Inbound/Outbound: April 2004

Friday, April 30, 2004

Outbound

Another week is done. I really need to get this sleep-thing under control. Given the new conductor has already noticed my sleeping habits, this is getting crazy. At least I got some sleep on the way home and it is Friday. Maybe I can catch up over the weekend.

Posted at 08:52 PM

Inbound

Happy Friday. I think things are starting to calm down (number of passengers-wise). While I did not get a seat to myself, it was definitely feeling lighter. We arrived in the city just about on time, so that is a good thing. Other than that.... Hopefully the evening ride goes just about as well.

Posted at 08:18 AM

Thursday, April 29, 2004

Outbound

Aside from getting on the train and passing out, there is not really much to report. That is probably a good thing.

Posted at 07:24 PM

Inbound

I grabbed a spot on the platform today. Call me a bit surprised. I probably left a bit more room around my car than necessary but there would not have been enough room left for another car so I figured I might as well take up the space. The ride was pretty quiet otherwise. At least it was a newer train so the ride was not as uncomfortable. We were still pretty well packed in.

Posted at 09:25 AM

Wednesday, April 28, 2004

Outbound

So I had to leave early today for a doctor's appointment. I wanted to make sure that I would not be late so I caught a train that left me some wiggle room, just in case. They are relaying tiles on the platform (so you do not slide off the edge, I guess) so the pickup location was moved. I helped lead a guy in the right direction (and an employee also confirmed it). I ran into one of the regulars from the evening train. She too was running out a bit early. It took a few stops but I finally fell asleep and woke up a few stops before the end. The conductor called last stop. Wait a minute; we were not at the last stop yet. Apparently, the freight train people were doing track repairs and were running late. We had to be bused to our destination. Not amused! I have jokingly said to run for it just to make sure we got seats. She actually started to run and so did I. The train people redeemed themselves by providing different vans to each of the remaining stops. So, all in all, I got home only about 10 minutes later than I expected. That really was not that bad.

Posted at 04:48 PM

Inbound

The parking lot was a bit more filled than usual. I broke out the weather shoes because of the crazy rain we had last night. I parked under the trees because the only spot that was left was in the mud hole. I guess a non-regular rider thought the spot was safe (low to the ground car) and tried to back into the spot. That was a load bang. Oops. I hope he did not break anything. An old train showed up and for whatever reason, we got squashed in about halfway through the stops. We crawled between the second and third stops again. What is going on? I guess the train people are working on the tracks or something. We were about 10 minutes late getting into the city.

Posted at 08:44 AM

Tuesday, April 27, 2004

Outbound

I was just thinking yesterday how the new conductor is very different (in personality) from the previous. Sure enough, one of the regulars made a similar comment. It is really not a bad thing. It is just different. I wonder if he will be back.

Posted at 08:33 PM

Inbound

Looks like the new crew will continue to leave the yard at a few minutes before the departure time as opposed to the 10 minute mark. That kind of change is enough to confuse people as we start to think something is wrong. One of the graduate students got confused. She did not know about the schedule change. Good thing I told her otherwise she might have had a problem in the afternoon since she leaves off peak. There seems to be work on the tracks or something because we crawled between the second and third stops. I hope they do not keep this up too long.

Posted at 07:59 AM

Monday, April 26, 2004

Outbound

It was the first day with the new conductor. I am not sure about this one yet. He is not a showman like the previous. So we will have to wait and see. At least I got some sleep in.

Posted at 07:53 PM

Inbound

Even though it was a gloomy Monday morning, I got a spot to myself on the train. I guess things are looking up. Things were quiet. Today was the first day of the new schedules and crew. I think the conductor that handles my car must have been on the route before. He looks familiar. He may have been the same guy that was there my first day working in the city.

Posted at 08:53 AM

Friday, April 23, 2004

Outbound

Goodbye evening conductor (for now). I think he may be back in the fall, for some reason. I slept most of the way home. It was a quiet ride otherwise. I have to stop at the store on the way home, which I would have rather avoided but I must complete my errands and things.

Posted at 07:43 PM

Inbound

Happy Friday! At least the ride was quiet. Third time's the charm I guess. I was willing to bet that "things come in threes" instead. I do not think I could have taken another day of chaos. We even arrived just about on time too. Good way to start the day.

