- Thunderstruck by Erik Larson
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Evening Commute -- Mar. 31, 2010
I walked into Government Center at 6:05 and took a seat on a bench. A woman came and sat unnecessarily close to me, which, of course, annoyed me. Why do people do that? Are they just not thinking? Or are they frightening people prone to stalking who see no problem with invading the personal space of others? I moved to the opposite end of the bench, and she did not follow me. Maybe she's OCD and needs to sit on that end of the bench? Who knows?
At 6:08, an E line showed up, and at 6:09, another E line. This was Boston subway efficiency at its best. WHY? WHY SHOULD TWO TRAINS FROM THE SAME LINE EVER FOLLOW EACH OTHER? ESPECIALLY THIS QUICKLY? Argh.
A D line showed up at 6:10. Well, I knew it was a D line because I was standing far enough down the platform to read the sign on the second car. The signs on the first car were all blank. This meant that the driver had to keep announcing it was a D line train, since you couldn't tell from just a glance. But the driver announced it with supreme annoyance, like he could not understand why this had suddenly entered his job description. Dude, fix your signs, it'll solve everything.
At 6:08, an E line showed up, and at 6:09, another E line. This was Boston subway efficiency at its best. WHY? WHY SHOULD TWO TRAINS FROM THE SAME LINE EVER FOLLOW EACH OTHER? ESPECIALLY THIS QUICKLY? Argh.
A D line showed up at 6:10. Well, I knew it was a D line because I was standing far enough down the platform to read the sign on the second car. The signs on the first car were all blank. This meant that the driver had to keep announcing it was a D line train, since you couldn't tell from just a glance. But the driver announced it with supreme annoyance, like he could not understand why this had suddenly entered his job description. Dude, fix your signs, it'll solve everything.
Morning Commute -- Mar. 31, 2010
I got to the stop at 8:13 and ran immediately onto a train. By doing my trick of switching to the second car at Kenmore, I was able to get a seat.
Boston Book Trends -- Mar. 30, 2010
- "The Secret Adversary" by Agatha Christie
- "The Blind Side" by Michael Lewis
Evening Commute -- Mar. 30, 2010
I was meeting friends for dinner in Newton, and one of the friends, who also works downtown, suggested we take the bus. I don't know why I let her suggest this, because what I discovered is this: The only form of transportation worse than the Green Line is a Boston bus. We got on the bus at 6:00, and, luckily, got seats. I say luckily because it was very, very humid on the bus, and because the traffic was TERRIBLE. It took us an hour to get to Newton, a drive that should maybe have taken us 15 minutes or so, on the outside. Why does anybody take buses? It seems to me it strips everything pleasurable out of driving--like being protected from having to interact with the general public--while keeping all of its annoyances--like traffic.
The good thing about the bus is that it was extremely quiet. The subway is almost never quiet during my evening commute.
The good thing about the bus is that it was extremely quiet. The subway is almost never quiet during my evening commute.
Morning Commute -- Mar. 30, 2010
I got to the stop at 8:25. A train did not arrive until 8:32. Unsurprisingly, given the long wait, the train was packed, and the driver was insisting that you couldn't get on the train unless you could stand behind the white line. I understand this is probably some kind of safety thing, but sometimes I really get the impression that subway drivers are exerting power over you just because they can. "Hey, you wanted to get to work on time? Tough! I've decided I'm suddenly going to start enforcing the white rule line! Hahahahahaha!"
We got to Copley at 8:40, and I got off the snippy train with relief. I don't know why the trains were so spaced out, though, because I waited until 8:44 for the next train to pull into Copley. Luckily, I got a seat. A wet seat. People, how difficult is it not to put your umbrella on a seat? Seriously.
Then, when we got to Park Street, the fire alarm was going off. So I guess subway fires really are a concern!
We got to Copley at 8:40, and I got off the snippy train with relief. I don't know why the trains were so spaced out, though, because I waited until 8:44 for the next train to pull into Copley. Luckily, I got a seat. A wet seat. People, how difficult is it not to put your umbrella on a seat? Seriously.
Then, when we got to Park Street, the fire alarm was going off. So I guess subway fires really are a concern!
Monday, March 29, 2010
Evening Commute -- Mar. 29, 2010
I got to Government Center at 6:04, just as a C line was pulling away, but a D line pulled up right behind it and I got in. I have two points of complaint this evening:
(1) I hate wet garbage. I mean, people's garbage on the train is always disgusting but when it's been raining and the garbage is wet, for some reason, I have to suppress a gag reflex when I see it. Ugh. People, DO NOT THROW YOUR GARBAGE ON THE FLOOR. WHY IS THIS SO HARD FOR YOU? I DO NOT WANT TO HAVE TO GAG DURING MY COMMUTE.
(2) I have not seen a huge number of Kindles (or any other e-book readers) but I've seen a couple, and I'm not sure what I think about them. As the Boston Book Trends feature might indicate, I often get a feel for the big books out there by spying on what people are reading around me. I am sad to think of a day when we can all be even more anonymous and less interactive on the train than we already are, so that not even the contents of our pleasure reading will be known to those around us.
(1) I hate wet garbage. I mean, people's garbage on the train is always disgusting but when it's been raining and the garbage is wet, for some reason, I have to suppress a gag reflex when I see it. Ugh. People, DO NOT THROW YOUR GARBAGE ON THE FLOOR. WHY IS THIS SO HARD FOR YOU? I DO NOT WANT TO HAVE TO GAG DURING MY COMMUTE.
(2) I have not seen a huge number of Kindles (or any other e-book readers) but I've seen a couple, and I'm not sure what I think about them. As the Boston Book Trends feature might indicate, I often get a feel for the big books out there by spying on what people are reading around me. I am sad to think of a day when we can all be even more anonymous and less interactive on the train than we already are, so that not even the contents of our pleasure reading will be known to those around us.
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