Twice Shy

Day: 368

Photo taken on Thursday, August 4, 2011 by the front door at 934pm.

Insect bites seem to be a constant reoccurrence in my life lately. Today I pass out on my commute home only to wake up with two new bug bites that are ridiculously itchy. Maybe I should start opting for unscented lotion because coconut might be attracting them to my skin. That or I'm just too damn sweet.

;-P

Swass

Day: Three Hundred and Fifty Five

Photo taken on Friday, July 22, 2011 on the Babylon line with Liz at 608pm.

It is hot as balls today. It is also hot as balls in this train, that is why I am sitting in a middle seat in one of the only air conditioned cars in order to get some relief (but mainly I am sitting here so I can rub my sweaty appendages all over Liz).

I get the text from my Lovah (as I am sticking to a window seat in a suffocating car) telling me she is on my train right now. She tells me she has an open seat next to her with my name on it. I ask her where she is located on the train and she says, "Towards the back." I consider myself at the end of the middle so she must be behind me. I start heading back there happy at the notion I will be in a cool place but as I walk further and further into the bowels of the train it gets hotter and hotter. Also, there is hardly anyone in these cars so I must be going in the wrong direction. I whip out my phone when I see I am in the second to last car.

"Did I pass you? Are you in the last car?"

I start heading back to where I was sitting and proceed to pass it. Apparently Liz and I have different meanings of "back of the train". I laugh and tell her I'm on my way. She tells me to please hurry because her car is packed and people are eyeing that open seat she is claiming is saved for a "friend". I understand her anxiety because commuters can be downright pushy when it comes to standing for 50 minutes. Hot commuters become freaking monsters when they think they have to stand for 50 minutes.

As I am illegally moving between train cars, I find one of the doors is locked. I panic. I tell Liz I'm stuck. She panics too. "Everyone is going to think I'm lying about saving this seat!"

"Fuck em," I say. I then hope that by some miracle I can make it up to her car so I can rescue her from these zombies.

By the time we hit Jamaica it gets so unbearably hot in here that they keep us in the station in order to open the doors between cars so some air can get in and alleviate some of the crazy stirring up. I take this opportunity to continue my trek to the front and as I pass Liz she calls out to me. I turn around to find her in a three seater and the look on the guy's face in the aisle seat when he realizes he has to sit next to a sweaty and smelly me is priceless.

Her car is cool, crowded, and absolutely silent. They're all glaring at me as I take the free seat and begin to catch up with Liz. We chat all the way to Amityville when we realize that our car has passed the station platform. I turn to Liz with a chuckle, "You realize the first two cars don't platform right?"

She laughs and we get up to move back a car so we can get out at the next two stations.

Looks like we really have two different definitions for "back of the train".

^_\

Sleepwalker

Day: Two Hundred and Ninety Seven

Photo taken on Wednesday, May 25, 2011 in the bedroom at 107am.

This is usually the time I get up but since right now I reek of sweat, booze, and karaoke goers, I need to get up a tad earlier if I want to get my shower in before leaving for the train. I like the fact that the clock face is displaying a rising sun which doesn't make me feel too bad about getting up that early. But it's when I turn my alarm back a few minutes that I start to feel a little annoyed:

A night picture?!?! See, even my phone agrees that getting up any time before 5 is just ludicrous!

Whoopsies!

Day: Two Hundred and Forty Seven

Photo taken on Tuesday, April 5, 2011 on the 7 platform in Long Island City, NY at 519pm.

I'm an idiot.

And as I'm trying to take this picture my hand is shaking because I'm giggling like an idiot too.

Steve and I have planned a trip down to our new digs this evening to drop off some stuff (namely the two tie-dyed bean bag chairs that I have insisted are important enough to move TODAY) so I have been instructed to get on the Farmingdale train. I love this train because A) It goes out of Hunters Point therefore I skip the Penn Station hassle (B) It has three seaters so no one sits next to me and (C) I rode it for three years and even had my own "assigned seat"*.

