It’s summer and it’s hot, but this lady’s letting it all hang out!

Photo courtesy of dumbtweets.com

Yeah baby, show us what you’ve got! Note to self: now that we know what goes on in these poles let’s remember to wash our hands immediately after commuting!

What’s with the beehive mama?! Need i mention the eyes?

You might not be able to tell this from the photo, but this chick with a black velour track pants, that is 2 sizes too big, and bunched into a really worn out knee high boots.

Sigh

Dude decided that he needed to clean his shoe on the train.

Sounds innocent right?

Click here to view the embedded video.

Kids do the darnest thing. Especially when they are a bit older than the cute stage.

Is this Kid really wearing a bra outside HIS shirt?

Summer is officially here and I find myself laboring under the delusion that, somehow, commuting will now be easier. Everyone is on vacation now right? Somehow it doesn’t appear to be playing out quite like that. This morning we were standing room only on the 7:40 out of Westfield station. I do have to say that I do appreciate the summer more since even when I get home at, say 6:30 PM, there is still at least 90 minutes of daylight

The windows of my office face west and there is a huge thunder cloud hanging over New Jersey. Hopefully the heavy rains will hold off until everyone (at least in my family) is safe at home.

I’m going to make a product endorsement. Several weeks ago I received an Amazon Kindle for doing some work for another web site. (Who says you can’t make any money on the internet?). It’s really the perfect commuter tool for those of you who like to read and not just zone out to music. It fits easily in a briefcase or coat pocket, it’s lightweight, and it’s got an adjustable font for when your eyes are tired at the end of a long day. I’ve even found a way to avoid the charges for books. There are several sites that allow the download of books that are in the public domain, thousands of them. Here’s your chance to catch up on the classics for free. Right now I’m reading The Sea Wolf by Jack London.

The best part, though, is the customer service. Two days ago I noticed that there was something wrong with the display.  A small square in the upper right hand corner was not displaying properly.  I called the 800 number and spent about 5 minutes talking to a technician who had me try several things. He then said Amazon would replace the unit at no cost to me within 24 hours. They did. The technician even was a native English speaker!

The Kindle is pricey, around $360, and it will never be as satisfying as a real book but we all have to make compromises. Riding the bus is not as satisfying as a limousine with a wet bar and flat panel television but we do learn to cope.

Several weeks ago I posted a rant with the provocative title Ugly People. It described the unappealing people that share my commute and a lament that the more attractive folks are going places where I am not..

This wasn’t the blog that I intended it to be.

I’ve gotten a lot of comments about this and reading over them has made me feel superficial and mean; much like the people that I was describing.

So I want to try to rephrase this. It’s not the people that are ugly and mean it’s the environment that has made us this way. I bet that these are perfectly wonderful people in their own backyards and among their friends. Being squeezed into a metal container, sitting next to strangers and trying to maintain our personal space and dignity, breathing recycled air, losing 10 hours a week, that’s the ugly part.

What is StrAnGer than time? Time wrapped in the mysteries from the unexpected actions we convey. If we were not arid with how our DAYS develop, embracing the notion that each day brings forth the opportunity to BREATHE and EXPERIENCE new LIFe, then nothing would be a mystery and no1 would be a StrAnGer.

We walk in a Matrix of disconnected existence(s), seeking connections towards things we often forget how to approach or realize. Why Dream if you don’t LIVe to capture it? Why LIVe and fail to Dream? We possess the ability to travel where we wish, in our minds if for the time being, experience true LIFe by indulging in its knowledge and study your passions! Study them so that you may be able to understand each quality that elates you, so that it may elate you further and so you may travel further.

Ask yourself which was created 1st, The key or the Door… which would you rather control and which would you fear least in losing track of?

LIFe is a Test of Memories, Enjoy the Exams for each is Timed!
Darren Eath

On Monday we’ll be celebrating the Memorial Day holiday. Most people don’t exactly know what they are celebrating but it’s the official kickoff for the summer season. A few minutes ago I received an e-mail from the VP in charge of our division informing us that the office would close at 3 PM tomorrow. Even better. At the bus station yesterday there were signs informing us of extra service tomorrow to accommodate the holiday rush.

For those of you who don’t know what we are honoring on this day off it is the men and women who have died in service to United States in the armed forces. It appears more like a testament to driving, shopping, and eating.

