Summer Keeps Going Strong

Pretty soupy this morning. A little bit of rain, but mostly muggy stuff.

Had little kids running up and down the train aisle today. The guy next to me thought it was funny. He was laughing a little bit.

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Departure Time From Home: 6:34
Departure Time From Train Station 6:59
Arrival Time at North Station: 7:40
Weather as I call it: Muggy
Shady Gas Price: $2.67
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 3
Feared for my life: No

Changed Template

Hey - New look and feel for the old driving to work blog. Just couldn't resist blogger any longer. So now you can read my updates in a whole new way. Wow.


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Departure Time From Home: 6:36
Departure Time From Train Station 7:01
Arrival Time at North Station: 7:43
Weather as I call it: Sunny, dry, not humid at all, low 60s
Shady Gas Price: $2.67
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: No

Pay For Parking Online

The MBTA is announcing the ability to pay for parking online and through your mobile device. The first time I heard about the program was from a card that some dude handed me at North Station. He was wearing a fluorescent green shirt and he was being ignored mostly by fellow commuters. I guess people thought he was handing out free stuff.

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Departure Time From Home: 6:32
Departure Time From Train Station 6:59
Arrival Time at North Station: 7:40
Weather as I call it: Sunny, 60s
Shady Gas Price: $2.67
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: No

Vocal Conductor

Over the past week, there has been a vocal and overly-appreciative conductor on my train. She has been thanking people left and right for their tickets, with cheerful words of thanks.

Not sute if I believe it, but it's better than the normal groans.

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Departure Time From Home: 6:33
Departure Time From Train Station 6:59
Arrival Time at North Station: 7:42
Weather as I call it: Sunny
Shady Gas Price: $2.67
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: No

Shouldn't Daydream on the Highway

I wasn't paying attention and missed my exit on the highway on my way to the train station this morning. It wasn't a huge deal because there are a couple of ways to get to the train station, but one way is quicker than the other. It forced me to park in the upper parking lot rather than the lower one, which is better for exiting for many reasons.

I have settled for second best so far today.

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Departure Time From Home: 6:36
Departure Time From Train Station 6:59
Arrival Time at North Station: 7:40
Weather as I call it: Cloudy, 60s
Shady Gas Price: $2.67
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 3
Feared for my life: No

Not That I Was Grinding Anything

People will tell me to get back to the grind. I don't work in a mill. After being on vacation for a week, I can tell you the commute was as good as it could be. Everything was on time and all the old favorites were on the train again. Back to my regular routine indeed.

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Departure Time From Home: 6:36
Departure Time From Train Station 6:58
Arrival Time at North Station: 7:40
Weather as I call it: Hazy sun, 60s
Shady Gas Price: $2.67
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: Nope

Need A Ride To Maine

I saw a weird scene on the street to the train station this morning. There was a couple of women who were holding up a sign that said "Need a ride to Maine". It said some other stuff but I couldn't make it out. It was out of the ordinary. I think they were in front of the entrance to a junkyard. Yikes.

The train was less crowded today...much less than it has been all week. They finally ran a train today with 6 cars instead of 5.

The doors I usually use to get in weren't opened today, so I had to walk down a bit to use the next set of doors. I was able to get into the car I usually sit in though.

I am on vacation next week. Write to you soon.


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Departure Time From Home: 6:34
Departure Time From Train Station 7:00
Arrival Time at North Station: 7:42
Weather as I call it: Partly cloudy, a little cooler today.
Shady Gas Price: $2.69
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: No.

They Were Standing Up In Winchester

The train seemed crowded from the moment I got on. The conductors were opening up doors they don't normally open. The seats filled up quickly. People were standing once we got to Winchester Center.

The A/C was going so that the people were not overheated, but it was a full train.

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Departure Time From Home: 6:35
Departure Time From Train Station 6:58
Arrival Time at North Station: 7:42
Weather as I call it: Sunny, hot, humid
Shady Gas Price: $2.69
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: No

Hot Soup

Man it was hot today. I had to go to the post office and the bank before I got into work. I walked on the sunny side of the street. The heat was intense for 8 o'clock in the morning. Just tough for the first day back from vacation. Thankfully the A/C was working everywhere.

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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: Uh, hot
Shady Gas Price: $2.69
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 3
Feared for my life: I was hot but not dead.

Much Cooler This Morning

Much cooler this morning in terms of temperature and commute. With the Route 495 exit reopened, I can get to the train station without too much rushing. I wish that it had been open since I started working downtown.

The only drawback is the blinding sun that you encounter before the exit. Coupled with the weird lane merging, it makes for a little bit of a tense ride.

I'll take it.


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Departure Time From Home: 6:28
Departure Time From Train Station 7:01
Arrival Time at North Station: Weather as I call it: 7:44
Shady Gas Price: $2.69
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: Nope

Anotha Choo Choo Train

The kid who rides the train with us in the morning was very vocal for 7:30 in the morning. As we approached North Station, he pointed out all the trains that were parked on the sidelines.

But he was screaming!

CHOO CHOO TRAIN!

NOTHAH CHOO CHOO TRAIN!!