So today, as I'm heading to the 529 LIRR train, I get wrapped up in two songs on my iPod while the 7 subway speeds underneath the East River towards my destination. I'm changing the lyrics to two particular songs so they can be tailored to my voicemail. Some of you have been privy to my voicemail but others simply stick to texting me probably to avoid my voicemail because I sing it. It's been decided that I have had my own rendition of "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" for way too long so right at this moment I'm stuck between two other hits to use instead. I'm so engrossed in this process that I don't even realize we hit my stop.

And then pass it.

I don't even realize something is amiss even when we start inching out of the underground tunnel and sunshine streams across my face because I'm staring intently at my iPod. When I switch the song I look up, just in time to see people filing along a platform, waiting for an incoming train.

My incoming train.

But I don't even realize it then either. I swear to Jesus I just look out at these people and think to myself, "huh. Look at all those people at Hunters Point."

A beat.

Another beat.

Wait for it...

"Oh shit! Hunters Point!"

And that's when I start laughing out loud. And that's also when other passengers slowly start to inch away from me. And that's also when I realize I have no idea when the next stop is so I quickly shoot off a text to Steve letting him know I just may end up on the usual Smithtown train. Though somehow, through some stroke of luck, I make it back to Hunters Point with time to spare and find my assigned seat vacant and waiting.

Life is good.



*"assigned seat"- Believe it or not, there are many LIRR commuters that have become accustomed to sitting in the same seats day in and day out. It's hard to do in Penn Station because they call the train before the train shows up so then everyone pushes in at the same time, thus making it hard to get the same seat twice. But at Hunters Point the 7 train drops us off in waves so it is easy to fall into a routine of getting in the same car with the same people in the same seats.

4am Forever

Day: Two Hundred and Eleven

Photo taken on Monday, February 28, 2011 while brushing my teeth in the attic bathroom of the TDM at 437am.

How sad is it that whether I am in Virginia or New York I still get up at the same time for work? And I'll probably get to the Surge today around the same time I normally do as well.

Noogs

Day: One Hundred and Ninety One

Photo taken on Tuesday, February 8, 2011 on the LIRR at 636am. (Later train today because someone forgot to set their alarm. I won't point any fingers but I'm the only one who gets up at 435am.)

Moma is the only person I know that goes to a silent auction and only bids on stuff for other people. She is always thinking of others and their wants or needs so when she spies a Nook she immediately thinks of me and my redonkulous commute. I am really stoked to have a new toy-I have already affectionately named it Noogie-so when dad hands it off to me, I quickly go down to Barnes and "No Balls" (courtesy of Preston) and buy a casing for it since I tend to drop expensive things (don't let me hold your baby either). I just hope I stay on top of Noogie's well being and that I'm not halfway through my train ride when I'm like, "Crap! My book ran out of batteries!"

I'm totally digging this new form of entertainment and have already downloaded two *free* ebooks and finished one before hitting Hunterspoint this morning. The Smoke Dragon by Shane Jiraiya Cummings is peppered with vocabulary we haven't seen since the SATs so that is totally refreshing plus it's like Raiden from Mortal Kombat meets Gato's underlings from Naruto. Definitely a thumbs up!

Thank you, Moma, for this awesome gift! Looking forward to reading book two later!

No school!

Day: One Hundred and Seventy Nine

 Photo taken on Thursday, January 27, 2011 in the bedroom at 252pm.

This has been the best winter on record! I think I'm on my fourth snow day so far this season. How awesome is it to get paid to play in the snow? Or jump on the bed?

I am ready this morning at 6 to set off towards the city but bossdad is not ready to tell me whether or not the Surge would still be open. All busses are suspended and only Armando could get there thus far. I tell him I don't mind coming since there is one train I can catch in 30 minutes so he says come on in.

And then he says, "If we decide to shut the Surge you can just get off the train and go back the other way."

Um...how 'bout..no, dad. That's not a good option at all. I am not going to take the gamble of being stranded at some random Long Island train station when more than half of the eastbound trains are not running. I like how bossdad thinks I live on 85th Street, as if I'm just around the corner.

I'm actually two hours away.

I need an answer. I hate to pressure him but I do anyway and he concedes.

I'm such a weasel.

Working Hard, Hardly Workin'

Day: One Hundred and Sixty Nine

Photo taken on Monday, January 17, 2011 in the Manga Loft (which doubles as my workspace) at 1052am.

