All posts have been rerouted

Haven't posted in a while, but renewals are just around the corner. I do want to keep this alive without having to do so much management (could never get on top of customizing the look). Plan is to head back to Blogger even though playing with WordPress was fun. All my posts have been moved to etummoc.blogspot.com and soon www.etummoc.com will also point you there as well.

Hopefully this will get me back into blogging as well. Enjoy the new look.

Railwork

My regular train on the harlem line makes a stop at Fordham. I know ther is a prep school there, and when it isn't the middle of summer I do see some of the students. On multiple occasions I have tied to menally put myself in their shoes, and wonder what etummocing to school would be like.

Firstly, I kind of wonder if this train is the last train they could take without being late. In hish school I lived a mile away and, depending on the year, either my brother or I would drive to school, speeding, in 3 miutes. So I definately would be on the last train possible. There would be contingency plans to get to GC faster if I needed to, but I think I'd be running for the train 90% of the time.

Also, I am shocked that I've never seen one of them furiously doing homework on the time. Leaving homework for a morning train ride is a procrastinator's dream. Think of the extra video gam time! I see the occasional student reading a book every now and again, but as someone who would go home during a last period study hall to do assignments due by 3 that I had still not done, I expect a little more panic. As soon as I landed in my seat i'd have my calculus book out and a freshly wrinked piece of paper handy to do my work on.

Even though my adolescent lazyness could be accomodated, I just can't think of high school without the freedom of having a car. I mean, how are you going to get to the krispy kreme store in the next state over and back with 36 dozen donuts? What about driving with your friends to the away football games, using the nearest cornfield for a pitstop? What is high school without these crucial life experiences?

Its hard to get my head around, and I don't think there's much use worrying about such things. Besides, most if the time I'm running late and I have a train to catch.

Busgrade

I used to explain that my daily etummoc consisted of 2 shuttles, 1 train; however I think I'm going to have to revise that to 2 busses instead. As of today, both of my shuttles have been upgraded to charter busses. It may not seem like much but they are now probably 1/3 of the trip and makes a world of difference - like going from regular to organic milk.

The first one got upgraded from trollies with uncomfortable seating quite some time ago. It was really a no brainer. Today I stepped off the train at North White Pains to find that the daddy bus had come for us instead of the shortbus to which we were so accustomed. Most of my fellow riders looked at it with disbelief, but it was all smiles when we realized none of is would have to stand. There was also a small sense of pride or luxury in that, perhaps that we were important enough for an upgrade.

And let me just say that I appreciate the new smoothness of the ride as well. Being a gentleman, I would often give up my seat to others and brave standing though the ride. This is not an easy task, and felt like I was surfing with handlebars above me while not being able to see what was coming. I hope this bus never breaks down.

I quit!

Ha, not really. This was certainly a long break from blogging, but I haven't given up. Instead of summarizing the past 2 months, I decided to hold that material and use it as I see fit. So what you hear from now on could have happened in the past or never at all.

Night now, however, I have to report that jury duty is thrilling, when compared to a train ride. There was a low budget intro video that reminded me of educational videos from high school. As an SVU addict it would have been much better if detectives Benson and Stabler took part in this video, rather than going to the renaissance fair to depict trial by ordeal. Apparently my idea of "realistic" differs from that of the director.

It also sounds like I'm stuck here for a few days. Thank god the woman in charge has a great sense of humor and has mastered her monotone delivery. No sarcasm there, she really is quite funny.

Fingers crossed

After 2 weeks of taking the early shuttle and sometimes making it in to work a bit early, I'm giving the 730 another shot. But that's not really what I want to write about.

Last week, I got a chance to experience Penn Station. I had been there once or twice before, but was usually in a rush to get on the train. This time I really got a feel for for the place, and that feeling was creepy.

The layout, from what I could tell, was designed to be like a hamster cage. One or two large areas with lots of halls and tunnels going in every direction. Despite the confusing layout, navigating was not difficult. Every intersection has a number of signs which were easy to undestand and effective in getting you where you needed to go.

There is a whole new level of crazy at Penn Station. Grand Central-ese people are direct and always moving. Penn Station-eers tend to linger a bit more, and thus, they have waiting areas. I sat in such an area to eat a quick bite. In that time, a woman had to be removed as she felt compelled to ask (very politely I may add) for people to take the gun away from the army personnel that were patrolling the area. She had a strange inflection in her voice as she said, "PLEASE, miss. Excuse me MISS. Mam, could you PLEASE take his GUN. Do you SEE it? You HAVE to TAKE the GUN from HIM."

I think the only redeeming quality about Penn Station is that they have a krispy kreme inside. I, knowing full-well how bad they are for you, have a hard time resisting a krispy kreme. They do need to be fresh though; they just aren't right any other way. That day, I got one that was a bit dry... Yes, I'm keeping score, and they have 1 strike.

Made it to GC in time so it seems like its safe to sleep in again!

Note to self

Not posting for a long time invites spam comments for lesbian anime porn. Post more often.

Goodbye 7:30

I must retract my prior statements about the relief that a certain 7:30 shuttle has given me, mainly in the form of additional sleep. The shuttle is being run by a new company, and that means new drivers. I knew the first few days might be a little slow, but given the cyclical nature of the job, it shouldn't take long to pick up. I had been on vacation until today, and knew it would be a bit of a gamble. I lost.

No, it wasn't that I just missed the train because we were a few minutes late, I wasn't even out of my shuttle seat when the train left Grand Central. I guess this means I have to go back to getting up at 6 and taking an earlier shuttle. I'll give 7:30 another shot in a week or two.