As a commuter I like three day weekends. On the Friday before there are lots of people who try to grab an extra day and don’t even bother coming in. Everyone leaves early so that if you stay until the normal closing time most folks have left already. It would be wonderful if I could say that the roads were less travelled but it’s impossible to predict what a good time to leave is or when the traffic will be better. Everyone has a theory but more often than not you’ll be wrong.

Sometimes I feel like my bus line has the ugliest people in the New York region. I see lots of people in the bus station and walking to and from the terminal that are interesting looking, well dressed, and ready to conquer the world. On my line they are old, fat, wrinkled, poorly dressed, and mean.

OK, I don’t like where I live. I’ve been there for 14 years and I find the people snooty and unfriendly. I’m there because my wife and kids won’t entertain the idea of moving and I’m too timid to push the issue. Still, there are other places whose residents are snooty and mean but they are interesting to look at.

There was a time when there were some nice looking people on the NJ Transit 113 route and I used to look forward to seeing them on the bus. Some of them I would even talk to. The economic upheaval and maybe the stresses of commuting have taken them away from me. I miss them.

I sit wondering while I commute. How much is too much? Ok, so one day I rode the subway & buses for less than a buck, once there was a coin with a hole in it which was useful to pay for a ride and heck I recall seeing police on the trains & platforms and felt safe during the commute.

What exactly are we paying almost a 6th of our annul income for? Is it for the comfort, tranquility, time efficiency, speed… I mean what is it that deserves the hike, aren’t we losing jobs and failing to produce new ones? I’m pretty sure if they gave any of us a crack at figuring out a FAIR.. I mean fare plan we can come up with another suggestion OTHER than “Squeezing the public”.

Going GREEN? Does that mean more mullah? Anywho… By the next week and a half we’ll be paying an extra half to… WHAT exactly again? Oh yeah to get theirs!

Roman S

I used to think that my commute was bad. Over an hour door to door on a good day. I was pretty miserable. Then I started meeting people at work whose commute made mine look like a stroll down the street.

About 2 years ago I hired a guy that told me that he lived in Hopewell Junction, New York. He was surprised that I knew where this was. I explained to him that when I was in college I worked during the summers at a hotel there. I would leave my home in Brooklyn at the end of June and return at the beginning of September. I was making the round trip once a summer and he was doing the 2 plus hour trip each way every day!

Shortly after that I started reporting to a guy that lived even further away. He drove 30 minutes to get to the last stop on the Harlem line. Also a 2 plus hour commute each way. The best story was a guy that I met who lived in Bucks County Pennsylvania who took the 2.5 hour bus ride on Monday morning, worked 10 hour days and then took the bus home on Thursday evening. He figured it was easier to rent a room in Manhattan for the other nights than braving the journey every day.

I’ve always dreamed of being able to walk to work or at least have a short bike ride of it. There is something wrong with a world where people spend so much time getting from place to place. I realize that these people are paying for their larger homes or nicer surroundings in time rather than cash but what kind of life is it when such a significant part of it is spent in such a useless activity?

Sigh…..

I really don’t know what to say for this one.

You guys have fun putting a caption to this one.  I don’t have any idea what part of this outfit looked good or what part was supposed to be sexy and in fashion.

Go figure.

Sitting on the subway a while back i thought I’d share some tips on how to travel like a Movie star while on the subway.

Tip #1 – No one can get off the train until you get on.

Allowing people to get off the train while you are trying to get on is just totally not acceptable. They should realize that you are royalty and superior to them and just stand back.

Tip#2 – Get the handicap seat and occupy them both.

This way you make sure that no one can sit next to you (and ask for photos, autographs clippings of your hair). This also helps you stand out from the crowd and lets the other plebs on the subway realize that you are important!  Plus it looks good to see the guy hobbling on a crutch on one foot or the pregnant lady, or the old man who can’t stand up for long, just standing next to you sitting. It will help with your status if people see them all standing while you sit, because it will let others know that your status overrides. Little kids will look up to being just like you.

Tip#3 – Dark shades are a must!!!!

What celebrity do you know goes out in public without shades. It may not hide who you are, but people will look at you more to try to figure out if you are really that person they saw on TV….Come on you know you want the extra attention too.

Tip#4 – Make sure to give the Angelina Jolie pout for the entire ride!

It’s sexy. It worked for her and it will work for you. Don’t worry that it hurts your cheeks or that people say it does not quite suit your face. That’s just their opinion because they just can’t do it.

Tip#5 – Strike a pose with every movement.

