DAY 22
Q: Why do the crappy old trains always run on the A, C and B, D lines while the 2,3 and 4,5 always have shiny new trains?
A: The A, C, B, D tunnels are from the old, pre-MTA IND system and are wider than the other train tunnels in the city. In other words, the old trains are too wide to fit in other tunnels.
A: The A, C, B, D tunnels are from the old, pre-MTA IND system and are wider than the other train tunnels in the city. In other words, the old trains are too wide to fit in other tunnels.
DAY 21
I had a quarter of an hour added to my commute this morning due to the A dying at 14th street. The conductor never really explained why the train sat in the station for more than 15 minutes, but just announced that there was a service issue. One woman on the train made a comment that someone probably got hit by a train. Well, someone actually did get hit by a train this morning, but it was a 1 at 137th street. Still have no idea why the A decided to crap out.
DAY 20
Scene: Uptown A train. Early morning. 20-year-old attractive hipster guy dressed in a suit and sweater sits on the inside L seat next to me with his skateboard.
Him: What are you listening to?
Me: (takes headphones off) Remix of "A Whole Lotta Love."
Him: It just stood out...the picture on your ipod. It's very striking.
Me: Okay. (puts headphones on and closes eyes)
Him: I noticed the word "lipid" (points to a typed paper an attractive brunette sitting nearby is reading)
Her: (ignores)
Him: What are you reading?
Her: A paper I wrote that I need to present this morning. (resumes reading)
Him: Cool. I used to work at this health and wellness clinic in Ohio..... blah blah blah...CBD...marijuana....studies have shown...it's not just the THC it's CBD... blah blah blah
Her: bleh bleh bleh (Gets off at 168th Street)
Him: (turns back to me) So what do you do?
Not cool at 7am. Super nice guy and all, but wrong place wrong time.
Him: What are you listening to?
Me: (takes headphones off) Remix of "A Whole Lotta Love."
Him: It just stood out...the picture on your ipod. It's very striking.
Me: Okay. (puts headphones on and closes eyes)
Him: I noticed the word "lipid" (points to a typed paper an attractive brunette sitting nearby is reading)
Her: (ignores)
Him: What are you reading?
Her: A paper I wrote that I need to present this morning. (resumes reading)
Him: Cool. I used to work at this health and wellness clinic in Ohio..... blah blah blah...CBD...marijuana....studies have shown...it's not just the THC it's CBD... blah blah blah
Her: bleh bleh bleh (Gets off at 168th Street)
Him: (turns back to me) So what do you do?
Not cool at 7am. Super nice guy and all, but wrong place wrong time.
DAY 18
Special Guests: D train, 1 train, 2 train
There was a track fire by the Hoyt-Schermerhorn station this afternoon. It took me a couple stations--and verbal confirmations with fellow irate passengers--to actually hear and understand the muffled, static announcement. This resulted in my downtown express A turning into a local at 168th street. Just to put things into perspective, that is 15 miles away from Hoyt-Schermerhorn. So as to avoid an excruciating two-hour trip home, I jumped onto the D train at 145th street. The D has a useless route so I ended up transferring to the 1 and finally to the 2 train to get home.
Blue to Orange to Red
The A and 2 trains are like night and day. The 2 train is quieter and more spacious and it has comfortable seats, healthier lighting, cleaner air circulation, lighted station maps, and the absence of ruckus. It was like upgrading from a Super 8 to a W hotel.
(Side note: WTF is up with that long fenced/gated "tunnel" along the tracks at the Columbus Circle station? It just begs for koi fish and topiary.)
There was a track fire by the Hoyt-Schermerhorn station this afternoon. It took me a couple stations--and verbal confirmations with fellow irate passengers--to actually hear and understand the muffled, static announcement. This resulted in my downtown express A turning into a local at 168th street. Just to put things into perspective, that is 15 miles away from Hoyt-Schermerhorn. So as to avoid an excruciating two-hour trip home, I jumped onto the D train at 145th street. The D has a useless route so I ended up transferring to the 1 and finally to the 2 train to get home.
Blue to Orange to Red
The A and 2 trains are like night and day. The 2 train is quieter and more spacious and it has comfortable seats, healthier lighting, cleaner air circulation, lighted station maps, and the absence of ruckus. It was like upgrading from a Super 8 to a W hotel.
(Side note: WTF is up with that long fenced/gated "tunnel" along the tracks at the Columbus Circle station? It just begs for koi fish and topiary.)
DAY 17
Well, what do you know. Someone finally decided to buy ad space on the A train. The colors of the ad actually match the train interior. But the whole geographical relevance thing is so tired: "The good part of NY mornings" and "NYOJ". Being all "wink, wink, nod, nod" about knowing where your ad is and who you're targeting is not clever or creative or interesting. And I am really going to restrain myself here about the art direction. I spent 60 minutes mentally Photoshop-ing that ad.
(And yes, the lighting actually is that bad.)
DAY 16
59th-125th street: The Land of Nod. 60% of my train car was snoozing during this long stretch of track this morning.
DAY 14
This morning I was sitting on an outer seat of those three-seat sections of the orange/yellow late 1960s model train. A man sat down on the other outer seat and deliberately spilled a drink in the center seat. It was a moderately crowded train and this man found a way to not have anyone sit in that uncomfortable middle seat.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)