Due to the snow this morning a lot of people ended up leaving work early. I ended up getting a ride to Hawthorne from a coworker. I don’t normally visit that station, just in the few exceptions that snow has caused shuttle bus issues. Unlike what I am used to in Goldens Bridge, a good portion of the platform in Hawthorne is uncovered. So by the time I got there, there was at least an inch of snow covering over everything. Of course I took the opportunity to take some photos as I was waiting for my train.

And when the train passes by, who do I see with his head poking out the window? Peter, the conductor who used to be on my evening train who I haven’t seen in a few months. We caught up on our amusing train stories, and observed an odd woman wearing pajamas sitting a few seats away from me.

There is this crazy guy at White Plains that I nicknamed Mr. Chicago, because he talks to himself and will out of the blue just shout out, “The train to New York is late! … Because it had to stop in CHICAGO, HAHAHA!” Anyways, this woman could totally be his sister. They even look alike! Apparently she liked my hat, but the pompoms bothered her. She kept asking me, “but what are the pompoms for?” She waddled off the train in Katonah, at which point Peter asked me if I knew her. I had never seen her before in my life. Just one more of those interesting and odd people that I encounter on the train…

Here I am yet again, sitting on my train, netbook in hand, enjoying my time. I don’t know about most people, but I figure the good majority don’t enjoy riding the train. Some times, riding the train is the high point of my day. On the train I can people watch, and there certainly are a bunch of crazies. The garden variety drunks and people who talk to themselves, all the way to the OCD folks that find it impossible to eat anything orange. Who decide to eat M&Ms. And are on the platform surrounded by discarded orange candies that they couldn’t bring themself to ingest. The train gives me plenty of time to do things that most normal people would have difficulty fitting into their day. Blogging perhaps. Without the train there is probably no way that I would have ever been able to read more than fifty books in one calendar year alone. That is more books than some people even read in their lifetimes.

On the other hand, buses I don’t really enjoy quite as much. Taking a shuttle bus is another portion of my commute to work, a portion I don’t discuss quite as much. The people on the bus pretty much are the same every day, which is good and bad. Good in that I have friends to ride with, but bad in the respect of people watching and catching a glimpse of some random amusing person that just happens to be on my train that day.

Over the past fifteen months or so since I started taking the bus, the number of bus passengers has increased steadily. Enough so we now require two buses, the original “Summit” bus, whose driver is a nice guy named Jose, and another new bus. We have different names for this second bus: the cocktail bus, due to the fact that in the front there is a table with cupholders, or my personal favorite, the robot bus. Robot bus, because the man that drives the bus has a very slow, slightly too loud monotone that he speaks in, prompting me to nickname him “The Robot.”
“HEL-LO. GOOD. MOR-NING. HAVE. A. NICE. DAY.”

Unfortunately it seems come the new year we will be getting a new, larger bus, instead of two smaller buses. This is unfortunate because it means we will go back to having only one driver. And it appears that the driver is not going to be Jose. It will probably end up being the Robot Man. And this is despite the fact that most people prefer Jose, in fact my friends will wait for Jose if he is not the first bus to arrive. And he gets you to the train station on time. Not to say he drives too fast, but he doesn’t take the most roundabout and slow way of getting to the station that the Robot does. Plus Jose is always kind, for example, in the rain or a bad storm instead of dropping us off at the “designated bus stop” he drives us right up to our buildings. True, these are simple things, but he is a good guy. We asked Jose was going to happen with him, and he said he would probably get stuck driving a bus route in Connecticut instead, and that he really isn’t too keen on that. Anyways, Jose, you will be missed.

This evening several folks braved the cold and stood outside White Plains Train Station in support of the Gaza Freedom March. Some held banners and signs, while others passed out leaflets. The event was set up by WESPAC. Their site briefly explains the purpose of the event:

One year after Operation Cast Lead, under the horrific Blockade/Siege imposed by Israel, Palestinians in Gaza continue to be killed — farmers working in their fields near the borders, fishermen trying to pull some food out of the sea, and people in the smuggling tunnels struggling to bring cooking gas, food, and other of life’s necessities into Gaza. And now we hear that babies are being born half dead from their mothers’ exposure to the only water available, contaminated water.

On Dec. 31, over 1300 people from 42 countries around the world will join an expected 50,000 Palestinians in Gaza in a nonviolent march to the Israeli border to END THE SIEGE OF GAZA. A number of our friends from the Westchester and Rockland Peace and Justice Community and beyond will be part of this historic march… COME DEMONSTRATE YOUR SOLIDARITY WITH THE GAZA FREEDOM MARCH!

When I took a picture of this guy, he asked me if I had an opinion on the situation in Gaza. I partially lied saying that I’m not really sure, and said it is a politically tense subject that I tend to steer clear from. I think if I really had “no opinion” at all on the matter, it wouldn’t be nearly as hard to write this post. And I am certainly having difficulty, partially due to me attempting to write neutrally here.

