Offense of the day

Hey there, ho there, faithful readers (hi mom!).

Since my last post, I had a baby. So, there's that. It happened about 2 1/2 weeks after my last entry to this blog, to be quite honest; my little one made their debut much earlier than anticipated and still weighed over 8 lbs. So, yeah -- way to be wrong in calculating due dates, doctors. Now I understand why I was so miserable those last few weeks in the DC heat. 

What I felt like during the last months of pregnancy.

Anywho, I returned to work last month and am back to the commuting. Overall, it's been OK. I know Metro is going through it again with large swaths of firings due to budget constraints. And Mr. Wiedefeld is definitely showing his exhaustion with this job. But overall, I haven't had too many issues that I can recall enough to complain about, but I'm also a new mother, so that might just be the lack of coffee in my system for not remembering.

This is not my child, but man, can I relate some days.

I also spent part of my first month back to commuting coming in from West Virginia on the MARC train. Well, kinda West Virginia. I stayed with my parents who live out there near the Harper's Ferry/Charles Town area, but I drove over to Brunswick, MD to catch the train for the few days I was staying there. There's ample parking at that station and more options for getting to DC each day. Even so, it led to much longer days than I wanted -- getting up at the same time as I would if I were home, to travel further and longer. Then I was arriving to work a bit later and getting home later in the evening. It was do-able, but I'm glad I don't do that everyday. It also was worth it so my parents could enjoy time with my little one and I didn't stress about him very much.

Love me some Atlanta housewives. And me at the end of my long WV commute.

So here we are today, and I've found my first offender since back on the commute. You all might know him as "The Leaner". You know, the guy who leans all over the poles of the Metro car, not giving you any spot to grab on when the train decides to herk and jerk its way to the next stop. 

Thanks, Patrick Stewart for contributing to this madness. 

(Note: I did not see Patrick Stewart this morning.)

So there I am, all 5 foot 3 inches of me, bundled up in winter gear, carrying two bags (one being a heavy-ish breast pump) and trying to strain my dominant arm up to the only available place to hold on to, about 2.5 feet above my head. And he's just straight chilling next to me, leaning up against the only pole I could realistically reach -- one of the handicap accessible areas by a door (which, of course, leads to less places for people to grab onto in general). 

How I felt rolling into Judiciary Square today.

Then as the train came into my station, since he is by the door, he proceeded to NOT step out of the train to let people exit. He just stood there. Still leaning. Still being oblivious to his rudeness. I hope my breast pump hit him on the way out. 

Happy Monday, y'all. It's good to be back! 

She moves in mysterious ways, and very, very slowly...

So, again, my apologies for not posting anything since April. It's been crazy in my personal and professional life, so even though ideas percolate for a post or two, I don't always get the chance to jot them down, but I'm finally taking a half hour to get something out there for you faithful readers (again, thanks, Mom!).

For starters, I have a quick update in terms of my personal life, which relates to part of this post, buuuuuuut...I'm about six weeks away from popping out a child! Yup, you read that correct -- I'm very much preggers. 

Haven't tried this yet, but I have no plans tonight...

Just a funny lady dancing with her belly.

This impacts my commute greatly the further along I get in gestation. I'm finding it harder and harder to walk quickly to catch my train in the normal 15 minutes I used to allow myself when leaving work in the evening. Now, I leave 40 minutes before the train leaves and take bathroom breaks on either end. Oh, the joys...

I'm also starting to notice how many more people are willing to give up their seat for me on the Metro. I wrote about this once and how I only thought the seats in the middle of the train with signage were for the disabled (or one might say, "very pregnant lady with swollen ankles"), but I'm getting offers for seats all over the train almost daily -- mostly from other women. I've gotten one or two males chivalrously willing to give up their seats, but I only take someone up on it if I'm on the train for more than a few stops. Since I typically only go one stop, I usually say "No thank you" -- it's easier than sitting down and getting back up in the short time I'm actually riding the Metro. (All that extra weight on your hips makes it hard to sit too -- oy!)

I have to admit this pregnancy has been fairly easy and uneventful beyond the normal swollen-ness that tends to be exacerbated with the July/August humidity in Washington, DC. I'm ready to be done with the whole carting around this extra 30 pounds or so and hold that cute squishy baby every day. But alas, the kid still has to cook a bit longer.

In other news, I have also ridden the Metro three times with the WMATA General Manager, Paul Wiedefeld. When I say "ridden", I do mean, like standing right next to the dude on the Metro car and getting off at Union Station together. The first time he got off at the station, I thought "Oh, he must have a meeting here or something." The second time, I watched where he went (no, I'm not a stalker...) and he actually takes the MARC train too -- to somewhere near Baltimore, but alas -- TRAIN BUDDIES! 

