Over two fucking hours to go eight miles. I could have walked faster, and then I wouldn’t have been shivering as the air conditioning froze toes soaked by the rain. So the Red line is so crowded at my stop that I have to stand, which is unheard of as far north as I am, we go glacier slow, and THEN they decide that my train is the one that they want to use to test the tunnel, so they kick us all off at Belmont, and I have to wait through three trains before I can manage to sqeeze into one. In the rain. Then we stand in between stations for about an hour, and the engineer said that he will make all stops in the Loop aboveground, so I assume we’re doing the Brown line/Purple line run, since that’s all stops, right? So I am waiting patently for the el to turn and get to a stop close by my work, but there is no turn, nor is there a stop, and we keep going, and I can finally get off the train ONLY about a mile and a half away from work. And there was a press release that had to go out an hour ago, and I am the only one who can do it.
As another mass transit user, I can commiserate. The worst problems are always on the days where you absolutely need to be in - the sort of days where you give yourself extra time just to be sure. Additionally, I’m often underground, so no cell phones to tell someone what’s happening.
And our trains have only two temperatures in the summer heat: artic chill and tropical sauna. Nothing like stepping from a 50 degree train onto a 110 degree platform to just make your day.
I see your humidity and raise you the woman on the verge of passing out, dry-heaving and crouching down on the floor in total pre-vomit posture. I was so paranoid (I’m extremely vomit-phobic) and claustrophobic I had to get off at the next stop to breathe. Then it only took a half-hour for another Purple Line train to stop there. Fabulous morning!
