No, you're the worst!

So I've returned from the Big Apple and will definitely blog about it here soon, but in the meantime, I read this article in the Washington Post today that seems appropriate for my recent trip and my new love of public transit visits to other cities!

I do think above all, DC has one of the cleanest public transit systems in the country and it's not as bad as people think it is in terms of delays, track issues, etc.. Even with all my complaining, I still ride it and support its improvement and upkeep! 

Overall, the DC Metro definitely has more challenges than other cities do in working with two different states, the Federal government and all the jurisdictions it reaches in its 117-mile radial span. Funding, maintenance, emergencies, infrastructure, and expansion planning all can be put to a halt by one of the governing bodies, no matter how good of an idea it truly is. Ugh -- politics!

NY, NY

I'm headed to New York City this weekend for the first time in 2 years and the first time since I started this blog, so we'll see if I have any travel woes or issues getting there (via Amtrak train) or around the city (yay, subway!) I'm staying in Brooklyn so there will definitely be some public transit going on and hopefully, there is success!

See ya on the flip side, Tina!

Good morning

So today, I walked to work. No, not the whole way from my house to Washington. I decided to make the trek from Union Station to my work. I sometimes do this, especially as the weather gets warmer or I am able to catch an earlier train. It's only about a mile and when the weather is nice, it's a pretty decent way to wake myself up after the lull of the train, or just get some fresh air and exercise. 

I typically walk along Massachusetts Avenue which is going through a lot of change and construction up at the 395 interchange. I write this post not because it has something to do with transit (it does, a little...) but because there's another reason I enjoy the walk to work when I do it.

Just past Union Station, if you exit to the west side of the station, along Mass. Ave. on the Postal Museum side of the street, there usually (if not always) sits a man greeting everyone who walks by. "Good morning, young lady. How you doing? Have a nice day!" And it's said with probably the biggest smile I've ever seen. He never asks for anything, he just wants to offer up his happy outlook of the day laid before us all. 

And you know, sometimes in life, it's easy to rush by, ignore the hello or questions from the folks you'll pass in any city setting, but when I make that walk from Union Station to my work down Mass. Ave., it makes my day to see him and hear his voice. And you know what else I've learned? I've learned that saying "Hi! Good morning. You too!" back makes him smile even bigger. 

Maybe one day I'll stop and ask his name, take his picture so you too can see his smile, or perhaps the anonymity of it is what makes it so pure and genuine. I wish we all, all the time, could stop and say hello back to whomever is speaking to us. I wish it weren't strange to do so, or our lives less hectic than just trying to rush along to the next thing on the schedule. 

Anyway, I write about this because even though I commute on mass public transit, and the mornings and evenings are typically fast-paced and hurried, that sometimes by getting to and from work this way, makes me, at least, stop and think about the larger picture of life and how we all operate in this world day to day. And the brightest spot of this continually spinning journey is sometimes just a simple "Good morning". 

Not my fault

You know what's not my fault? You not getting up when the doors open at a Metro station you need to get off at and it's rush hour. You waiting 5-10 seconds AFTER the doors open and then trying to push your way through all the people trying to board the train at a busy platform is not my fault. It's DEFINITELY not my fault that I saw you coming, turned around to see if I could step back on the platform to give you room and all I see is a sea of people rushing towards the interior of the Metro car. Eventually I am able to clear room to get back on the platform, out of the Metro car, so you may exit. Also, not my fault. But you felt it necessary to yell, in a not-so-nice tone, "EXCUSE ME!" like it WAS my fault.

I'll chock it up to a bad morning for you. Even a bad week perhaps. So, I'll forgive you for placing undue blame on me, the simple Local-motive Girl just trying to get to work on a Thursday.

On the express train to DC town

Sorry, it's been a busy couple of days this past week or so with a conference in Baltimore, MD to start my week and now I'm playing catch up before all the holidays start tomorrow (Passover, newphew's birthday and Easter - phew!). 

Anyway, an update to the experiment I did a few weeks ago -- I actually timed the "Express train" the P878 to see how much time it actually takes off a one-way trip to DC from Germantown, MD. 

Again, I took a screen shot of my timer and drum roll, please...

It saves approximately 3 minutes and 15 seconds off a normal one-way trip. Again, the first time I did this, we did sit at Union Station for a bit before finally coming to the platform, but still, that means I save 2,762 and 1/2 minutes of my life if I take that train daily; 46 hours or almost 2 days worth. That's a mini-vacation I could be taking! :) But in all seriousness -- I'm happy getting up a bit earlier to get to work a bit earlier and savor a bit more of this wonderful thing called daylight when I get home in the evening. 

Anyway, I have some blog topics living in my head I hope to talk, er, I mean, write about here soon. In the meantime, here's an article I saw a few weeks back that could be fodder for us DC commuters: 

http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/26083/heres-where-metro-railcars-go-after-they-die/

The weekend is almost here!