Sneaker Fitness

Fellow blogger Kasmira (she writes http://whatiwore2day.blogspot.com/) wore sneakers this week as she trekked all over her city of Cincinnati.  Apparently this is out of the norm for her and she wanted to know what footwear other commuters chose.  I, for one, opt for the sneakers as I make my way for train to metro to office.  Not only are they comfortable and save wear and tear on my heels, but I feel like I can squeeze in a mini workout as part of my commute.  After all, when you have a commute as long as mine (at least two hours one-way) finding time to exercise is practically impossible.  So I opt for my sneakers.

Right now I'm wearing Curves sneakers, which are those funky looking, curved-bottom shoes, designed to help you tone your backside and burn a few extra calories.  Do they work?  I don't know, but at least I feel like I'm doing something.  Here are some other ways I sneak in some exercise.  I take the stairs whenever possible -- even if it's a Metro escalator. I never just ride, I walk too.  I also walk up and down the six flights of stairs to my office.  Of course I huff an puff at the top, but that doesn't deter me.  Then there are the bicep curls I do with my still-too-heavy tote bag.  Finally, at the train station I do some quadricep stretches while I wait for the morning arrival.  In total, it probably isn't a full 30-minute workout like experts say you should get daily, but at least it's something.  And, I just wait until the weekends to do my longer workouts.  By the way, enjoy yours.

It's A New Car . . .

I rode in one of the new passenger cars this morning and frankly I have to say I like the old ones better.  Sure the new car is all shiny and bright but since the seat backs are white, it also is rather sterile looking.  And did I mention there are more seats.  A lot more!  Which also means there is a lot less leg room.  Of course, this lack of leg room makes the morning nap (if I actually were able to sleep) much less comfortable.  Except that while there are more seats,  I noticed there weren't enough riders to fill them.  So I suppose I could just lay across the vacant seat.  The conductor tends to frown on that though and I'm sure MARC is betting that pretty soon all those empty seats will be filled.  Here's a hint, MARC -- stay on schedule and maybe they will.

Paring Down

As you know, I've been trying to lighten my load.  So I spent the weekend taking a long, hard look at what I'm actually carrying to and from work.  I did it by dumping out everything in both my purse and my tote bag and repacking them with only the items I thought were absolute necessities.  In my purse, I decided to whittle down the three make-up brushes and the three packages of dental floss to one each.  After all, one make up brush is sufficient and one package of dental floss should be enough to get me out of any McGyver-like situation I might find myself in.  Also gone are the three or four magazines I was carrying.  I decided to opt instead for the one-at-a-time approach.  So what if I have to ride the train for an hour without any reading material.  There are plenty of interesting people to watch to keep me entertained for at least one trip.  The end result of my paring down activity was a lighter load.  Maybe not a whole lot lighter but lighter none the less.  I'll continue to work on it.

Orange Hat Lady

Where are you, orange hat lady?  I haven't seen you for a few days.  Perhaps, though, you're incognito, wearing a blue or green hat.  The truth is, if you changed your hat color I'm not sure I'd recognize you.  I'll keep searching though.  Hope all is well.

Diesel Does It

At the risk of jinxing (is that a word?) tomorrow's commute, I have to say that ever since MARC brought in the diesel engines to tow the trains during this scorching summer, the trains have been running closer to schedule.  According to one conductor I spoke with, they really help in the heat.  And I know the passengers seem to appreciate it as the sense of relief is almost audible when people realize the trains are pulling out on time.  MARC, keep up the good work.

Characters Welcome

It certainly is a cast of characters that commute daily to and from D.C.  I've started creating names for them and I'd like to introduce them to you.

The voice -- I'm not sure who he is, but every morning as we arrive into Union Station, he speaks up loud enough for everyone in the car to hear and wishes us all a good day.  On Thursdays, he wishes everyone a good weekend.  Friday there was just silence upon arrival at Union Station.  So sad.  Someday I'll actually see who's saying those words.

Orange hat lady -- She's a napper and immediately upon taking her seat, she pulls her orange knit hat from her bag and puts it on her head and over her eyes.  Then she leans back and catches a few zzzzs as we make our way to the city.  I'm jealous.

The conductor -- I don't know whether they are actually called conductors anymore, but the evening MARC rep that requests tickets is always pleasant and helpful, especially to first-time riders. 

I'm sure this list will grow as I continue to commute, but keep the cast in mind as stories about them are sure to follow.