It is a rare event for me to work from home during the week but a day like today calls for it. Two years ago I attempt to go into work on MLK Day and immediately regret that decision. Not many people get off for the holiday yet the LIRR is on a holiday schedule. This means Hunterspoint Avenue is shut down and only one train an hour goes to and from the city. It is a madhouse and not worth having everybody brush up against my backside for four hours.

So today I take the floating holiday to do some extra data entry for my parents' medical billing company, Empire Management. I have been doing SPARCS since I was 15 years old and I can rival Sonic in speed as I tear through the claims.

Working from home is great because while I'm on my work computer, Sergei, I have my everyday laptop, Miles, to my right for any researching needs I may have (or watching Facebook status updates, you know, work important things) as well as Nico to my left for music (played as loud as I want!). Yeah, Nico. Surprised he's still hanging on right? He'll be 7 in June! How crazy is that?! I just don't have the heart to get rid of him so instead I prop him up on a book so he doesn't overheat and he's in charge of my iTunes selection.

And the best part of working from home besides peeing with the door open? 

Working in my pajamas!

What would I do without you, Steve?

Day: One Hundred and Sixty Six

Photo taken on Friday, January 14, 2011 on the A platform of the Farmingdale train station at 609am.

Why on earth would I be back standing in the same spot I stood for three years when now I have an entirely different spot to stand in on a different line?

You know the answer to this one. You know it's been a tough morning already and you're not even up yet!

For some reason, Smithtown chose to be very secretive about shutting down Main Street this morning and any road that gets my ass to the train station on time. Luckily Steve is with me because he's taking Sai again today until the roads are completely ice-free, so he's there to try and cut off my panic of not making my train. I start losing it because the person in front of me is craaawwwling. CRAWLING! Because of this douchebag, I don't make my train but I try anyway. I bail out of the car and haul ass through a parking lot that leads to a dead end because I didn't see the tiny pathway they carved out to get to the other platform. But it doesn't matter, the train is too far down for me to sprint to anyway.

I start bawling.

I call Steve to tell him to come back and get me but so many roads are blocked he can't find his way back.

The panic starts setting in. There isn't a soul around, not even a taxi. The silence is deafening and the next train isn't coming through for another hour.

I'm hysterical. And scared.

Steve tries to coach me through my breathing so it doesn't turn into hyperventilating but I'm too angry for a panic attack. If Smithtown needed to do snow removal so bad that should have been announced to commuters last night on the LIRR. I would have allotted for more time this morning, especially since I jolted awake 14 minutes before my alarm went off anyway.

I keep turning in circles, checking my surroundings since I know only skells are out this hour, especially around train stations. I see a car pull up and I start darting the other way until Steve screams into the phone that it's him. I climb in and look away since I have tears streaming down my face and I'm blubbering like a fool. I feel completely out of control. I think of the work on my desk and my morning routine at the Surge. I start crying even harder and he just rubs my hand, telling me it will all be alright.

I start in that it's because I didn't finish my acne steps last night, that's why this happened. Steve says that's not true and that he is going to drop me off in Farmingdale on his way to work so I can catch the train I took for three years. It's familiar. It's safe. I know all the other commuters on "my car" and where they all sit. But I then think about the fact that now I have to go to Penn and come up on the C train and I start to worry that something bad is going to happen. While the obsessional thoughts creep in, Steve stops in Hess to fill up the tank I wanted to fill last night. I hop out to tell him I won't make the 6am from Farmingdale.

And we don't make it. We pull down the road that leads to the parking lot and I wave to the train as it pulls away. Now I'm petrified the day is going to turn ugly.

I get on the 609. I read a novel for most of the way there, in an aisle seat *shudder* in part of a six seater *shudder* but luckily no one sits in front or next to me.

Then the C train is there when I reach the platform.

Then the M86 is there when I come out of the subway.

I'm only 15 minutes later than normal.

Huh. Maybe it won't be so bad after all.

I am the night!

Day: Ninety Nine

Photo taken on Monday, November 8, 2010 on my regular train at 548pm.

It is that time of year again, the time of year when I am convinced it is night forever.