Posted at 09:08 AM

Thursday, April 22, 2004

Outbound

I just found out the conductor that handles my home train is switching routes! UGH! I will have to make friends with someone new starting Monday. I did not even realize that there was a new schedule coming out until this morning. And, they actually changed the off-peak trains by 15 minutes. I thought that was unheard of. Something is up I guess. At least they did not remove an trains. I have to leave early next week for a routine doctor's appointment. The funny part is that I think the new off-peak schedule will work out better. Go figure.

Posted at 08:19 PM

Inbound

Looks like we are "0 for 2". The train was a few minutes later pulling out of the yard and as I walked toward it (the lot was full so I parked under the trees), I saw sparks flying out from under the front of the train. I think I started pointing at it. The engineer just about stopped where I was standing and stuck his head out the window to say something was wrong. Ok, so I was not seeing things. The outbound train pulled up a few minutes later and a few conductors and engineers were trying to survey the problem. All I know is that I thought I heard chains and smelled something burning. Surprisingly, they put us on the train that had just arrived and off we went (late, but better than never). The broken train was blocking the yard so I guess there was no other choice. Boy we were packed in like sardines and there was some fluffle at the front between a few passengers. I did not catch what they were saying. I actually turned in a "ride guaranty" for today and yesterday. So we will see what that is all about. Since things have a tendency to come in threes....

Posted at 09:47 AM

Wednesday, April 21, 2004

Outbound

We made good time coming home tonight. That was helpful since I needed to run to the store to pick up a birthday present for my dad. The ride was pretty uneventful and I woke up with a few stops to go so I could pull myself together. I had a quick conversation with the conductor about the morning's events. I guess the world was not too disrupted by it all. Other than that...

Posted at 08:23 PM

Inbound

It was set up to be a strange morning from the start I guess. It was raining and I was running late. Anyway, a few minutes after getting to the station, I started to notice the train was not pulling out of the yard. An announcement came over the PA system that we had to board from the outbound tracks. OK! We all walked across - slippery was it was. A few stragglers were confused but we flagged them to come over. One girl did end up slipping on the rails. She was ok, thank goodness. Turned out there was a wire down right at the next station. That explained it because we were taking bets as to what craziness was going on. Hopefully things will be fixed by the evening. I spent most of the ride in talking to the girl (who fell). She has become a regular within the last month or so but we really had not spoken much. It was a nice change.

Posted at 08:56 AM

Tuesday, April 20, 2004

Outbound

The conductor was giving me a hard time about sleeping as much on the train as I do. I guess I have not been as much sleep lately (need a new bed) so by the end of the day, I am beat. Hopefully one of these days I will be able to catch up.

Posted at 07:20 PM

Inbound

It was a quiet ride in. One of the regulars bought a new car. It is a serious car and definately does not deserve to sit the mud hole, but it does. We made good time and that was the important part.

Posted at 10:05 AM

Monday, April 19, 2004

Outbound

I must have been tired tonight. I remember being about halfway home and then suddenly we were just leaving the second to last stop. Goodness! Come to think of it, we made excellent time. We pulled into the station nearly 5 minutes earlier than usual. That made for an excellent end to the day.

Posted at 08:04 PM

Inbound

The parking lot was relatively full this morning. I noticed a few regulars had caught the super early train. I ended up parking under the trees because the only mud hole spot left was in the hole itself. No big deal. An old train showed up at the station. The funny thing was that there was writing on the ceiling marking where leaks previously showed up. One was dated recently and said it was major. Good thing it was not raining otherwise we probably would have been flooded.

Posted at 09:33 AM

Friday, April 16, 2004

Outbound

The trip home was pretty uneventful except for the guy that dropped his lunch bag on me. Granted I was slumped over in my seat but still, is it really that difficult to look before you drop? No damage done, just startled me a bit (and him for that matter).

Posted at 07:48 PM

Inbound

At least it was not mushy this morning. I had the morning to myself since my dad took the day off. I left a bit early this morning and made it to the parking lot before anyone else took a spot in the mud hole. That was nice. The train was pretty chatty this morning. I tried to read my school material but it was difficult to concentrate. I guess people do not realize.

Posted at 10:40 AM

Thursday, April 15, 2004

Outbound

I missed my usual train by a few minutes tonight. I thought I was going to stay late to finish up some work, but it did not end up working out as planned. Oh well. So I caught my old-faithful local. We made decent time and it was more crowded than I remember. I did not get much sleep in because I did not originally get the window seat. What can you do? And when I finally did, there was a seat jumper that decided to grab the seat next to me. After a few stops he jumped again. Strange.