So, I give the guy some credit, he actually takes the Metro to and from work, and beyond that, invests himself in other modes of public transit! As much as the Metro sucks these days, I have faith that he'll get the job done and we'll once again not have to wait 12-18 minutes for a train during this hell he's created called SAFE TRACK. Oh, I guess I haven't had to mention that before since it started in June and it's been...well, it's been less than pleasant, but completely necessary. I'm just more ticked off about the timing of all this paired with the condition I'm currently in.

Anyway, I'm rambling. It's also Friday, so here's a cute puppy for both #nationaldogday and the fact that I'm soooooo jealous of this dog right now. 

This would be the life for me today.

Updates galore!

My apologies for not writing ANYTHING for almost a year. A lot has happened in that year, but one thing is still the same...I'm still commuting. On a train. So, I will continue this blog as long as I feel motivated and inspired by my 2.5 hour commute each day. Woo!

Some updates since the last post regarding the state of the Washington transit systems that I wanted to be sure was brought up since, you know, posts haven't happened in 8 months.

Two of these are my favorite that WMATA announced since the new General Manager started at the end of 2015:

1) A GRACE PERIOD WILL START IN JULY! Yes, you heard me. All my complaints about paying Metro fare only to have to turn around and walk back out, $2.15 poorer when there are issues and delays have paid off. This might be one of the smartest moves the new GM has made since starting and if nothing else, will pay off in good PR for the ever failing system.

Yes, this news makes me wanna dance! Go Jimmy, Go Elmo!

2) PLATFORM SIGNS WILL ENCOURAGE PEOPLE NOT TO RUN LIKE IDIOTS. Well, no, they will still run like idiots most likely, but at least they will know how far they need to run to catch a 6-car train at the busiest stations. I've seen one at Union Station and I'm sure they are at others, but even still, why they didn't think to do this earlier, I'll never know. Now, why they still choose to even run the 6-car trains, that I'd like to know. ALL the trains should have 8-cars. Period. (Especially during rush hour.) 

Run, Batman, Run. Don't leave Robin behind at Ballston.

Now, for the not-so good updates. WMATA has had all sorts of issues since last year and it's only gotten worse. This article in itself is a good summary to show the sort of boondoggle WMATA had years ago and did nothing about, hence the issues we are dealing with in 2016. You know when they threaten to shut down entire lines in the system, and actually do shut down the entire system for a day for safety checks, ish has gotten real bad. So, on that note, happy 40th birthday WMATA, may you hopefully begin to age just as gracefully as some of your transit siblings to the north and the west. 

Oh, I didn't even mention the MARC train. Thankfully things have been going alright on the good 'ol commuter rail, so ::knock on wood:: hopefully it continues into the summer and makes my life easier as things in it start to get more exciting and complicated. (I'll mention that in a future post, I'm sure).

Also, I did travel a bit since my last post and have experienced some more transit systems across the country, including New Orleans and Las Vegas. We also went to Chicago, so my husband got to experience the "L" Train for the first time. This summer we plan to visit Nantucket, and so, there will be ferry rides! (Aside from a very good friend having family up there and inviting us, I'm so excited to visit the location of one of my favorite TV shows ever. Yes, I'm a loser, but I don't care.) So, yay for experiencing transit in all sorts of different places!

For now, I bid you adieu and leave you with this. Just because, well if you aren't aware of American politics at this juncture, well, these* can catch you up:

Always with the side eye, Bern.

"I dunno where Bill is."

Neither do we, Hill. Neither do we.

This. This might have made me blind.

*By posting these GIFS, the writer is not endorsing any specific candidate, just making fun of them all. 

The writer has also intentionally forgotten about the other two candidates still in the race. Whoops.

What is wrong with people?

You encounter so many people on public transit if you take it everyday. WMATA has the joy is serving every type of customer in the Washington, DC region, but you get some very interesting characters on the MARC train as well. Here are a few of the experiences I've had, as well as deplored the people making these strange, and gross things happen.

So, on the MARC trains, they very explicitly ask you to not put your feet on the seats of the cars, but yet it happens.

This is not your living room. Please put your shoes back on.

Speaking of shoes, I've definitely heard the sound of nail clippers on the train before. I really hope that they're doing their hands and not their feet, although both are equally gross, in my opinion, to do in a public space.

My face the first time I heard that sound...and it continued for an entire train ride to DC.

Then there's the smells. Sometimes in the summer, we've all sat next to someone who didn't apply deodorant as liberally as one should during June, July and August in swampy DC, but hey, it's summer, it's gonna happen. And unlike WMATA, you can bring food and drink onto the train to eat and sometimes I'm jealous of those people's dinners with the smells I'm smelling, but other times it's something so all-encompassing that it just elicits an... 

'Nuff said.

Can anyone say seafood? 

