Cold Car Part 2

I think the cold car was back today but it wasn't as cold as it was on Friday.

I sat in it the entire trip...which made for a very cold morning.

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Departure Time From Home: 6:30
Departure Time From Train Station 6:59
Arrival Time at North Station: 7:41
Weather as I call it: Sunny Cold 20s
Shady Gas Price: $3.09
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: No

Who Ordered The Cold Car?

I got on the train as I normally do - using the middle entrance rather than the front or rear doors. I noticed something as I walked down the aisle of the train car...it was more empty than usual and it was dreadfully silent.

The white noise from the heater fans was missing. As I sat down in my seat, I felt the chill in the air. It was cold. There was a maintenance worker trying to fix the heater, but it was no use.

I guess he saw me blowing on my fist to keep warm and addressed me personally to let me know that the heat was working in the other cars.

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Departure Time From Home: 6:30
Departure Time From Train Station 6:59
Arrival Time at North Station: 7:40
Weather as I call it: Cold, but no snow.
Shady Gas Price: $3.13
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 3
Feared for my life: No

Shoveling And Switching

I got up at 5 AM so I could shovel out the driveway and get to work at a decent hour. I had meetings that started at 9AM and I felt that if I could get on a train before 7:30, I would be able to get to the office on time.

I finished shoveling around 6:30 and got ready to go to work.

I got to the train station in plenty of time and the train was running on schedule.

Then, we got to Wilmington and there was a switch problem. Conductors actually got out of the train and flipped the switch manually.

We got to North Station at 8:50. I hoofed it to the office and was there by 9:05...

Let's make it a dry week next week.

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Departure Time From Home: 6:52
Departure Time From Train Station 7:27
Arrival Time at North Station: 8:50
Weather as I call it: Light snow to clearing skies and sun
Shady Gas Price: $3.13
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 4.5
Feared for my life: Nah

Rude Dude

There's this dude who rides the train with me and he is the master of taking up a two seater with his ass (shifted sideways) and his bag.

He makes it so no one can sit next to him.

He always has his laptop open and I am sure he's looking at porn or something.

He drinks huge amounts of diet coke and eats Dorito-like chips before 7AM.

He's a jerk....and a rude dude.

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Departure Time From Home: 6:30
Departure Time From Train Station 6:59
Arrival Time at North Station: 7:41
Weather as I call it: Cold 20s
Shady Gas Price: $3.09
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: No

Just A Little Snow This Time Around

Man, this is becoming the winter of snow. Even though there was a dusting on the ground, it snarled traffic pretty fiercely.

Now, I was pretty much unaffected by the snow. It felt like a regular day except that I paid for my parking via an envelope and not using the slot "machine".

Thursday should be worse...

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Departure Time From Home: 6:30
Departure Time From Train Station 6:59
Arrival Time at North Station: 7:42
Weather as I call it: Light snow
Shady Gas Price: $3.09
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: No

The Cold Can Slow Things Down

I pulled into the train station parking lot and saw an inbound train slowing rolling down the tracks. Uh oh, I thought. The trains must be running late.

Thankfully, my train station has an indoor facility where one can be sheltered from the cold.

My train was only delayed by 10 minutes...but it was slow moving and I got into North Station about 20 minutes late.

I was warm throughout most of the ride. So, I'll take it.

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Departure Time From Home: 6:31
Departure Time From Train Station 7:11
Arrival Time at North Station: 8:02
Weather as I call it: Cold. -10°F when I left the house.
Shady Gas Price: $3.09
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 3
Feared for my life: No

Make Some Adjustments

So I got up an hour early to deal with the snow and get to work at a reasonable time.

I think with a little preparation, you can make it to work with no issues with snowfall that is less than 5 inches.

I got to the train station with no delay. It's a different crowd at 6AM than 7AM. They are tougher and they seem to know each other. I felt like I was intruding; they could tell I wasn't a regular.


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Departure Time From Home: 5:37
Departure Time From Train Station 6:28
Arrival Time at North Station: 7:09
Weather as I call it: Snow
Shady Gas Price: $3.05
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: No

Sha-now

Ah, more snow. Or sha-now like my little daughter calls it. There was only a light covering of the roads and cars when I walked out this morning, but it didn't stop the schools in my town from closing.

The roads for the most part were fine. Right before the train station, I did tap my brakes and I started a small skid...nothing to write home about but it happened.


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Departure Time From Home: 6:32
Departure Time From Train Station 6:59
Arrival Time at North Station: 7:41
Weather as I call it: Snow.
Shady Gas Price: $3.09
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: No

If I Were Driving The Whole Way

Today would be a great day for commuting if I were driving the whole way. I don't anymore and I didn't make a special arrangement today.

The air was cold and the chill was bad for the most part on my walk. There were a few other souls on the streets, but for the most part it was me and the walk signals.

I wish we had today off. It would have been nice to sleep in a little longer.

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Departure Time From Home: 6:30
Departure Time From Train Station 6:59
Arrival Time at North Station: 7:40
Weather as I call it: Cold, sunny, some wind
Shady Gas Price: $3.09
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: No

I Think Someone Is Messing With Me

So the car that I thought never moved...has moved.

When the train rolled by it this morning, it was turned around and facing the opposite direction.

Two things...either the car is parked the exact same way every morning...which is not impossible, but improbable...

Or someone is messing with me.

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Departure Time From Home: 6:24
Departure Time From Train Station 6:59
Arrival Time at North Station: 7:40
Weather as I call it: Cold, windy, blagh
Shady Gas Price: $3.05
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: No

Unmoved Car

Hey - I'm back...not that you missed me.

There's this car that the train passes every day and it hasn't moved in months. It's a late model (I like typing 'late model' - I sound like a police officer), black Honda Accord and it's parked in a lot near the Grossman Marketing Group building. I think Steve Grossman owns the company. He's a our new Treasurer, you know.

It's a nice car. It pains me to think it has been abandoned.

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Departure Time From Home: 6:32
Departure Time From Train Station 6:59
Arrival Time at North Station: 7:41
Weather as I call it: Cold, 20s Partly Sunny
Shady Gas Price: $3.05
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: No