Happy Hour

The key is Friday!  Not only is there happy hour going on in the second car from the back, but it seems even the engineer is in a hurry to get home.  I actually made it home (in the house) by 7 pm.  This is what I imagined commuting to be like -- on-time trains, no delays.  Have a good weekend everyone.  I will.

ZZZZZZ

The woman sitting beside me on the train this morning actually snored as we made our way into the city.  How dare she?  I have been trying to teach myself to catch a few extra ZZZZs in the morning but just can't seem to get the hang of it.  She, on the other hand, was able to do it effortlessly.  She just sat down, put on a lightweight jacket and wrapped herself in a shawl and dozed off. Pretty soon, her rythmic breathing turned into a downright snore! Really.  I would have asked her for a few tips on how she did it but I didn't want to disturb her.  So I just sat there silently cursing every snort she made.

Bag Lady

My bag is too heavy! Commuters have special needs when it comes to hauling their gear from home to work.  And it seems the longer you commute the bigger the bag needed to carry all the stuff.  I spent an entire weekend trying to figure out the "right" bag to tote everything back and forth.  The problem was, when I packed it with my coffee thermos, water bottle, lunch, heels, reading material, blanket, pillow and notebook computer the bag was just plain heavy.  Not to worry, I thought.  Since with my long commute I no longer have time to lift weights, I'll just do a few bicep curls with my bag and multitask on my way to the office.  In the end though, I discovered that carrying a heavy bag has literally become a pain in the neck.  So, I'm looking to lighten my load.  I've been watching people for ideas on how to streamline what I carry.  Today, for example, I noticed several people using reusable shopping bags to haul their gear.  This probably isn't a bad idea since those bags are extremely lightweight and are large enough to hold bunches of stuff.  Still, I was hoping to find something a bit more stylish.  Maybe not Louis Vuitton exactly but at least something that doesn't scream "don't forget the gallon of milk".  My search continues.

Late as usual

The train home was late again.  So that's not news.  And I realized since starting this blog the only thing I've written about is the terrible train service.  Where are the random musings?  So, let's switch subjects.  I noticed today the number of people who use the morning commute to catch a few extra ZZZZs and I envy them.  I'm trying to teach myself to sleep on the train but am not having much success.  I've added the dark glasses ( a tip from a man I board with in the morning).  I noticed a woman who carries a lightweight blanket and wraps up in when she sits down.  Stole that tip too.  I even added an inflatable pillow.  Still no sleep yet.  Maybe riding the train is too new and I'll just have to wait until the excitement wears off.  But pretty soon I'll just be too tired to care.

Too Good To Be True

Taking the Metro today was an absolute breeze.  That should have been my first clue that something was wrong.  There were no crowds and no waits as I made my way to Union Station after work.  After selecting my seat on the MARC 5:20 train, however, the trouble began.  The gentleman next to me said he came over from the 4:20 train because it had lost power and never left the station.  That's when the announcements started.  First, the usual 5:20 "express" train was going to make all local stops to accommodate the extra passengers from the earlier train.  Also, there was standing room only of hot, frustrated passengers.  Then, signal issues occurred causing the train to leave about 30 minutes late.  Then, the near-100 degree temperatures after we got going meant the train travelled at a snail's pace.  The end result, I arrived home nearly an hour later than I expected.  It is now no longer news about the mishaps and breakdowns on MARC and Metro just the usual course of doing business.  Interestingly, though, I've not noticed any conductors asking for tickets the past few days.  Which makes me wonder, how is MARC going to pay for repairs if it's not charging its passengers.  By the way, MARC, this small token of customer service doesn't benefit those of us with a monthly pass.

Not Again!

Will they ever get it right?  After a week of vacation, it was back to the grind again and back to the mishaps of both MARC and the Metro.  The Metro red line was plagued with problems today as one of the trains I was riding was declared "out of service" causing a huge back up as people had to get off one train and stand with the hordes awaiting the next train.  The pushing and shoving and mayham began when the next train arrived and people attempting to catch the MARC trains tried to get to Union Station before the departure times.  They didn't need to worry though.  MARC once again was unable to keep to a schedule.  "A wire was down," according to the conducter.  That little wire caused chaos for all the trains -- the 4:20, the 5:20 and those after.  We finally departed about 5:50 only to travel at a crawl because so many trains were travelling along the same track.  I'm not holding out any hope that tomorrow will be better and frankly, I don't think MARC is either.