My opinion aside, I think it is a good thing when people come together for a cause, and bring it to our attention. Especially at a place like a train station. We just run back and forth so consumed in our own lives. We worry about the train being late, MTA’s cuts in service, and what we plan on having for dinner… while there are others in the world that wonder if they will have dinner at all. And that is if they were lucky enough not to get killed that day. And perhaps it gave train riders something to think about on the ride home.

The cat girl was out and causing mischief this week in Goldens Bridge. I’ve been told by some people I see on my commute that seeing me with my cat hat every morning makes them smile. But what of every person at the station that I don’t see? I figured I’d make them smile a bit too, and maybe have a bit of a laugh. So if you hang out around Goldens Bridge, you may have seen this poster:

Monday night I hung six of these posters. By Tuesday morning two were missing, and by this morning there were only three remaining, on the south side platform and the south vestibule stairwell. I was hoping that someone would call the number on the poster and say something amusing, but thus far I’ve received no calls. Yes, the number is in fact a real voicemail number. If you call it, any message you leave will be emailed to me.

Part of the motivation for the poster was to cover up the graffiti that the MTA will never clean

Don’t mess with the ticket machines. One of the first signs to disappear.

Two days ago I posted a link to a story on LoHud.com saying that three Metro-North ticket offices would be closing on January 13: Larchmont, Harrison, and Fleetwood. Unfortunately LoHud reports this morning that the number of closures has jumped to seven. The closures are as follows:
Hudson Line: Ossining
Harlem Line: Fleetwood, Hartsdale, Chappaqua
New Haven Line: Larchmont, Harrison, Darien

That brings down the number of stations ticket offices on the Harlem Line down to eight (not counting Grand Central). As far as I am aware, Harlem Line ticket offices in Brewster, North White Plains, White Plains, Scarsdale, Bronxville, Mount Vernon West, Fordham, and Harlem 125th will remain open. But of course this could change as Metro-North looks to cut costs. Apparently none of the employees of the ticket offices will be laid off, just relocated to alternate positions with the railroad. Supposedly this cut will save $1.1 million in 2010.

LoHud reported a few days ago that Metro North will be closing several manned ticket offices in Westchester county in order to cut costs. Ticket offices to be closed are Larchmont and Harrison, both on the New Haven Line, and Fleetwood, which is on the Harlem Line. They are set to be closed on January 13th.

I am certain that my friend is going to be thrilled when I tell her this. She often buys her ticket at the Fleetwood station. And she is one of those people that really hates dealing with machines. She wants to buy her ticket from a person. But I guess that isn’t how things work today. Apparently at Larchmont, only ten percent of the ticket sales were through the ticket counter. It is nice to cite numbers, but we aren’t seeing the number of people that used the ticket counter for other reasons, like looking for help or directions.

What a good morning this has turned out to be. Lets just say that I normally take a morning train at 7:13, but today that was the time I woke up, since I forgot to set my alarm. Now I know that the next train from Goldens Bridge leaves at 7:25, since I used to take that train. I am sitting on that 7:25 train right now. I didn’t brush my hair, wash my face, or make my lunch. And I have to pee, very badly. Which probably means I have to use the bathroom in White Plains. Which is just as bad as an outhouse, port-a-potty, or a train bathroom. In fact, I’d probably rather use an M7 bathroom over the bathroom in White Plains.

Anyways, the 7:25 train is one of those diesel trains that come down from Wassaic. Over on My Effing Commute John wrote one day about taking this train, and how nobody on the train talks. If you talk you are a “rookie”. This is totally true, and it amuses me. It is sort of like a different type of people ride these trains as opposed to the trains I am used to taking. I shall dub these people The Wassaic People.

The 7:25 from Goldens Bridge typically looks like this

As previously mentioned, The Wassaic People don’t talk on the train. If you do talk, you will get scowled at. This happened to me when I was carrying on a short conversation with the conductor that came to collect my ticket. Most times, Wassaic people sleep on the train. The good majority do this, though there are a few that read, or are on their laptops. When you exit the train and watch it pass by, you can see all the little heads of the people leaning against the windows, sleeping. I find this amusing.

I was totally taking over the world – playing Risk on my laptop

Wassaic People like to stand in the vestibule. The train cars have vestibules at the end, where the doors are. There is a sign on the door saying passengers are prohibited from standing while the train is in motion, but nobody ever follows warning signs like that. If you are getting off at White Plains, people walk and wait in the vestibule right after Valhalla. You do want to be first to get off, don’t you? On the train I normally take you just sort of stand up and exit about five seconds before the train stops. I can understand this behavior in Grand Central, people want to get out before the rat race begins. But this seems to happen at every stop this train makes. Even the little stops, where perhaps only two people get off.

Wassaic People also tend to be a little more angry than other train riders. Perhaps because they have to sit for a lot longer than the rest of us to get to Grand Central. Perhaps it is the fumes of the diesel engine. This increased little bit of anger or stress is probably why I get scowled at while riding this train. And if you are a new rider, you may be concerned about people taking their anger out against the doors. People kick the doors on these trains. There are buttons toward the bottom of the door that when pressed open the door. Mind you, I said pressed. One does not need to violently kick the door. But many people do.

