I’ve been taking the light rail to work for almost 2 months now.
I thought I would get a better idea of the rhythm of the thing, but so far, not so much. Twice recently there was a train sitting there as I drove up which means there is no way I will make it. If I notice a lot of people on the platform as I drive up, that’s my clue to hurry because there will probably be a train any moment. If the platform’s empty then I take my time since I probably just missed one.
The platform has a digital sign and a recorded voice that says things like “yellow train to city center expected to arrive in 7 minutes.” I’ve learned that this has little basis in reality and is almost never correct. Also sometimes when a train comes in it sets off an alarm that warns “You have violated a secure area. Leave immediately. Authorities have been called.” I’m sure.
Once I’m on the train it’s about 25 minutes. I use the time to read and found that magazines make the best material. I can get through The Week in one round trip. Novels are harder because of the stop and start and my not-optimal concentration. I just read House Made of Dawn and struggled with it a bit and ended up reading the cheat notes online because my comprehension wasn’t all there.
The crowd on the train is commuters, lots of kids going to school and some sketchy types. Especially when I’m riding home later on yoga night. I’ve been fare checked twice, witnessed a scary domestic dispute, smelled more than a few folks that I would encourage to try out bathing and heard a lot of really inane 1-sided cellphone blather.
I don’t hate it but I don’t love it either. I have more to say but as usual, running late. Bye.