You just never know when the paparazzi will be on the prowl. Make sure they always get your good side. No panties are a must, because crotch shots are the best….Settle for tights as a last resort.

That’s it…

Follow these tips and trust me. Everyone will think you are a celebrity.

I couldn’t let this one go by.

Deep in the National news section of Saturday’s New York Time ran this headline:

Massachusetts: Text Messaging Before a Trolley Crash

For the full story see – http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/09/us/09brfs-INJURIESINBO_BRF.html?_r=1&scp=5&sq=trolley&st=cse

The first thing that popped into my mind after reading this and the followup story the next day was the old saw from the National Rifle Association, “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people”. It’s definitely true in this case the mobile device wasn’t the problem it was the lack of intelligence that told this guy that he could operate a public conveyance while poking at the keyboard. I’d love to know what message just couldn’t wait to be sent.

Are the stocks still in use in Boston, I mean for public humiliation? It might be time to bring them back.

So we all know that New York is know for it’s people and how they carve out their own road through the fashion jungle…

Well she certainly did her bit of carving.

Plus, lets just say that this Leather skirt, leather boots, hoodie and backpaking fanionista, was not at all young in the tooth.

Looked more like 60 plus to me.

So, recently I started paying more attention to what I do before boarding the train or bus. When I’m done kicking that song out of my head that has been following my spirit, after I have smiled a few times about what yesterday offered and giving THNX4 my blessings, I think about what I can do to better express my frustrations in an artistic manner. So I came up with this in direction to my means:

What shadows grew, from where? I never knew. Armored thoughts were what always brewed, our pride’s allure is why this ensued. Our paths went stray, the mission grayed, the rank we held has lost its grade.
A flight once flew through skies of blue, enraged with clouds through Baton Rouge. The rains that brewed like no one knew, no dam confines such awful slew, the thoughts conceived and stuck like glue, cast shadows longed from whence it grew.

The concept of error in me and you; Like snow in August or late in June. You’re birth of Sun and mine from Moon, left hearts astray, in darkness’s dune. My hearts a beating pod weaved from iced cocoons and yours colorful-adventurous much like balloons. One freed itself composed a rune, it played with words but never you. The others speech leaves all in ruins from uttered words that land and bruise. Upon my chest the prints of shoes.

Concluded you as if, I WERE NOT TRUE and doubted all sincerities tossing them away. As I reached to embrace, you shied and swayed, accused (me) of sins I never made. Wise best be words we choose to fuse, the message sent to minds perused by fledging winds spurring love’s unused sense, which is tense from how often you spew with vulgar, intense your bitter rues. Reading now your method used, like print on paper’s morning news or words from air-crafts on skies when blue.

To read the remaining (5 sonnets plz visit this link)

http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&friendId=54137007&page=2

PLZ scroll down to the entry entitled – NO TITLE -
Merci travelers
Roman S

There was a long time that I thought my hour long commute each way to work was a fantastic waste of time.  Just think of the things that I could be doing or the fun I could be having if I didn’t have this enforced confinement twice a day, five days a week 48 weeks a year (hurrah for 4 weeks of vacation!).

I could be getting in another hour of exercise before work or even getting to work earlier to get some quiet time before the crush.  I could be getting home earlier to help my kids with homework or even getting some of those house chores done in daylight.

Life is full of could haves and should haves and its best to make do with what we’ve got.  When I realized that commuting was going to be my lot I developed a skill that has made the 480 hours a year into something that I can point to with some pride.  I can read just about anywhere.  There was a time when I commuted in a shared taxi 45 minutes each way on twisty roads.  I learned to read on this ride by starting out slowly.  Read 5 minutes and put the book down.  The next day I read for 8 minutes and so on until I never got the nauseous feeling again.

Last year I read 54 full length books.  That’s about average for me.  Some years it’s 60 and some as low as  48.  In the 14 years I’ve been on my current job I’ve read over 600 books!  I mix it up; I read picks from the New York Times Book Review, some non-fiction and something older and classic.  I’ve recently purchased a Kindle 2 reader and am completing my first (classic) on that.  In case you are interested I’m reading Coal Town by Upton Sinclair.  The Kindle is a marvelous invention built for commuters like us.  More on that in a different post.

Ok, so I have had quite a few, shall we say, “interesting” episodes while commuting. I was just going to blog about another “interesting” episode when I thought I would step back this time and let other people have their say. So I ask you this simple question: “What “interesting” commute story do you have?”

I just might try to outdo whatever you post with one of my own stories. Let the games begin!

