Commuter Chronicles

The 7.39 to London, the crying baby, the man talking loudly on his phone;
We whisper, we chatter, we read our Metro and get awoken by the famous Nokia tone;

Surely today will be better than yesterday? Oh but for just two hours more in bed;
Why do we go out? Why do we do the office parties? We always inevitably complain about the gremlin playing the drums in our head.

We pull in, it’s a mad dash for the door;
Which side will it be today? Are we platform five or is it four?

The old man is in position to collect the used newspapers, the stunning girl is wearing black;
Must Focus, head down we must get to the barrier first but be aware of the city boys and the inevitable umbrella attack.

Onto the road we go, it’s a red man, who cares the cars’ will have to wait; be careful of that bike;
Yet another new Starbucks, the girl on that bus was nice, must buy The Sun it is now up to 50p – yet another price hike.

The final straight, just the underpass to negotiate, oh the poor homeless man, is today the day we buy the Big Issue?
No we must plough on, stairs two at a time, into the building we go, the second lift will have to do.

A flash of the badge, open the door, into the office we go;
Quick get to our desk, hit logon, enter our password and remember we sit opposite the boss so say hello;

From Rayleigh to our desk in an hour and two minutes, that is definitely our new PB,
That’s my life – the 7.39 to London, but this life is just not me.

This life is the life of the alter ego, the commuter, but I don’t even begin to know who he is;
Can we beat our time tomorrow, I don’t care but the commuter does – the 7.39 to London is the oh so important life of his.

Steve whyley
Find more at http://www.thenewsandme.com

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This post was submitted by Steve whyley.

Summer is officially here and I find myself laboring under the delusion that, somehow, commuting will now be easier. Everyone is on vacation now right? Somehow it doesn’t appear to be playing out quite like that. This morning we were standing room only on the 7:40 out of Westfield station. I do have to say that I do appreciate the summer more since even when I get home at, say 6:30 PM, there is still at least 90 minutes of daylight

The windows of my office face west and there is a huge thunder cloud hanging over New Jersey. Hopefully the heavy rains will hold off until everyone (at least in my family) is safe at home.

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I’m going to make a product endorsement. Several weeks ago I received an Amazon Kindle for doing some work for another web site. (Who says you can’t make any money on the internet?). It’s really the perfect commuter tool for those of you who like to read and not just zone out to music. It fits easily in a briefcase or coat pocket, it’s lightweight, and it’s got an adjustable font for when your eyes are tired at the end of a long day. I’ve even found a way to avoid the charges for books. There are several sites that allow the download of books that are in the public domain, thousands of them. Here’s your chance to catch up on the classics for free. Right now I’m reading The Sea Wolf by Jack London.

The best part, though, is the customer service. Two days ago I noticed that there was something wrong with the display.  A small square in the upper right hand corner was not displaying properly.  I called the 800 number and spent about 5 minutes talking to a technician who had me try several things. He then said Amazon would replace the unit at no cost to me within 24 hours. They did. The technician even was a native English speaker!

The Kindle is pricey, around $360, and it will never be as satisfying as a real book but we all have to make compromises. Riding the bus is not as satisfying as a limousine with a wet bar and flat panel television but we do learn to cope.

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Several weeks ago I posted a rant with the provocative title Ugly People. It described the unappealing people that share my commute and a lament that the more attractive folks are going places where I am not..

This wasn’t the blog that I intended it to be.

I’ve gotten a lot of comments about this and reading over them has made me feel superficial and mean; much like the people that I was describing.

So I want to try to rephrase this. It’s not the people that are ugly and mean it’s the environment that has made us this way. I bet that these are perfectly wonderful people in their own backyards and among their friends. Being squeezed into a metal container, sitting next to strangers and trying to maintain our personal space and dignity, breathing recycled air, losing 10 hours a week, that’s the ugly part.

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What is StrAnGer than time? Time wrapped in the mysteries from the unexpected actions we convey. If we were not arid with how our DAYS develop, embracing the notion that each day brings forth the opportunity to BREATHE and EXPERIENCE new LIFe, then nothing would be a mystery and no1 would be a StrAnGer.