When I get up in the morning, it is pitch black. When I ride the LIRR, it remains night-like. When I come out of the subway it is still dark and when I leave the Surge it's just as dark. Since I have no windows in my office, I am convinced the sun never comes out at all.

Shino

Day: Forty Four

Photo taken Tuesday, September 14, 2010 on the LIRR in Long Island City, NY around 645pm.

What are you still doing in the City Terminal Zone at 645pm at night, you ask? That's a very good question indeed. What am I still doing in Queens at this hour of night? And the answer is quite simple:

Nothing.

As you can plainly see I am doing absolutely nothing but sitting on a stationary train as other trains pass ours by. And by other trains I mean EVERY SINGLE GODDAMN TRAIN COMING OUT OF PENN STATION.

As Bossdad walks me to the 86th Street Station after work today, we joke about the Port Jefferson line and how eastbound times are really quite ridiculous. The week I move to Smithtown, the LIRR cancels the 511pm train home which leaves me the choice of going to Penn Station for an earlier train or working later and taking one of three ridiculously late trains from Hunters Point, like who in the hell wants to take the 630pm? Why is that one even an option?!

Well it would have been a better option than the one I'm on at the moment as I watch the 630pm train pass us as we continue to sit in utter silence with no air conditioning and a nonworking engine. Not until 7pm do the geniuses of the LIRR decide that towing us back to Hunters Point seems like a good idea which I think is a fabulous idea since we have waited for every single Hunters Point train to leave so we can be stranded with no trains at all (meaning back to the city we'll go!). Though they assure us there will be a train to Huntington for us when we get back to the station which I think is a perfect solution for all of us commuters that ride this specific express train to pass Huntington in order to get to the stations after Huntington since ALL OF US LIVE PAST HUNTINGTON!

As we board the train to Huntington I grumble that I would be in Smithtown by now if it wasn't for the conductor who knew there was definitely something wrong with the train but chose to drive it conveniently down the track far enough away that it stranded us for over an hour. They then keep us at the station for an additional 20 minutes just because, and then proceed to tells us (after the doors close tightly) that we will be making additional stops before Huntington so (no) passengers on this train can get off. I think it is very generous of the LIRR to make additional stops for the invisible commuters on our express train.

So now we get to Huntington and they kick us off the train to wait for another one to take us to our respective (real) stops.

And we wait for an additional 15 minutes for said train to get here, all the while they keep apologizing to us. They can stuff their sorries in a sack and buy me dinner instead since I chose today to not pack myself dinner and instead drink something before getting on which definitely proves to be my best commuting idea yet.

I already think it's unfair every day when I get home at the reGoddamdiculous hour of 730pm to start my night so you can only imagine what I'm feeling as I enter my house at 910pm. Let's just say, our apartment complex might be rethinking those quiet hours starting at 10pm...

MOVE!

Day: Thirty One

Photo taken on Wednesday, September 1, 2010 on the LIRR in the Northport area.

As you can clearly see, no one is in the two-seater directly across from us yet this beefy man continues to sit next to me. I am giving him the "WTF?! Hand" which is a gesture I do when I am completely baffled by something. Today, I am baffled as to why this smelly individual has not moved even though many seats on the car are vacant. He is the type of man the exudes body heat too and I accept the fact that I'm stuck with him from Jamaica when he gets on but I can't accept the fact that he is still sitting next to me when he doesn't have to. I'm even staring openly into his face too, with my eyebrows raised as if to say, "You can stop sitting next to me now." I know he can feel me staring at him yet he keeps his eyes forward into the seat in front of him. I then do the "Incredulous Move" which is me sitting forward in my seat, pinning him with a stare, straightening up to look around the car with a loud sigh, pinning him with another stare, then slamming back into my seat in a huff.


He still doesn't move.


Now you're just plain creepy.

I HATE when men do this to me. It makes me overly anxious to be crowded in when I don't need to be. I even asked my dad what he would do in this situation and he said he would move the minute two seats opened up. So I'm starting to wonder why is it I constantly get these type of people that like encroaching on my personal space?


I think I'm going to invest in a bull horn. I think that might do the trick.