Hey bud, let's party!

Yesterday's C Line trip was almost worth it (almost) due to the lawyer-type standing next to me.  A 30-something, too-cool-for-school type, the dialogue started when he ran into a friend of his, who didn't seem to be particularly interested in talking to him.  Asked his friend if he was just "kickin' it," and proceeded to use every phrase that a teenager, or old guy trying to sound like a teenager would use.  Every sentence started, "Dude..." and went on to say wittier things.  If I'm ever in court and this guy is my lawyer, well, I'll just get started getting measured for jumpsuits.

Coming soon to a T near you: cell phone access everywhere!

Oh, good.  One more reason to complain about the T.  They are now setting up cell phone towers that will allow passengers to talk pretty much anywhere underground.  There will be no refuge from listening to the woman next to me give a long diatribe about her gynecologist appointment.  Yes, it will be useful for people who get stuck underground for three hours, which has been happening with increased frequency, but can't I be spared from The Really Important people who must talk, right here, right now?

Second day in a row: the C train boarded all the passengers at Coolidge Corner before telling everyone it would be an express.  Nice job, guys.

Seriously? 9/23/11

It just keeps getting worse.  C Line trains, which used to come every five minutes, are now coming every ten to fifteen in the morning and filling up after a few stops.  The commute time into the city at 7:30 is now almost as bad as the commute out of the city during rush hour.  We went express from Coolidge Corner to St. Mary's and man, did I feel bad for all of those people who watched us go by.

I tried something new yesterday, which was getting on at Haymarket, virtually guaranteeing me a seat, which I gave up two stops later for an older gentleman.  But we were packed and guys, there's only so far we can push together.  There must be a physics term for closing in on all the space we have between each other.

Express train: Thanks for the warning

On my way in today, we stopped at Coolidge Corner.  The passengers got on, paid and then we sat for a while.  It was at this point that the driver announced that the train was going express to St. Mary's.  Hmphf.  Doesn't exactly do much for the passengers who paid, does it.  Granted, many are on passes and the train behind us might let them on for free, depending on how rushed it is.  And I certainly don't blame the driver for this one, since they get the message at the last minute.

But if I were a paying passenger, I'd be pretty pissed that I paid my fare and then had to get off if I wasn't going to/past St. Mary's.

9/19/11: The delays continue...

I don't know what is going on in the morning, as the delays continue.  What used to be empty trains now look like afternoon trains as we are getting packed in due to trains coming every 15 minutes.  Effective train utilization?  Excellent.  But I don't think that is what is happening here.  There have been no warnings or announcements.  Something is just going wrong with the T in the morning.

On the plus side, the nice weather has allowed me to start walking halfway home in the afternoon.  Always a plus, and I just hop on at Kenmore.

9/15/11: Morning Sickness

The delays on the Green Line in the morning continue, and they are becoming intolerable.  Yesterday, I talked about switching my afternoon ride from the C to the D train and my satisfaction with that.  It's not so easy in the morning.  Until the last few weeks, the C train has been pretty reliable in the morning, coming every five minutes or so.  Total travel time was still shorter.

This morning, we hit a record waiting period closing in on 15 minutes.  In the afternoon, I have a few minutes to spare.  In the morning, I need to get to work on time.  I felt truly bad for the people between Washington Square and Coolidge Corner, since the train went express.  They just stood there and watched the train go by.  The whole system has gotten very sad.

9/14/11: My new relationship with the D-Line

When I first moved out west, the C-Line was the closest train to where I lived.  I didn't realize how close the D-Line was.

Like a first relationship, I jumped on the first thing I saw.  I put up with all the foibles of the C-Line, figuring that's the way things were.  Even when things were bad, I kept at it, figuring that they would improve.  Or maybe it was a fear of moving on.

The D-Line is the next relationship and is a little more permanent.  It's the relationship you move onto after you realize that the first one went sour.  Nothing is ever perfect, but I've learned my lesson from the first one.  There are fewer stops between stops.  No trains that kick me off because they are running express to somewhere that I'm not going.  And I almost always get a seat.

Thanks for the learning experience, C-Line.  Someday, I'll have fond memories of you.

9/13/11: The morning train

There's definitely something wrong with the Green Line in the morning now.  For several days, I have had to wait a good ten minutes or so before the train shows up.  Rush hour trains are supposed to be coming every five minutes and, while I can generally get a seat, it would be nice to get to work on time, since I know I won't be getting home on time.

9/12/11: Rerouting

What does it mean when a train gets "rerouted?"  It's rare that I get kicked off a morning train, unlike the oft-run Coolidge Corner expresses, but we were all tossed off the train at Park Street today as the train got rerouted.  Granted, I only have a one-stop walk to Government Center, but I find it odd that they decided this train was needed somewhere else.  There isn't exactly a lot of outbound traffic at this time of day.

9/8/11: Nothing much, except...

The driver sounded kinda sloshed.  That's all.

9/7/11: The trip that shouldn't have happened...

Really, I shouldn't have been on the T today.  Seriously.  My wife was coming back from the airport and was supposed to pick me up, but her flight was delayed, so I got to ride, anyway.

Since I spent the day at a conference, my journey took me by way of South Station.  Hey, what do you know, the train to Park Street was sitting there waiting for me.  And waiting.  And waiting...

The driver told us that we were waiting.  Well, okay.  Later, we got a further update: turns out there's a little police activity at Central Station.  Eventually, we get on our way.

Government Center is no longer the hottest station in the system.  That honor now goes to Park Street.  No wonder those people look so miserable as they get on the plane.  The plus side is that I was losing about a pound a minute as I waited.  Carry heavy bags, I decided to risk the C Train.

And what joy it brought.  A gentleman began interviewing everyone within earshot about their political views.  Frankly, I couldn't figure out why people engaged him, but he did an excellent job of getting responses from people who clearly did not want to talk to him.  Hey, nothing like a conspiracy theorist to make the ride home interesting.

9/6/11: Why I write this blog...

Today reminded me why I write this blog.  Writing to the T certainly hasn't done any good, since I almost never get a response.  This blog is my place to vent.

It was raining this morning.  Not hard, but that is the only logical reason for the 15 minutes that I stood waiting for the C line to show up.  There's no excuse for a delay of that magnitude in the morning rush hour traffic.  Once on board, it was the stereotypical driver, who felt a need to go from zero to 60 in three seconds, sending all of the sardines flying.  Screaming into the microphone at every stop, and several times between stops, "Please move into the back and make room!"  Yeah, we get it.  Lady, there is no more room.  Seriously.  I promise.

There was no alert on the T's site, so all is well, unless you are a passenger.

9/1/11: Definitely my mistake, with an assist...

Arrived at Government Center to find people about six deep, waiting for trains.  That's just never good.  My brother convinced me that we should just get on whichever train came first, which turned out to be the C line.  We both barely squeezed on and arrived at Park Street to note that a D line was coming on the opposite track.  We got off the C line and positioned ourselves nicely for the D line.  It showed up, and stopped right in front of us.  Completely empty.  And then it started up again and went about 25 yards up.  Ouch.  We both barely made it on (barelyer than our earlier incident on the C line), and I got stuck with a Yankees fan on one side of me and an armpit on the other.  The Yankees fan smelled worse, so I turned around.

I was hoping for a reprieve at Kenmore, but no such luck.  Almost as many people soon got on as got off and it was sardine city all the way to Beaconsfield.  At least it wasn't raining.