This post was submitted by Shelly-Ann .

Despite the fact that I live in the suburbs, I have a choice on how to get to work. New Jersey Transit runs both buses and trains from my town to midtown Manhattan. When I first moved to Westfield 14 years ago I never considered anything but the train. Trains are fun, fast, efficient, relatively environmentally friendly and they don’t have to compete with cars, trucks and other buses for the limited access to the Lincoln Tunnel.

On top of all this our train station has a nice sheltered bike rack so I could cycle down to the station and not have to worry about the expense and stress of a parking space at the station.

The big disadvantage of the train was that it was not a direct run into NYC. Our diesel line terminates in Newark and we needed to transfer for a New York bound train. This did not seem like a big deal at first but the “Newark shuffle” quickly grew annoying as we often needed to change platforms with only one staircase going down and another going up. There were rarely seats on the New York bound train too. After September 11 when service on the PATH trains to lower Manhattan was suspended the Newark to New York leg of the trip became unbearable.

About the same time, I moved a lot closer to the train station (actually the train runs through our backyard!) and the bus stop was on our corner, a two minute walk away. The bus station in NY was 8 blocks closer to my office, the fare was $8 a month cheaper and I always got a seat. I may be a train loyalist but the factors in favor of the bus were overwhelming. The only down side to the bus was it was impossible to accurately predict how long the trip would take. If I really needed to be at work at 9 AM I would need to allocate at least 90 minutes for the trip, just in case.

I still look wistfully at the train as it passes. It’s a little hard to be romantic about a bus but whatever gets me to and from work quickly and cheaply I’m in favor of.

As we travel, we aim in one direction and think in many. How much of a day’s travel do we really invest in embracing the existences around us or even our very own existence? When we pass by a spectacular ocular attraction, what exactly makes us notice it? Can we agree that we share interests regardless of destinations or travels.

Who wouldn’t want to have a stack of cash in front of them, wearing glasses? (that insurance ad)
How about the NEW CAR sold by the Company that no longer approves customers?

Which strategies are used to funnel our attentions? What strategy do we, as individuals use to absorb the world around us? Do we embrace by appreciation, fear, envy, greed, desire, necessity or impulse? When we move about our day, bask in the privilege of being served continuously by the mind’s ingenuity and all its potentials. Offer your mind the best exercise possible by putting it to use and ask your self “WHY”, perhaps 5 times a day. Peel away at your answers until you find that your brain is breaking a sweat. Challenge your mind by using the world around you to understand your motivations and dichotomies.

Roman S

All of the news about the swine flu pandemic about-to-happen brings to mind an unfortunate incident that happened to me several years ago. I wouldn’t say that this was my worst nightmare but it is certainly a situation that I wouldn’t want to repeat and, hopefully, I am somewhat prepared for now.

I had been working late on a system problem. We had ordered out for sandwiches and had a quick dinner while troubleshooting. I gratefully caught the last express bus home which mercifully was relatively empty.

About 20 minutes into the ride and passing the New Jersey Meadowlands I began to perspire heavily and knew that something was wrong. I also quickly knew that I was going to be sick to my stomach with no chance of getting off the bus any time soon. I bring my lunch in a reusable bag and I’ll spare you the rest of the details.

Now, every time I fly I take the air sickness bags with me and keep a couple in my bag just in case. I also carry a flashlight, cell phone, and plenty to read. You never know what’s going to happen on an otherwise everyday commute!

I know that a lot has been said about the ubiquitous hand held wonders that have invaded our lives. What they do to our commuting experience can’t be spoken enough about.

Firstly, we need to remmber how they have put our lives in danger. Last year’s California train wreck with an engineer who was busy texting and running a red signal should have been a wake up call but I guess it wasn’t. On my commute home last week some bozo cut off the bus that I was riding on while he was busy dialing some, I’m sure, critical phone conversation. Why do people belive that they can multi-task on a busy highway where even people who give the road their full attention get creamed?

Then there are my fellow commuters whose work days begin upon waking up and never end. I have been offered a mobile device at work but have always politely refused it. For me the bus time is blissful limbo time. I read, ponder, and sleep. I want nothing else (other than not to have to be there). I certainly don’t want to have to listen to either inane or business converstaions.

My conclusion is that these devices are somehow addictive. Being unconnected, if even for short periods, is deeply distubing to some people. I should be sympathetic but I’m not sympathetic to smokers either who think that I shouldn’t mind breathing in their foul exhaust.