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". 

My glee was a bit premature...

So after my post yesterday, I got an alert that all MARC train service was suspended going west on the Brunswick line (my line). According to all sources I was inquiring to, everything appeared to be FUBAR.

First, I heard there was police activity west of Germantown (my stop), then that a person had been struck by a train west of Rockville, then finally the actual story of pedestrian who was hit and killed at Gaithersburg. 

Once I heard the initial report though, I hauled out of work early to Metro home. They honored my train ticket, so I rode for free (wheee!) and I was able to catch the Ride-On 71 bus from Shady Grove. I was only on the bus for maybe a half hour (?) and walked maybe a quarter mile to get back to my car at the Germantown train station. Overall, it was a good, efficient way to public transit home, when your public transit isn't working - ha!

But seriously, if this (and many other previous situations) has taught me anything, it is ALWAYS good to have a back-up plan when commuting via public transit. And, no, I don't mean, have your spouse or friend come pick you up at the end of the line at Shady Grove. Yes, that works, but it isn't always an option, or the best one. I do the Commuter Connections Guaranteed Ride Home, which thankfully, I haven't needed yet. And, I always have the bus routes in my county easily accessible on my phone. 

Well, I can admit, that sometimes you can't always have a back-up plan and my poor husband (along with millions of other commuters) took almost 3 hours to get to work because of the snow that people didn't think would amount to much. Yes, it's not more than three or four inches outside when it's all said and done, but no, it does not bode well when it starts falling at 5am and the Feds decide, "Hey, that's not snow, that's just dandruff, come on in!" AND none of the school systems decide to close until 8am. 

Either way, as we are all well aware, when there's even a chance of anything wet falling from the sky, well...this happens: 

Happy Tuesday. Only one more day now until FLORIDA!

Back to school, back to school...

Well not really -- today was the first day back to work/school for many in the area and this morning's commute was a breeze compared to what last Friday's commute did to snarl the train schedule into work. Thankfully I was off and didn't have to worry about it, but the e-mail alerts I was getting made me squirm just thinking about it. 

Either way, hopefully this week, there are very little to no issues on the train, as I'm headed to sunny, warm Florida on Thursday to visit my in-laws. Always a plus in why I married my husband ;)

I disagree, Jimmy McMillan.

Trains, trains, trains!

While on lunch break, I was surfing CNN and found this little gem -- all about trains! And how awesome they are and how everyone should ride them! 

Wheeeeeeeee!

I'll have more on some commuting Do's and Don't's later this week. I know, I still need to work on my Cast of Characters too, but it's been a busy fall so far...lots of travelin', celebratin', workin', and volunteerin'. Oh, and runnin' and trainin' for a race in November.

This is not news.

And the reason I started this blog is in the article embedded below. Enjoy what those ever-dapper Brits have discovered.

Are you my Gym Teacher?

One of the best, yet weirdest things about taking the same train everyday is the same people you always see.

Some of these people also wear the exact same thing everyday. Well, maybe not the EXACT same clothes as the day before, but the same style or type of clothes.

My latest fascination with this, is a man who commutes into DC daily, and wears: jogging pants, a t-shirt and sneakers. Now, I have no issue with this, but on a train filled with politicos, lawyers, top executives and federal workers, you tend to see a lot of business casual going on. 

So, today, I ponder this question (and kinda want to ask him):

"Are you a gym teacher?"

Because, in all reality, why else would someone wear an outfit like this each and everyday to commute into downtown Washington. Again, no judgement - I am actually kind of jealous.