Remind me, the next time I consider spending eight hours on the train during a 36-hour period, not to do it.
Remind me that being on a train for eight hours out of 36 means that 22.222% of those 36 hours will be a colossal, literal pain in the ass. Remind me that "business class" in no way indicates that the ride will be any better (aside from leg room) than in "coach", and that I will, by the end of that ride, know more about the passengers' "business" thanks not only to cell phone blather but to the inane dealings between colleagues seated across the aisle from each other who insist on loudly letting the rest of us in on the fascinating details, and also that "class" is something that most people are sorely lacking.
Remind me that I have absolutely no respect for people who have no respect for other people. Remind me to take a sweater. Remind me to bring Diet Coke. Remind me to bring a hell of a lot more CDs, because the one that I swore I loved enough to listen to endlessly failed to live up to that great expectation.
Or better yet, remind me that I just can't stand the train and to make my friends visit me instead.
Thank you.
fresh-baked at 09:28 PMD'cloud! You know I'm a hoverer and not a plopper. So you see ... all those squats at the gym have a real-life application after all!
Offered by: Jodi on June 24, 2002 2:00 PMAhhh---listening to idiots talking on their cell phones (and to each other)on the train. I take it Amtrak? In 2000 I took a job at an ad agency in NYC,and after purchasing my $526 pass for the month (I was to scope out apartments during my first few months), fantasized that those rides would be everything our regional rail rides are not. I was wrong. In addition to the cell phone blather, the (non-"Metro") return trains were late every other day. Truly. And I had to pay an upgrade-type fee if I wanted to take the Metro when the regular was late, despite my pass price and despite that the Metro was often just half-full.Arrrggghhh!I wrote a letter to the company and received a somewhat vague, unsatisfactory reply from a "higher-up" there. He and his cronies should be smacked with a giant cell phone, pistol-whip--style.
Offered by: Jenn on June 24, 2002 1:32 PMNatures Calling
The most enjoyable part of the train, which you have omitted, is the pleasant experience of going to the bathroom. Unless you held natures calling for 4 hours!
(Highly Recommended)
Amtrak trains offer two choices to us who travel in coach class: handicap accessible and unisex. I have not experienced additional cleanliness in either. For us gentlemen, it's a balancing act which usually creates the appearance that a gentle rainstorm has occurred in the stall. For you women you have to deal with the mess left behind by us men, except for those women who prefer the stand up balancing act also! Jodi?
Offered by: Datacloud on June 24, 2002 12:55 PMI find the idea of trains - not subway trains, but real trains - to be very romantic. The reality never synchs with my mental maunderings, though. Maybe if I took a trip on one of those European trains, like the Orient Express, it would live up to my expectations.
Offered by: Kim on June 24, 2002 10:06 AMJodi -- I sympathize. Just remember lots of CDs and batteries next time. I love the train, but it can be taxing. With the advent of the cell phone and worse -- the dreaded beeping nextel! -- I hate commuting on the #6.
Kelly -- I try to forget my commuting horrors, but maybe I'll blog some later.
Offered by: Scott on June 24, 2002 7:42 AMI used to take the commuter train into Chicago for about a year. From where I live, it was a 40 minute express right or a 65 minute "milk run" each way. Each day, I'd arrive at the train station with the certain knowledge that some new, fresh hell was minutes away. I don't know how I lived through it!
The only thing is ... damn, regular train commuting would provide some good blog content.
Offered by: Kelly on June 24, 2002 1:33 AMDon't forget all that stuff.
You're welcome.
Offered by: Don on June 24, 2002 1:25 AMTess, I was actually in your state for about half an hour when I was visiting a friend in Kansas City, Missouri, a few years ago, and we popped across the state border to get gas. I think I saw you ... weren't you the hot girl sipping a cold Coke by the entrance to the gas station mini-market?
I've been to the Midwest several times, but always to visit boyz. I think that should change ... so I accept your offer!
Offered by: Jodi on June 23, 2002 11:29 PMAre you sure you're not more suited for, say, the Midwest? Whenever you'd like to come try it on for size, we've got a room for you... :)
Offered by: Tess on June 23, 2002 11:11 PM
