Dressing Room

After more than five months of riding the train, it's nice to know I can still be surprised by what I see.  Let's take this morning, for example.  I watched a man finish dressing on the train.  I'm guessing he must have had a harried morning because he got on the train with shoes, slacks and shirt on and carrying a briefcase, tote bag and plastic grocery sack full of stuff.  Once he was seated, he pulled a newspaper flyer from his briefcase, unfolded it and placed it neatly on the floor.  Then he placed his briefcase, tote bag and plastic bag on it.  From his plastic bag, he proceeded to pull out a pair of socks and attempted to discreetly put them on.  He produced a tie from his briefcase and expertly tied a double windsor.  Then he added his suit jacket, which I had failed to notice earlier. Once he finished dressing, he proceeded to clean out his briefcase, which seemed to be filled with receipts, newspaper advertisements for black Friday sales, and assorted scraps of paper.  I guess the man might contend that he was productively using his commuting time, and I suppose I would agree, in part.  I may actually try to sort through some papers in my tote bag during my ride, but I think I'd rather do my dressing in the comfort of my own home.

Vacation is over

It's back to work and the daily commute after a week of vacation.  And frankly, it looks as if I chose the right week not to take the train, as the headline of this morning's newspaper -- Train commutes are off the rails -- was the lead in to a story of delays and stranded riders on both the MARC and VRE trains last week.  The most interesting bit information in the story came from a VRE spokesperson who stated that "About 45 percent of delays are well within our control. . ."  The comment begs the question then, why aren't things getting better?  The answer, of course, depends on who you ask.  According to MARC, increased ridership causes more delays.  Rather than add cars or trains to accommodate the increased riders, however, MARC seems to taking a different approach -- not making any improvements so people won't want to ride the train.  I believe the thinking is that if no one rides the train, MARC could keep to its schedule.  Now there's some logic for you.  I'm just glad this is a short week.

Dawn's Early Light

The time change means I can again watch the sunrise as I commute to the city each morning.  Sure, I know that this luxury is short-lived as the days continue to grow shorter.  Pretty soon, not only will I be arriving home after work in the dark, but I won't even get to see the sun peak over the morning horizon either.  So for now I will enjoy it.  Let there be light!

Scraping Ice

Frost on the windshield added a few extra minutes to my morning commute as I had to rummage around and find my ice scraper for the season.  Fortunately the frost was easily removed, but the experience was a wake up call for what is to come.