The kick-me button

This is apparently the Wassaic way. Honestly, I don’t know which is better. I started taking the earlier train so I could at least have no difficulty in finding a seat. But when I take that train, I always get annoyed by the obnoxious school kids, or the occasional person getting drunk on their way to work at Target. I suppose it is an interesting ride either way.

My usual train car, many people had to stand in the open area by the doors, which made it difficult for others to enter and exit

Oh lord, the train last night was a nightmare. But of course, around holiday time, it always is. There was such difficulty getting onto the train at White Plains, because every seat was filled, and there were already people hanging out and standing by the doors, blocking other people from getting on. The only thing I could think of though, is about the cuts that are supposed to be coming for Metro North, and the MTA as a whole. Many trains will run with fewer cars. It has been a persisting rumor that my train would go from ten cars to eight. It hasn’t happened yet. But with these cuts, I can only imagine that it will end up happening quite soon. And I can’t even begin to imagine how horribly packed we’re going to be on an eight car holiday-time train.

Trains were so full, many people stood in the spaces at the front and back of the train cars

I was accidentally smacked in the ass by another passenger (apparently priming me for my upcoming trip to Japan, where I will be riding the rails. Groping happens so frequently there are special female-only trains). And to my left was a man listening to an ipod, and playing air guitar along with it. In front of me were several belligerent twenty-somethings attempting to light the others on fire with cigarette lighters. And the second I found a seat and yanked out my netbook, another passenger began a conversation with me about it, telling me how cute and light it looked. She wanted to know how much memory it had on it, and I said 1gb. She laughed and said that she has a flash drive that is bigger than that. I debated explaining the difference between memory (ram) and hard drive space, but I decided it wasn’t worth the effort.

Oh well, that is enough from me. I wish everyone a Happy Holidays! I was supposed to be working today, and I had planned to pass out holiday cards at White Plains to all the other unfortunate people that also had to work on Christmas Eve. Unfortunately (or fortunately) my tooth is hurting terribly (the dentist accidentally broke a tool in my mouth at an appointment on last week. I thank the coworker that had to say to me, “Oh I hope you didn’t get an infection from that) and I have an emergency pre-holiday dentist appointment, and I will be working from home. Anyways, enjoy the holiday, and I will see you next week!

Today the “Cat Girl” morphed into “Rabbit Girl”. It has been so cold lately, that I figured I’d use the rabbit hat, since the long ears can be wrapped around and serve as a scarf. You really know it is cold though, when you get to the station and there isn’t a single soul standing on the platform. They are all hiding in the heated vestibules until the train arrives.

When I got into work I took this photo of my rabbit attire…

A bunch of trains were delayed this morning, my friend ended up getting in late. She said that the conductor told her a woman lost her shoe on the tracks. Anyone know if this is true? If it is, it is kind of lame. Clearly she should have gone to work barefoot. Oh that would be too funny.

On my train however, I had a delightful man that apparently felt like sticking his hand down his pants. I am of the opinion that if you are in public, you should not be doing that. Ever. It is really creepy and nasty. I did actually take a picture of the guy, but after much internal debate, I have chosen to not post that image on the blog.

Anyways, the time I spent on my train (ignoring the man with his hand down his pants) was somewhat eventful, since I decided to write a note to the Connecticut Department of Transportation, regarding the Solari board’s removal next year in New Haven. Apparently a follow up article to the one I posted a few days ago was written on the New Haven Independent site a few days ago. The DOT may consider some sort of compromise, where perhaps the Solari would be saved, but moved to a different place. Or donated to a museum. And the new LCD would make the characteristic flipping noise of the Solari. This “compromise” doesn’t seem like much of a compromise, as it still means the Solari would be moved from its location in the station. If I get any sort of response to the letter I wrote, I will certainly post it here.

As I was leaving Goldens Bridge station today, I noticed that someone had been busy in the station mid morning or early afternoon. In the south-side vestibule there was some new spray-painted graffiti that hadn’t been there in the morning. When I saw it, I made me think that it was about time for a part two to the original train graffiti post I made a few months ago. And so here you go, graffiti part two…

Goldens Bridge is such a small, quiet station. We don’t get much spray paint here. Mostly just penises drawn in the dust of the windows that nobody ever cleans… I’m sure the MTA will send some people to clean the windows. Someday. If the cleaning people’s jobs aren’t cut…

I can’t even begin to decipher that one…

No, I didn’t do this bit of graffiti. Considering my post on my dislike for this ad, I had been pondering something snarky to write on it. Someone else got to it first.

I imagine a bored track worker did this, knowing the third rail was off. That or someone dumb enough to go and write on a live third rail…

A warning for you to watch the gap. Yeah, that gap. The one right on the bottom of her face, under the nose.

A sticker someone left on an M7.

The NY Lottery does like to advertise heavily on public transportation… Trying to make it sound like it easy to win a million dollars in the lottery though, that is bullshit.

Now this certainly seems to me like a racist statement. A poster with a bunch of African kids, attempting to raise money for charity, and someone labels it as a future Obama rally… Classy, real classy.