Posted at 07:56 PM

Inbound

I forgot it was going to be another wet morning. I back in between two cars again today. It was on the tight side but I made it. I was actually proud of myself. Anyway, the ride was fine and I did not squished next to another character. That definitely made for a more pleasant ride in.

Posted at 09:04 AM

Wednesday, April 14, 2004

Outbound

Even though today was not as crazy as previous days, I was still ready to go home by the end of the day. I fell asleep pretty quickly once I finished my tea. I put a lid on it so I could walk it down to the platform. That just about worked. Since I had opened the sip part, I got slightly splashed. The ride was fine but the weather continued to be wet. I guess you cannot have it both ways.

Posted at 07:18 PM

Inbound

Yet another mushy morning. And a strange one at that too. The train was a few minutes later leaving the yard and there seemed to be more people than usual. Anyway, I am still feeling somewhat off so I really was not in the best of moods this morning. A guy sat down next to me that actually had more bags than me (scary). He proceeds to read over the shoulder of the person in front of us. Like I said, not in the best of moods to have someone slightly in my space. After a few minutes of this, he actually asks the guy in front of us if he can borrow a section of the paper (even though he had his own). It was just too random.

Posted at 10:55 AM

Tuesday, April 13, 2004

Outbound

By the end of today, I was definately ready to go home. The last two days were packed with work and by the end of it, I think I am coming down with a cold. We caught the early express even with a quick stop at a food shop in the station to pick up a bottle of water. On the way down, we ran into a regular from my station. My cohort and I were talking about our project and wouldn't you know she was working on a similar project with her office. Small world. You can learn interesting things about other people while mingling with out train people.

Posted at 07:07 PM

Inbound

I am not a fan of mushy mornings. I hope my car does not sink in later. There are severe weather warnings posted for today. The ride was fine otherwise. We did crawl for between a few stops. I was not sure if it was weather related or signal problems. Either way, we arrived just about on time.

Posted at 07:58 AM

Monday, April 12, 2004

Outbound

By the end of the day, I was super tired so I was ready to go home. My cohort actually joined me on the way home. I think he got the subtle notice as I was packing up and talking to my boss. The conductor was poking fun at my cohort for keeping me up chatting longer than usual. It has been a busy day and we needed to catch up on a few things. I did catch a few minutes of sleep. I just about fell over.

Posted at 08:29 PM

Inbound

Monday's are always difficult. My dad stayed home today so I was able to drive straight to the train station. The train pulled into the station a few minutes early. And, at least to make things fun, it was a Jerry Garcia train. A happy way to start the day.

Posted at 08:13 AM

Friday, April 09, 2004

Outbound

Being the holiday and all, I was able to leave it a bit early. Had I put 2-and-2 together earlier, I might have been able to catch an earlier train. No big deal. I guess everyone had left earlier because I was able to keep a 2-seater to myself. I guess with all the daylight, I was not able to catch much sleep. The seats were not all that comfortable either as it was one of those old trains. They must keep the newer trains for the rush hour routes.

Posted at 06:29 PM

Inbound

Looks like half the city has off today. The city offices are closed and there will not be trash pickup either. I dropped my father off at his station and headed in. I was carrying an extra heavy bag this morning (long story) so I was really hoping no one would ask me to move it. The train came in with only 3 out of 5 cars. I talked to the conductor for a bit. In the end, I had to hold the bag on my lap. That was easier said than done. Oh well. At least he left with the first city stop so I could get myself up before the rush for my stop.

Posted at 10:27 AM

Thursday, April 08, 2004

Outbound

I caught the train home by myself tonight. I thought I was going to have to stay late to finish up some work stuff. Luckily I finished up what I needed to and could head home. I did stop at Wal-Mart, which was fun in the pouring rain, only to find out they did not have what I was looking for. Grumble!!! I picked up a few Easter trinkets instead.

Posted at 08:06 PM

Inbound

I thought we were not going to work today. The train was late (for it) pulling out of the yard. I do not think it pulled out until 6:34, which is when we are supposed to be leaving the station. All things considered, we made it into the city just about on time. It was a full train, not overcrowded. Surprisingly, the parking lot was pretty full. The banker could not grab his usual spot as someone else had already taken it. No worries, he parked next to me in the mud hole. Even I had to take a different mud hole position. I thought everyone would be on vacation this week???

