Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Love Hate and Commuting
I have a minimum 1 and 3/4 hour door to door commute every day, each way. On the plus side I get to do emails, read the paper or a book, watch the odd movie, people watch and walk South Bank and over Tower Bridge. These are good things.
On the down side I have to take the train. Now, at the best of times this is almost bearable. I usually get a seat, usually have someone not too obnoxious beside me, and usually the time passes not too badly.
Then there are days like today. I arrive at the normal appointed hour and stake out my little square foot of platform space to await the arrival of the train. Today, it arrives on time, but has only half the carraiges as normal. There was no warning, no tell tale augers, it just showed up and only filled up half of the platform. Not my half of the platform. There is a mad dash, elbows, brief cases and handbags are deployed, small children are left crying at the sidelines.
Oddly enough, there are no seats free. Even worse, the standing room only space is packed. So rather than having an almost bearable jouney reading my book, I stand with not enough space to breath. Then, my connecting train is also late and also packed. There is a long line out the door of the coffee shop I normally get my caffiene dose at, and when I find further along free, I find I have no dosh.
My grumpy old man gleefully strode to the fore.
Then I saw this over at US and life got better again. I love how people can be serious about the absurd...
On the down side I have to take the train. Now, at the best of times this is almost bearable. I usually get a seat, usually have someone not too obnoxious beside me, and usually the time passes not too badly.
Then there are days like today. I arrive at the normal appointed hour and stake out my little square foot of platform space to await the arrival of the train. Today, it arrives on time, but has only half the carraiges as normal. There was no warning, no tell tale augers, it just showed up and only filled up half of the platform. Not my half of the platform. There is a mad dash, elbows, brief cases and handbags are deployed, small children are left crying at the sidelines.
Oddly enough, there are no seats free. Even worse, the standing room only space is packed. So rather than having an almost bearable jouney reading my book, I stand with not enough space to breath. Then, my connecting train is also late and also packed. There is a long line out the door of the coffee shop I normally get my caffiene dose at, and when I find further along free, I find I have no dosh.
My grumpy old man gleefully strode to the fore.
Then I saw this over at US and life got better again. I love how people can be serious about the absurd...
