"Commuting Hell Grows" -- My morning
Mar. 7th, 2003 11:27 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quietannThe Boston Metro's lead story today is "Commuting Hell Grows."
I headed out at 7, for an 8:30 class. My plan was to drive to Wellington (Orange Line) since I need my car this afternoon. Traffic was pretty bad on I-93, so I briefly debated stopping at Anderson-Woburn and taking the commuter rail, but I'd just missed the train there. Somewhere along the way, the fuel light in my car came on.
I arrived at the big rotary near Wellington at about 7:45... a little later than planned, but I thought I still had enough time to park and get to school on time. But no... here's a summary:
8:00 I am *still* in line in the left turn lane on Rt. 28, to get into the Wellington Garage. One or two cars have been able to turn left during each light cycle, and the cycle is about 2 minutes so things are very slow. This is beacause there is a huge line of cars waiting to get into the garage. I'm worried about running out of fuel in my car because of all the idling. It turns out that only one of the garage entry gates is functional, so that slows things way down. I notice that someone is opening up the outside lot, so I decide to get a space there, even though it's more expensive. But then, when I get to the entry booth, I discover that the employee there doesn't have the tickets for the outside lot, and isn't authorized to take money. He tells me to go ahead and park even though I can't pay him... hopefully my car won't be booted.
Then I see lines of people walking over the bridge that goes over the Orange Line tracks. Yes, the sideways elevators that take people from the garage to the station are non-functional. There is a shuttle bus running, but the line for it is 300 people long. So I decide to walk over the bridge. No one has shoveled the sidewalk, so it's heavy going... icy and slushy and slippery, and people who can walk in this sh*t faster than I can get annoyed with me.
On the other side of the bridge, some people are sliding down a hill to shorten the walk to the T station. This looks like a good option, so I climb over the rail and start sliding (hanging onto a sturdy tree to keep my balance). Then I notice that at the bottom of the hill, I'll have to jump off the top of a 5-foot tall retaining wall. But I can't turn around because the hill is too slippery. I make the jump, but not the landing. Will have lovely bruises on my right hip for the effort, but hey, at least I am padded there.
8:30 I am actually at Wellington Station. I call my professor to let him know I will be late. The Orange Line scheduling is all messed up as usual, so the train is very crowded. Somewhere around the Community College stop, I fall asleep standing up, but there is no way I will fall since I am completely surrounded by a crushing crowd. At Haymarket, I decide to switch to the Green Line, because there's an E line stop right by school and my hip hurts, so I don't want to walk from Roxbury Crossing (no one shovels their sidewalks in the ghetto...)
9:00 I am in between Boylston and Arlington stops. yes, the Green Line is slow today! This is when I notice the Boston Metro headline, and inside I start cackling. (I do not, however, cackle out loud, because there are enough crazy people on the T already...) At Arlington, there is a group of about 50 high school students who need to get on the train. Much shoving and screeching (a high school student specialty) gets them all on board. They get off the train 3 stops later -- why couldn't they just have walked?
9:15 I arrive at school. I am ready to strangle... something. Luckily I am not too late to get oatmeal at the cafeteria (oh yes, I hadn't eaten anything since last night...). Oatmeal is good.
I headed out at 7, for an 8:30 class. My plan was to drive to Wellington (Orange Line) since I need my car this afternoon. Traffic was pretty bad on I-93, so I briefly debated stopping at Anderson-Woburn and taking the commuter rail, but I'd just missed the train there. Somewhere along the way, the fuel light in my car came on.
I arrived at the big rotary near Wellington at about 7:45... a little later than planned, but I thought I still had enough time to park and get to school on time. But no... here's a summary:
8:00 I am *still* in line in the left turn lane on Rt. 28, to get into the Wellington Garage. One or two cars have been able to turn left during each light cycle, and the cycle is about 2 minutes so things are very slow. This is beacause there is a huge line of cars waiting to get into the garage. I'm worried about running out of fuel in my car because of all the idling. It turns out that only one of the garage entry gates is functional, so that slows things way down. I notice that someone is opening up the outside lot, so I decide to get a space there, even though it's more expensive. But then, when I get to the entry booth, I discover that the employee there doesn't have the tickets for the outside lot, and isn't authorized to take money. He tells me to go ahead and park even though I can't pay him... hopefully my car won't be booted.
Then I see lines of people walking over the bridge that goes over the Orange Line tracks. Yes, the sideways elevators that take people from the garage to the station are non-functional. There is a shuttle bus running, but the line for it is 300 people long. So I decide to walk over the bridge. No one has shoveled the sidewalk, so it's heavy going... icy and slushy and slippery, and people who can walk in this sh*t faster than I can get annoyed with me.
On the other side of the bridge, some people are sliding down a hill to shorten the walk to the T station. This looks like a good option, so I climb over the rail and start sliding (hanging onto a sturdy tree to keep my balance). Then I notice that at the bottom of the hill, I'll have to jump off the top of a 5-foot tall retaining wall. But I can't turn around because the hill is too slippery. I make the jump, but not the landing. Will have lovely bruises on my right hip for the effort, but hey, at least I am padded there.
8:30 I am actually at Wellington Station. I call my professor to let him know I will be late. The Orange Line scheduling is all messed up as usual, so the train is very crowded. Somewhere around the Community College stop, I fall asleep standing up, but there is no way I will fall since I am completely surrounded by a crushing crowd. At Haymarket, I decide to switch to the Green Line, because there's an E line stop right by school and my hip hurts, so I don't want to walk from Roxbury Crossing (no one shovels their sidewalks in the ghetto...)
9:00 I am in between Boylston and Arlington stops. yes, the Green Line is slow today! This is when I notice the Boston Metro headline, and inside I start cackling. (I do not, however, cackle out loud, because there are enough crazy people on the T already...) At Arlington, there is a group of about 50 high school students who need to get on the train. Much shoving and screeching (a high school student specialty) gets them all on board. They get off the train 3 stops later -- why couldn't they just have walked?
9:15 I arrive at school. I am ready to strangle... something. Luckily I am not too late to get oatmeal at the cafeteria (oh yes, I hadn't eaten anything since last night...). Oatmeal is good.
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no subject
Date: 2003-03-07 06:27 pm (UTC)After nearly not making it home last night, I had a feeling that today might be a good day to work from home. Logged in, noticed that others had the same idea. One guy reported an accident on my usual commute route that had stymied him for two hours before he was able to bail out and head back home. Others reported similar stuff (as you yourself experienced).
Yeah, missing a class sucks, but you have to balance that against the value of your sanity. The line I like to use is: "If I don't make it or get there late, the world will not stop revolving. And if it does, we've got much bigger things to worry about!"
no subject
Date: 2003-03-07 09:16 pm (UTC)