Posted at 08:10 AM

Wednesday, April 07, 2004

Outbound

I caught the train by myself tonight because my cohort had a late, end-of-the-day meeting. I grabbed a 2-seater and settled down for my nap. All was basically quiet. Boy does that position get uncomfortable at times. We made good time but had to walk further up the tracks to cross because the next inbound train was already at the station waiting for passengers. One of these days, I am going to break my neck walking over the stones. While there is an under-track crossing tunnel, the steps are so steep that it is hard to use. As long as I am wearing decent shoes, it really is not a problem.

Posted at 08:21 PM

Inbound

The parking lot was pretty full this morning. I ended up parking under the trees instead of the mud hole, as there were not any spots left (that did not require scraping the underside of my car). No big deal. It was a full house but the important thing was that we arrived just about on time. That is always a good way to start the morning.

Posted at 08:34 AM

Tuesday, April 06, 2004

Outbound

I caught the early express home by myself tonight. I do not think I could have stood up much longer. I hope I get used to this daylight saving time thing soon. Even with following a local for part of the trip, we still made decent time. I managed to get some sleep in until my legs stiffen up. One of the regulars was joking with me about making sure I did not sleep through the last stop. No worries there.

Posted at 08:41 PM

Inbound

There seemed to be a lot more people at my stop this morning than usual. I have no idea what that was all about? For the second day in a row, I grabbed a spot on the platform. With no painted lines, it can be difficult to tell if I can squeeze in or not. That is also based on the problem that people leave tons of room between cars at times. I was parked across from one guy that refused to turn off his headlights. Now that was fun to look at. I probably should have flashed him to get the point across. I will have to remember that one for next time. Other than that, we were pretty packed in this morning. I guess everyone just oversleep yesterday as the only other thing I could think of was spring vacations.

Posted at 08:35 AM

Monday, April 05, 2004

Outbound

My cohort and I caught the early express home tonight. I do not think either of us could stand up much longer (daylight savings time just hit us). The train came in on the other track. That is always enough to mess everyone up. Then again, it is also fun to watch everyone scurry for it too. Other than that...

Posted at 07:15 PM

Inbound

I am definitely not a fan of this whole Daylight Savings Time thing. Getting up at 5:00 A.M. felt like 4:00 A.M. That was not a pleasant feeling. I think people are either on vacation or they overslept this morning because things were pretty quiet. A lady was sitting in a 3-seater near me and was acting strangely. She was moving around more that I do and moved into the middle position for what seemed like no reason as there was plenty of room. The best I can figure out was that she was expecting someone to join her. Needless to say, she freaked out the guy sitting next to her. It is just too early for silliness like that.

Posted at 08:29 AM

Friday, April 02, 2004

Outbound

I ended up catching the train home by myself tonight. It has been a long week and I wanted to get home. I also had to run to the store. Anyway, it was a quiet ride and the only bad part was that it was raining when we reached the last stop. YUCK! I do know know if next week is going to be any better.

Posted at 09:14 PM

Inbound

Well that was a twist! I had taken the train home by myself last night but my cohort showed up on my early express this morning. I tried banging on the window to get his attention but he did not seem to hear me. The guy in front of me did. Oops. Anyway, he did find me and we shared my two-seater. Actually, that was a good thing so that I did not have to share with some strange stranger.

Posted at 08:33 AM

Thursday, April 01, 2004

Outbound

The conductor decided to play "April Fools" on us passengers in the last car. He made an announcement, after we had been sitting for what felt like a few extra minutes at the last city stop, that we would be sitting for the next hour!!! Needless to say, a few seconds later he shouts out "April Fools". Joke was on him because 25 minutes into the trip, it becomes evident that we have to follow a local the whole way home. We ended up being about 10 minutes late arriving in the end. Self-fulfilling prophecy I think. At least I was able to get some sleep. He ended up joking with me yet again about my sleeping. Other passengers must thing we are crazy or something.

Posted at 07:43 PM

Inbound

It is a happy morning, despite the rain, when a Gerry Garcia train shows up. I have not seen one of those in a while. At least the seats were comfortable with the extra packing in we had to do because there are less seats. I even managed to get some school reading done and did not get elbowed. Now that was a nice surprise.

Posted at 08:03 AM