coakley was at North Station shaking hands with commuters. I even saw some dude walk up to her and give her a big kiss on the cheek.

Too bad it was too little too late.

The other tidbit:
I had voted right as the polls opened and just made my train.


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Departure Time From Home: 6:50
Departure Time From Train Station 7:26
Arrival Time at North Station: 8:05
Weather as I call it: Light rain
Shady Gas Price: $2.71
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life:

Well I Had To Work

I woke up to find 4 inches of wet snow on the ground. I got the shovel and started clearing off the steps and the cars and found the asphalt of the driveway.

I left the house thinking I could make the train that leaves N. Billerica station around the 8 o'clock hour...but I just missed it.

As I walked up to the station, the warning tones started to ring and I knew I was too late.

I had to wait around the station until 8:33. Fun times. I did meet up with an ex-coworker..so that did make the time go by a bit.

As we parted ways on the Orange line, he said, "Enjoy your holiday..."

I said, you too. Hey, I had to work today.

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Departure Time From Home: 7:26
Departure Time From Train Station 8:33
Arrival Time at North Station: 9:07
Weather as I call it: Snow, sometimes rain, windy
Shady Gas Price: $2.71 CRAP!
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 5
Feared for my life: Once. Had to brake. Started to slide.

Sharing My Seat

I could probably write a whole post about people who share a seat with me on the commuter rail. I will wait until I have a few weeks worth of data to do the post some justice.

An elderly couple sat next to me today...both an old man and lady sat with me until the older woman decided that sitting that close to me wasn't a good experience.

I guess I smell. I don't know. I have a story like this one every day.

Anyway, it sounded like they were going to Boston for a hospital visit. I wished them the best of luck.

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Departure Time From Home: 6:55
Departure Time From Train Station 7:26
Arrival Time at North Station: 8:07
Weather as I call it: Sunny but cold. 20s
Shady Gas Price: $2.69
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: Nah

Just Getting Progressively Colder

Not sure why, but today it felt a lot colder. The wind was blowing right through me.

The walk from my car to the train platform was especially brutal.

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Departure Time From Home: 6:55
Departure Time From Train Station 7:26
Arrival Time at North Station: 8:03
Weather as I call it: Sunny, but windy/cold
Shady Gas Price: $2.63
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 3
Feared for my life: No

Tried an Earlier Train

The baby woke us up at 4:30 this morning. Since I was up and had nothing else to do, I got the earlier train into Boston. Totally different scene...much quieter...but only 27 minutes apart.


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Departure Time From Home: 6:35
Departure Time From Train Station 6:59
Arrival Time at North Station: 7:43
Weather as I call it: Sunny. Blinding at times. Cold
Shady Gas Price: $2.63
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: No

Not In Such A Rush Today

Left the house earlier this morning..which was nice. I didn't feel like I had to speed down the roads to get to the station.

Leaving earlier makes my commute shorter because less people are on the roads before 7 than after 7. Gotta remember that.

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Departure Time From Home: 6:55
Departure Time From Train Station 7:26
Arrival Time at North Station: 8:07
Weather as I call it: Cold, cloudy, but no wind.
Shady Gas Price: $2.63
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: No

First Commute of 2010

YEAH! That's what I am typing about. As you may or may not know, I changed jobs last month and had two(ish) weeks to get my commute down via the commuter rail.

It seemed pretty quiet. Not a lot of people. Good times.

Today was a different story. Everyone was back from vacation...but I am getting ahead of myself.

I left the house a little late. The traffic volume last week would allow me to leave the house after 7AM without any problems...but this morning the traffic was 3 times what it was last week. I barely had enough time to park and pay for my spot when the train arrive. Note to self: Need to leave the house later tomorrow.

Lots of people at the station waiting for the train. I got a seat without any trouble...

Train got to North Station without any major delays. I hope that is always the case!

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Departure Time From Home: 7:04
Departure Time From N. Billerica Station 7:26
Arrival Time at North Station: 8:08
Weather as I call it: Seasonal temps - 20s, Sunny.
Shady Gas Price: $2.59
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: Nah.