Wake up people, there are trains!

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Departure Time From Home: 6:33
Departure Time From Train Station 6:58
Arrival Time at North Station: 7:41
Weather as I call it: Cooler, sunny, 50s
Shady Gas Price: $2.69
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: Nope

Swampy Air

When air outside is so humid that it makes it hard to walk out of the door, you know that it is going to be a swampy ride.

One bright spot in my commute is that I believe the exit on 495 that was closed for so long has now reopened...at least it appeared that way last night while I was driving home.

I believe this development will save 5 to 10 minutes on my commute time from my home to the station. I'll try it out tomorrow.

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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: Swampy but a little better than yesterday.
Shady Gas Price: $2.69
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: No

Making The Baby Cry

There are a few moms that bring their toddlers into Boston on the train. I am pretty sure they dump them off at daycare and then they go off to work. That part has got to be tough. These kids are pretty well behaved for the most part. Sometimes they start crying on the train and it's not pleasant for anybody.

What I love is when the old ladies come over to make googly eyes at the kids and the little guys start crying. That's the best! It's a real scene. There's one lady in particular that doesn't take the hint. She keeps coming back for more. I don't think she understands that the kids don't like it.

Do us a favor and stop tormenting the kids!!

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Departure Time From Home: 6:31
Departure Time From Train Station 6:58
Arrival Time at North Station: 7:41
Weather as I call it: Sunny, hot, muggy
Shady Gas Price: $2.71
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: Nah

Bringing in the Son

There's this guy who takes the same train as me. His son has been coming in the past two days. Looks just like him but just 25-30 years younger. Doesn't wear a suit, so I'm not sure if the son is going into work with him or not.

Maybe the kid is interning for the summer.



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Departure Time From Home: 6:32
Departure Time From Train Station 6:59
Arrival Time at North Station: 7:39
Weather as I call it: Cloudy, 60s, humid
Shady Gas Price: $2.71
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: Nope

Got a Coupon For Viga

Some guy was handing out coupons for Viga and I felt bad that no one was taking them from him. So, I grabbed one.

It gives you a one dollar discount on any order but only during certain times and it expires on 7/15/10.

Looks like they're trying to get people in the door.

As for me, I don't know. Maybe I will take them up on it.



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Departure Time From Home: 6:32
Departure Time From Train Station 7:00
Arrival Time at North Station: 7:42
Weather as I call it: Sunny, 60s
Shady Gas Price: $2.71
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: No

He Lost Power

Somewhere between Wilmington and Anderson RTC, the train lost power. The engineer had to get out of the train and walk back to the motor to fix something.

He walked along the tracks to get back to the engine in back.

Then, an outbound train came clacking by. A few moments later, the engineer walked back along the train to get back to the front of the train. I guess he didn't get run over.

All in all, it was about a 5 minute delay. It could have been worse.

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Departure Time From Home: 6:30
Departure Time From Train Station 6:59
Arrival Time at North Station: 7:45
Weather as I call it: Sunny, warm, 70s
Shady Gas Price: $2.71
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 3
Feared for my life: No

In The Dust

While the train was coming into the station, North Station that is, I looked over to see another train coming in along side ours.

There was a patch of greasy dust on the side of that car. In the dust, there was a tic tac toe setup with one of the squares filled in. Beside the grid, someone had written, "Next Move".

I can't wait to see the outcome of this game. Maybe someone will win this anonymous, long distance game.

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Departure Time From Home: 6:30
Departure Time From Train Station 6:58
Arrival Time at North Station: 7:39
Weather as I call it: Sunny, getting warmer. 60s
Shady Gas Price: $2.71
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: No

Everything Went As Expected

I think the best part of the morning commute today was that everything went as expected. There were no problems getting to the highway...there was a traffic build-up once I got on the highway...and no issue getting to the parking lot.

Once I got on the train, the small children got on to make noise. Everything went as expected.

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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: Cloudy. 50s
Shady Gas Price: $2.73
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: No

Well That Was A Long Time Away

I can't believe that six weeks went by without me posting a report about my commute. Man, I got lazy...or I got busy at work. Hey, that happens.

So, I got behind some dude in a Volvo who liked to come to a dead stop on the highway. We would be in stop and go traffic...he liked to hold on to the stop portion of the traffic as long as he could. He probably was having some manual transmission issues, but it just wasn't the time to have them.

Ok, I will try to keep the content flowing now.

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Departure Time From Home: 6:33
Departure Time From Train Station 6:59
Arrival Time at North Station: 7:40
Weather as I call it: Mostly sunny, 60s
Shady Gas Price: $2.79
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 3
Feared for my life: No

No More Shouting About The Sun

I think the woman who used to sell Lowell Sun newspapers at the North Billerica train station is out of a job or something. She is no longer there shouting out, "Do you want to buy the Sun for a quarter?"

They now have a ticket booth in the train station and people can buy their newspapers there. They just place their quarter on the counter, pick up their paper, and walk away.

No more personal touch. No more shouting. They call this progress?


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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: Mostly cloudy, 40s
Shady Gas Price: $2.77
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: No