We walk in a Matrix of disconnected existence(s), seeking connections towards things we often forget how to approach or realize. Why Dream if you don’t LIVe to capture it? Why LIVe and fail to Dream? We possess the ability to travel where we wish, in our minds if for the time being, experience true LIFe by indulging in its knowledge and study your passions! Study them so that you may be able to understand each quality that elates you, so that it may elate you further and so you may travel further.

Ask yourself which was created 1st, The key or the Door… which would you rather control and which would you fear least in losing track of?

LIFe is a Test of Memories, Enjoy the Exams for each is Timed!
Darren Eath

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On Monday we’ll be celebrating the Memorial Day holiday. Most people don’t exactly know what they are celebrating but it’s the official kickoff for the summer season. A few minutes ago I received an e-mail from the VP in charge of our division informing us that the office would close at 3 PM tomorrow. Even better. At the bus station yesterday there were signs informing us of extra service tomorrow to accommodate the holiday rush.

For those of you who don’t know what we are honoring on this day off it is the men and women who have died in service to United States in the armed forces. It appears more like a testament to driving, shopping, and eating.

As a commuter I like three day weekends. On the Friday before there are lots of people who try to grab an extra day and don’t even bother coming in. Everyone leaves early so that if you stay until the normal closing time most folks have left already. It would be wonderful if I could say that the roads were less travelled but it’s impossible to predict what a good time to leave is or when the traffic will be better. Everyone has a theory but more often than not you’ll be wrong.

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Sometimes I feel like my bus line has the ugliest people in the New York region. I see lots of people in the bus station and walking to and from the terminal that are interesting looking, well dressed, and ready to conquer the world. On my line they are old, fat, wrinkled, poorly dressed, and mean.

OK, I don’t like where I live. I’ve been there for 14 years and I find the people snooty and unfriendly. I’m there because my wife and kids won’t entertain the idea of moving and I’m too timid to push the issue. Still, there are other places whose residents are snooty and mean but they are interesting to look at.

There was a time when there were some nice looking people on the NJ Transit 113 route and I used to look forward to seeing them on the bus. Some of them I would even talk to. The economic upheaval and maybe the stresses of commuting have taken them away from me. I miss them.

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I sit wondering while I commute. How much is too much? Ok, so one day I rode the subway & buses for less than a buck, once there was a coin with a hole in it which was useful to pay for a ride and heck I recall seeing police on the trains & platforms and felt safe during the commute.

What exactly are we paying almost a 6th of our annul income for? Is it for the comfort, tranquility, time efficiency, speed… I mean what is it that deserves the hike, aren’t we losing jobs and failing to produce new ones? I’m pretty sure if they gave any of us a crack at figuring out a FAIR.. I mean fare plan we can come up with another suggestion OTHER than “Squeezing the public”.

Going GREEN? Does that mean more mullah? Anywho… By the next week and a half we’ll be paying an extra half to… WHAT exactly again? Oh yeah to get theirs!

Roman S

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I used to think that my commute was bad. Over an hour door to door on a good day. I was pretty miserable. Then I started meeting people at work whose commute made mine look like a stroll down the street.

About 2 years ago I hired a guy that told me that he lived in Hopewell Junction, New York. He was surprised that I knew where this was. I explained to him that when I was in college I worked during the summers at a hotel there. I would leave my home in Brooklyn at the end of June and return at the beginning of September. I was making the round trip once a summer and he was doing the 2 plus hour trip each way every day!

Shortly after that I started reporting to a guy that lived even further away. He drove 30 minutes to get to the last stop on the Harlem line. Also a 2 plus hour commute each way. The best story was a guy that I met who lived in Bucks County Pennsylvania who took the 2.5 hour bus ride on Monday morning, worked 10 hour days and then took the bus home on Thursday evening. He figured it was easier to rent a room in Manhattan for the other nights than braving the journey every day.

I’ve always dreamed of being able to walk to work or at least have a short bike ride of it. There is something wrong with a world where people spend so much time getting from place to place. I realize that these people are paying for their larger homes or nicer surroundings in time rather than cash but what kind of life is it when such a significant part of it is spent in such a useless activity?

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