Trials of Transportation

Like most New Yorkers, I use public transportation basically every day. And like most New Yorkers, I have a love-hate relationship with the MTA (Metropolitan Transportation Association). I LOVE not having to drive a car, but sometimes the subway system and bus system in this city really ...suck. 

Today was one of those sucky days. I left for work at Columbia two hours early. While it only takes 45 minutes to get from Brooklyn to Columbia on a good day, it will most likely take an hour to 95 minutes most days. So I take the Q at Parkside, transfer at 42nd street to the 1, and everything's going smoothly. 

At 96th street (THREE stops away from Columbia), the train sits in the station for five minutes. The conductor comes on: "Ladies and Gentlemen, this train is being held in the station. We expect to be moving shortly. We apologize for any inconvenience." This is a standard message you hear a lot - it could mean the train will actually be moving shortly, or it could mean the train will sit here for another 45 minutes. 

I was doing OK on time, so I decided to just wait and see what happened. 

Twenty minutes later, and two identical announcements later, the conductor announces: "Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the last stop on this train. Please exit the train." 

Exasperated sighs and exclamations from everyone on the train, including me. I have to walk approximately 20 minutes from 96th to get to Columbia, and I will have to hustle to make it there before my class starts in 40 minutes, because I still have some prep to do. 

So I get off the train, exit the station, and see that the m104 bus is waiting right there, which will get me to Columbia faster. Yay! I run to catch it (as do a lot of other people who got off the train with me), and we just barely make it in time. As we're pulling away from the curb, an angry white dude comes up to the side of the bus and starts yelling at the bus driver to stop, so that he can get on. She waves at him to show that no more people can get on the bus because it's too full already. He punches the window - hard - and breaks the glass on the bus window! 

SO, now the bus driver has to call in the harassment and damage to the bus, and all of the passengers of the bus have to exit, since the bus is now out of service. Hooray!!

I basically jog/walk all the way up the 20 blocks to get to Columbia. And then I spend 10 minutes posting this blog post about my morning (I still have 10 minutes left before class)! 

And that was an example of a more frustrating Friday morning commute. 

It's almost Saturday. BYE! 

Unknown subway stories

Today, on the 30-minute ride home from 34th street to Parkside Avenue, the woman sitting next to me stared at a picture on her phone of a pregnant woman. She repeatedly zoomed in and out on the same picture for the whole ride, as she cried quietly to herself.

Coordinated

As I took the subway home from work this afternoon, I realized that my outfit matched my book! My first thought was: I am SO posting this on Instagram! But then I decided to put it on the blog instead. 

As soon as I came in the door, I made Ari take a picture of my fabulous, accidental coordination. I'm not sure if the picture below captures the true synchronicity of the colors. Also, there's a cat tail throwing off the vibe. 

Here's another shot I took on the subway. Yes, it was kind of awkward photographing my own lap on a crowded train. But this needed to be done! 

I now consider the significance of this event to have been sufficiently discussed and documented.

Old stuff is cool

I guess the coolness of looking at old stuff is the basic premise of most museums. And it certainly applies to the Transit Museum in Brooklyn. Ari and I were free this Saturday, so we decided to make the relatively short trek out to see this place, which was recommended by my friend Jenny as a fun, cheap way to spend an afternoon.

And it was! The best part is the lower level, where they have all these subway cars from different decades lined up along the platform (the whole museum is a converted subway station from the thirties). You can get on each one and see ads from that time period.

This ad was my favorite (dating from some time in the 40s or 50s, I believe):

The most remarkably different train cars were the wooden ones from the 1910's. So rustic! With wicker seats! 

At the end of the trip, I made Ari pitch in for a "Q" subway magnet for our fridge. That's the subway line that stops closest to our apartment (Parkside Ave.), and it's basically one of the best lines there is in the city, considering it runs express into Manhattan, and rarely has delays. Thanks, Q! 

Amusing Subway Story of the Day

Today, I rode the subway next to a lady wearing a black fur coat. And in her arms, camouflaged into the coat, was a black rabbit. She kept talking to it to calm it down (it was, understandably, freaked out about being on the subway), and when I made conversation by asking its name, I was informed it was called "Bunny Buns."

The best part, though, was the toddler who kept yelling "Bow wow!" at it.