Finally, yesterday I had one of the most annoying experiences on a train. The man across from me did not stop for about 40 minutes straight, chomping his gum, with his mouth hanging open, between chews. I tried to glare at him, but it didn't work. I even tried to put a piece of gum in my own mouth, hoping the sounds of myself chewing (mouth closed, of course) would drown him out in my head. Nope. Needless to say, I was happy to finally get off the train and let him continue on to his destination and have dinner with the cows. 

Yeah, I went there.

I mean, from time to time, I'm sure I do things that annoy or gross people out on the train. You know like putting on my make-up because I was running late that morning, or pulling my hair back into a ponytail, or probably the one thing that actually MAY gross someone out, depending -- changing from my regular walking flats to my gym socks and sneakers to save time. Yeah, all those things I just listed...not that gross!

Anyway, hopefully this is the only list I have to make and it never gets any longer. And for your Friday...

Pounce!

Oof.

Past my time!

I'm overdue for a post. 

I know it's been awhile since I was regularly posting and I had taken a hiatus from commuting for about 2 weeks in June and just never got back to thinking about funny stories or interesting topics for you all. 

Also, I've been pretty lucky in these few weeks since I returned to commuting on the train again, so in that honor, I'll leave you this GIF and make the promise to start thinking deeply about my commutes once more.

Thursday Blues-day...wait, that doesn't rhyme...

Yes that doesn't rhyme and it was just one more thing to go wrong on my commute home yesterday. I left work right around 5 pm, but a couple minutes later than I normally would. I will call this mistake number 1. 

I waited at Judiciary Square on the Glenmont side for probably 20 minutes. 2 trains came through in that time, both of them packed to the gills with people and no one getting off. During this same time I counted 7 or 8 trains going towards Shady Grove -- clearly they were not having any issues on that track. I finally gave up and decided to walk to Union Station* (mistake #2 -- more explanation on that at the end of the post). PS - I've been having an issue with my right foot in the last week and it gets irritated the more I walk or use it, hence, all the time I'm upright, so this was a fun almost mile walk, in the heat yesterday afternoon. 

By that point, I had missed the 5:20 pm train, and might make the 5:40 pm departure. Nope. Didn't happen. Especially with the foot issue. I walked into the station right at 5:40 and wasn't even going to attempt any sort of rushing movement. 

I was definitely no Betty Boop yesterday. 

All red-faced and limping.

The next train didn't leave until 6:20 pm, so I sat and waited. Only to receive an e-mail that THAT train might be delayed due to equipment issues. By 6:13 pm, a track still hadn't been posted for the 6:20 train (they usually post them anywhere from 15-20 minutes out from departure, if known). At that point, I received an e-alert that the 6:20 WOULD in fact be leaving on time, but with one less car, so to expect "crowded conditions". Yay. 

Because I received the e-mail, I started making my way out to the platforms and as I reached the door, I was lucky enough to hear the MARC customer service rep say that our train would be on track A-15. Yippee! I was one of the first people on the train and got a seat thankfully due to that saintly MARC rep. 

But wait, there's more.

::Stomps foot::

But, I don't wanna, Heather Dubrow of the OC Housewives (love her!).

The train I got on had no power, so it was hot. And quiet. And dark. And it seemed like the conductors weren't sure it would turn on, hence the delay and issues. But come what may, at 6:35 pm (15 minutes after the train was supposed to leave, if you're keeping track), the power came on and by 6:40, we were moving westward - Hallelujah!

I finally arrived home at 7:30 pm, 2.5 hours after I left work and ready for some pizza - thanks, hubs! - and HBO -- re-watching The Wire after reading this yesterday...LOVE LOVE LOVE that show. 

*Ultimately, I should have decided to just cross the platform at Judiciary Square and take a train in the other direction towards Shady Grove, getting off at Rockville and catching the MARC train to Germantown from there. I probably would have caught my earlier intended 5:20 train or at worst, the 5:40 train from Union Station from there AND I wouldn't have lost money standing on the Metro platform. Oh well, lesson learned. 

I still don't know why everything was royally messed up yesterday afternoon, maybe it had something to do with the fabulous year WMATA has been having so far. Lord only knows.

Happy Friday, y'all. Here's a puppy rolling around in a ball pit to make myself and you feel better about life.

Signage much?

Just read this in the WaPo about better signage at Metro stations and how we could all stand to learn a few lessons from our forefathers in London. 

Honestly, I don't really know if it's bad or good in terms of signage on the Metro. Maybe it's because I've just been riding long enough to know which stop I'm at without looking up (at least on the Red Line). Either way, a few times I've had to look up (I was tired, ok?) it is sometimes VERY hard to see outside the windows to a sign and if you're on an older car, the inside LED screens NEVER work. So, I guess WMATA could stand to make things a bit brighter and re-program some of their technology.