I must be insane...
1.21.2006
I say this to myself every time I have a "commuting related" incident. Take this week for instance:
Wednesday I was scheduled for OCLC training in Brooklyn. I would go to work, check in, meet one of my colleagues who had been to the LIU Brooklyn campus before, and head off to the training at 9am.
Apparently the weather had other plans.
Other plans in the form of not-so-gently placing a tree across the tracks and leaving us sitting on the train... for over an hour.
I arrived at Grand Central at 9:50am. My boss had given me directions over the phone and I blindly took off for Brooklyn. Do I have any idea of an express subway train will stop at my stop? Of course not. Do I get on one anyway? Of course I do. Do I get off down the line to try and catch a local? Sure. Do I end up back on an Express. You betcha!!
I arrived at Grand Central at 9:50am. My boss had given me directions over the phone and I blindly took off for Brooklyn. Do I have any idea of an express subway train will stop at my stop? Of course not. Do I get on one anyway? Of course I do. Do I get off down the line to try and catch a local? Sure. Do I end up back on an Express. You betcha!!
Long story short, I eventually find a train that stops at the stop I want and get out of the subway only to find that the building I need is not right across the street, but a block or two away. Mind you, of course, that it is pouring rain. I finally get in the building and discover I am a rat in a maze. I finally arrive at my training session at 10:40am only to find that they have barely started because of hardware problems.
Whew!
Getting home wasn't a problem. Didn't get much done at home that night.
Life goes on and HWJF and I decide that since he has to work Saturday but is off Sunday I'll come to Princeton on Friday afterwork. I decide to stay at work for 20 min. extra to make up some of the time I lost on Wednesday. Big mistake.
I get over to Penn Station only to find out that due to a disabled Amtrak train, NJ Transit is delayed by at least 30 min.
No big deal. I've got a book. I'll wait.
With about 4 trains worth of other people.
Who all decide to get on the first train they announce out of Penn Satation.
And who all shove for the 1 little door at the same time.
At this point, I wish I could turn around but there is no way to fight the surging crowd. I get crushed along with everyone else into the doorway, down the escalator (which doesn't stop when you get to the bottom and no one in front of you can move) and out into the platform where the above mentioned 4 trains worth of people are all trying to shove onto a single train.
Where do I end up? In the vestibule between cars, an area that is as wide as the train car but only two people deep. There are at least 12 of us in there. The seats are packed, the aisle is full all the way down the train and I can't even get to my cell phone to tell HWJF I'll be getting in a *bit* late. Oh, and they have all sorts of signs about not riding between cars because it is dangerous, by the way.
The train leaves, I eat my hair in the wind (there is space between cars) and after sweltering with 12 of my (now) closest friends I am freezing. We get to the first stop.
And people want to get off. People who aren't necessarily standing in the vestibule. And there are people at the first stop that want to get on.
Right.
After much pushing and shoving people get off, people get on and I am still a sardine. At this point I've managed to get to my phone and HWJF plans to drive to the stop before Princeton to get me.
I WANT OFF THIS TRAIN.
Eventually things thin out and I do get a seat. It took a while but HWJF found me and we went home to get dinner. I've never wanted a margarita so bad in my life.
The life of a NYC commuter. I'm just glad no one was hurt.
Jealous aren't you?
The silver lining....
The conductor couldn't collect tickets so I got a free trip.
Have to say, not really worth the $10.75 though.
And to further prove my lack of sanity...
I've really gone and done it this time. I have joined the Knitting Olympics.
What have a chosen to knit? Since I seem to keep putting it off for things I'm doing for others, I figured it would help to have a start date. So I am finally going to knit the headband from the kit I was given by Sami for Christmas. My first attempt at Fair Isle.
Considering the fact that I have a conference to go to and a super secret project to finish during the dates for this knitalong, this is definitely going to be a challenge to finish in 16 days. Sleeping may just be out of the question....
