Train thoughts
I take the light rail train to work and back every day. Usually five days a week. My commute is about 50-55 minutes, with about 20 minutes of that on the train (the rest, walking).
When we first transitioned from 3 days to 5 days required in office, it was a real drag. The hard fact of spending ten hours of my life commuting every week felt like carrying a cinder block around. Do I need to find a new job? Is there a way to make this productive time? For a short period I tried reading on the train. But sometimes the train is standing room only in the mornings (and often in the evenings, especially during the summer when there's a sports game every day), and reading while standing is not my vibe. So since I couldn't do it consistently—and moreover, sometimes I didn't feel like adding another half-pound to my backpack, and I still struggle with getting into my Kindle—I've resorted to just catching up on work Slack messages and documents that I don't have time to read in the office. This doesn't make me feel good.
The train itself is fine. I genuinely appreciate having this form of commute so readily available. Lately it's been fairly consistently reliable, so I rarely have to wait more than 6 minutes for an arrival. Usually it's less than three minutes. The station near my house is outside, and I can often find a bench to wait on. The one near work is underground, and I like quickly walking up and down the escalators. I've always been a fast walker (let me get to where I'm going!), and the escalators make me feel turbocharged. The stations I go to are pretty dingy and rickety. I want to go check out some of the newly opened stations soon. I wonder if they're really nice.
There are newer train cars and older ones. When I see an older one rolling up, I have a brief feeling of disappointment, with a hint of disgust. The seating arrangement is very suboptimal. There are poles partly blocking some seats, and partitions that block in people sitting next to the windows, so sitting next to someone who's by the window feels like you're boxing them in. Many of these seats remain empty. If I can't get a seat, I like to stand near the doors, or in the bike rack area if it's empty, so I can lean against partitions. I try to avoid standing in the middle aisles where you have to hold onto a pole or the hand-loops. For one, it makes me anxious to be boxed in by people on all sides when we're packed like sardines in the afternoons. It also hurts my arm to keep it raised holding onto something. Sadly, I don't think I'd make it in those Survivor challenges.
People on the train mostly keep to themselves. Many people, myself included, seem to be trying to time warp to their destinations by dissolving into their phones. Sometimes people talk with their travel companions, but they're usually quiet enough that I don't catch much of their conversation, as I think I have somewhat poor hearing (or maybe difficulty focusing on conversation with lots of other stimuli around?). On rare occasions, usually in the afternoons, conversations will strike up between strangers—often initiated by people who are clearly coming to or arriving from the airport, as evidenced by the rolling bags they struggle to place out of the way. Stranger-conversations are usually louder and I enjoy listening to them (partly because I'm grateful to not be obligated to participate).
There's also a regular contingent of homeless or intoxicated people riding the trains. Sometimes they'll be sleeping across multiple seats, and everyone tries to avoid looking in their direction. As a solo female traveler, I do the same. The transit officers usually ignore them unless they're actually making noise by talking loudly to themselves or anyone who looks their way. The people on drugs probably bother me the most. I hate seeing someone completely obliterated out of their minds. It reminds me of people I've lost and makes me worry about the danger they can cause themselves and others. I wonder if it was their own choices or unavoidable circumstances that brought them here, and if they have people or pathways in their lives that can eventually lead them out.
Even though the crowds and smells and unexpected maintenance and delays sometimes annoy me, I'm really glad I can get to work on the train rather than having to drive. If we ever move and I don't have this option, I'll really miss it. Hooray for trains!