Archive for March, 2007
Tuesday, March 13th, 2007
Hidden Benefits of Mexican Vacations
One thing I liked about Mexico, other than the 88-and-breezy weather, the swim-up bars, the leche-heavy ice cream at dinner and lunch, the Habanas I did or did not sneak through customs, and reading the hopelessly Borat-esque Cancun Today newspaper over breakfast, was not having to carry my monthly train pass around for a week.
Mind […]
No Comments » - Posted in Uncategorized by TJ
Tuesday, March 13th, 2007
Strawberry Meals Forever
Saw a funny thing on the 5:46 last night. The guy across the aisle from me–average dark suit, average brown hair, average, if a bit ’90s, goatee–proceeded to eat an entire container of strawberries in the time it took to get from Grand Central to 125th.
They were in a white styrofoam container with shrink wrap. There […]
No Comments » - Posted in Devil in the White City, Strawberries by TJ
Tuesday, March 13th, 2007
MTA “Picks” Subway Poetry
Today’s NY Times says the MTA will salute W.H. Auden, who split his time between his native England and New York, with some subterranean poetry to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the poet’s birth.
I think it’s a good idea, and unlike many cynical New Yorkers, I like the subway-wall poesy offered up as part of […]
No Comments » - Posted in Nose-Picking, Poetry in Motion by TJ
Monday, March 12th, 2007
Ask Engine Bob
Q: Engine Bob, the other day I was waiting for my train in Grand Central, I looked up at the huge arch window above the concourse and saw what looked like someone walking around inside of it. What’s the deal?
A: This may be a close to magic as the MTA is capable of. Well, no, […]
No Comments » - Posted in Ask Engine Bob, Campbell Apartment, Catwalks, Engine Bob by TJ
Monday, March 12th, 2007
If the Train Should Jump the Track, Do You Want Your Money Back?
The MTA will spend six months and $100,000 to figure out why three trains on the New Haven line have jumped the track since December.
Two tidbits of note: All three derailments were at Track 19 (the sharpest curves, says the MTA), and a full train holds 1,200 people–or 1,200,000 during Slippery Rail season.
Journal News has […]
No Comments » - Posted in Uncategorized by TJ
Monday, March 12th, 2007
Word of the Week: Tramnesia
TRAMNESIA \TRAMM-neezhh-ya\ noun: Waking up from a deep sleep on the train, not knowing what stop you’re at, and bolting for the door in the assumption that the current stop is yours.
USAGE: I had two Bloody Marys at lunch, then had a serious bout of tramnesia when the train stopped in Mamaroneck and I thought it […]
1 Comment » - Posted in Mamaroneck, Word of the Week by TJ
Sunday, March 11th, 2007
The Wheels on the Google Bus Go Round and Round
Interesting page 1 story in the Times yesterday about employees at Google’s Silicon Valley headquarters hopping the Google buses to go to work, complete with photo of lots of white people reading books and listening to iPods on the bus.
The Google thinking is, offering free chef-prepared food and on-site oil changes, haircuts and rock-climbing wall, not to […]
1 Comment » - Posted in Bus, Google, Silicon Valley by TJ
Friday, March 9th, 2007
Straphanger Joe is Still Smilin’, Living On the Edge of Danger
Smile Study Part II
I walk to the train after dropping my son off at school, the snow forcing me to look down. Everyone has their head down against the wind. I keep my iPod off, not wanting to be distracted from my observation, and too cold to take my gloves off and put the damn […]
No Comments » - Posted in Smile Study, Straphanger Joe by TJ
Friday, March 9th, 2007
Front-of-Train Types
Played it all wrong on the 8:17 this morning. Despite my better judgement, I went looking for my beloved Conductors-Only…or Not? seat. The first one I came to was locked in the upright position. Heading into the next car, the second one I came to was… occupied! (By a man who surely read about the wonders of the […]
No Comments » - Posted in 8:17, Scarsdale, Valhalla by TJ
Thursday, March 8th, 2007
As If This Morning Wasn’t Chilly Enough
Sorry, this one’s kind of disturbing.
On one of the routes I take to the train station, I pass a graveyard that looks like it took in its last customer at least a century ago. It’s actually kind of neat.
But one gravestone, which I’d passed dozens of times before, caught my eye. I suppose this is […]