Sunday, December 31, 2006

Happy New Year!

As 2006 draws to a close I would like to take this moment to reflect on this past year of commuting. There were many low points in the world of the LIRR. Overcrowding, delays on top of delays, shut downs, clothing being ripped, trains being cancelled, waiting at Jamaica in the freezing cold only to board a train that smells like breath. (I hate the smell of a crowded train...all those people breathing....yetch!!!!!!! and don't even get me started on used trains....shudder!) I have to say I'm happy to have gotten out of my commuting rut when I did.

My sister informed me that the LIRR tanks 3rd in the transportation systems for NYC. The only thing worse than the LIRR is the tiny rail that exists on Staten Island. Metro North is number 1, this I agree with. The subway is number 2. Since Staten Island doesn't really count the LIRR is the worst form of transportation in the area. No one is surprised.

The lovely banner was supplied by my brother. On the back is a 10% discount for Tracks! BEST CRAB CAKES IN PENN STATION!!!!!! If you haven't tried them yet go!!! They're located next to the ticket booth and McDonalds. Seriously, I love their crab cakes! I am on a quest to find the perfect crab cake and right now Tracks is winning.

On that note everyone have a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! I hope your commutes go well and thank you to all for your support and listening to me complain for hours and hours!!!

Next stop sleep



Wenever someone rides the drunk train there are always stories. It could be something they witnessed or about themselves. This lovely lady to the right had the ride of her dreams the Friday before Christmas. She and a friend were taking the 2:55 to Mineola but never made it. They awoke sometime around 4am in Hicksville! Had my aunt not called to check on her Ib would've slept right to the end of the line. I'm not how she got home, if someone picked her up or she took the train back. Needless to say she was dead tired when decorating Grandma's Christmas tree the following day. (the shot to the left is a very bad photo of Grandma's tree from years past. We did a much better job this year)

Thursday, December 21, 2006

At certain times the LIRR comes through

Yesterday on the train Jennette had a hair raising experience:

I am sitting on the 5:19, snug and cozy, Ipod on, hands folded in my lap,eyes shut....then
Clunk clunk clunk all of a sudden a woman comes sprinting through my traincar. We weren't even at Forest Hills, she wasn't getting up to get off yet(my 1st stop is Merrrick) what could she be running from? After that woman about 80-100 people followed all muttering about a man with a gun a few cars back.

They said his behavior was very strange, he was singing and theycouldsee the gun in his back pocket. I think he was standing in the vestibule area. People were trying to keep each other calm. Nobody flipped, just scurried to get to another car. The guy next to me and I decided we should just remain calm and stay in our seats.

We thought they'd probably let him off at the next stop. Forest Hills passed, Kew Gardens passed, then finallywe stopped at Jamaica. There was not a soul on the platforms and no other trains were in the station. The doors opened for about 14 seconds, then quickly shut. We pulled out about 4 minutes leaving the man with the gun inthe arms of the NYPD. There was about 8 of them around him in a circle. The conductor made a few vague announcements, which I understand why, he didn't want people to get hysterical. He just said that we were stopping for Police Activity.

WHAT A SCARE!

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

A lot has been going on!

Hello loyal readers....I hope there are some out there!
Sorry I've been away for a while. It's been a busy few weeks. I'd like to start off by letting everyone know I have a brand new baby nephew....too cute for words!

It was also announced yesterday that the LIRR will be making stops at Grand Central sometime in the year 2013. This has great potential but we all know it will probably lead to disaster. In theory it sounds great but when the LIRR is involved it can only mean one thing.....torture. Sure, shorter commute for those that work on the East side but will there be only a few trains going to Grand Central? Do all the rush hour trains have connections for this stop or will it be hit or miss? I can see the growing frustration at Jamaica now. Hopefully I wont be commuting by way of the LIRR but you never know, maybe I'll want to torment myself yet again!

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Back on the train

Last night was the first time I have take a peak rush hour train in months. I've still got it! I was on my way home to see my new baby nephew. William was only a few hours old when I entered the gates of hell....I mean Penn. I quickly manuvered through the crowd and purchased my one way peak ticket.

The looks I got once I boarded the croweded train were unreal. I felt their eyes burning into the back of my head. Somehow they knew I was no longer a regular. I took my seat, in a 4 seater b/c I had a large bag with me. Everything was fine even though we were crammed to capacity. The truly annoying thing was the wretched woman sitting diagonally from me. She was on her phone the entire time telling whoever it was that "you can't let him do that!" "You tell him!" I really don't want to know what she was telling him.

Even though Penn was at it's worst and the train was overflowing I didn't mind at all. I was so happy to see my nephew, who by the way is the cutest little boy ever, that I didn't care that I had to take the LIRR to see him. It was well worth the ride!

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

Fight the scurvy!

On a totally random note has anyone seen the new face of Tropicana No Pulp? I was in the supermarket the other day looking for my scurvy fighting juice and had a slight panic attack. I thought they were out. My mistake, they've just updated the lable. It's sleeker, classy....hell if I weren't fighting the scruvy already I would have started the minute I saw it! I'll try and post some photos of old vs. new, but no promises. I hope what's inside the carton hasn't changed otherwise I'm screwed!

November


I'd like to
thank Stephanie for her donation of the November monthly ticket. It's not too bad, in person it's a little bit brighter. When she gave me November I asked to see December....they're slacking. It's the same ticket but not as bright. It's paler. It's lame. Not to mention it's probably easy to forge. I've said it before and I'll say it again the tickets should be bright and poppy. Commuters should at least get something nice out of their commute.

Just compare November to February....see the difference!? February will always be the best ticket, something all other tickets need to live up to.

Sunday, December 03, 2006

Scrooge!


My Christmas dreams have been dashed. The LIRR has failed me yet again, and I'm not even a regular anymore. I had high hopes of visiting home cost free thanks to the free tickets that I assumed were coming along with the December monthly. I was wrong, I had too much faith. Last year was probably and will be the only year that the LIRR gives a Christmas gift to it's loyal riders. Neither Jamie or Stephanie received free rides with their monthly. I'm sure it's because of the recent law suits and lack of a fare hike for next year. I guess the LIRR needs to save somehow. My 10 pass off peak ticket has become even more precious to me and I will ride the LIRR when neccessary.

I did take the LIRR yesterday, aside from having to wait at Jamaica for my connecting train it wasn't a bad ride. It was more crowded than I would've thought for 9:45 on a Saturday morning. I did manage to get seats to myself on both trains, which is good since I had my laundry with me.

While on the train I encountered the most annoying family alive. A mother, 3 bratty kids, and an old lady cart. The cart was too big to fit down the aisle so they left it near the door. Every time the train stopped and started the cart went rolling. They watched and argued about it. They did nothing until it hit someone in the arm. Finally one of the kids went to move it but he just put it back in the same spot! He did nothing, it rolled again! They are on top of the list of stupid commuters.

The lovely photo above was given to me by Jamie. It's the new Mineola train station. Looks jazzy.....but it would look better if the LIRR had given out 10 passes....sigh. This one hurts. I don't know if I'll get over this blow.....