Tea Time

I'm feeling rather British this morning, given all the hub bub about the royal wedding.  Therefore, to celebrate, I thought I would have a cup (or should I say spot) of tea on my train ride.  I must admit, it's a great way to start a Friday.  Enjoy your weekend.

Weather Report

Bad weather in Baltimore is affecting this morning's commute.  According to the conductor, lightening in the area is causing signal problems, which seems to be slowing the train down as the engineer has to wait for verbal signals to pass.  And while I haven't seen any lightening or rain for that matter, the clouds certainly look ominous.  I hope that signal malfunctions are the only problems this weather causes.

Another Monday

I usually work at home on Mondays, so Tuesday always feels a bit like Monday to me as I embark on the train ride to the city.  I catch up with my fellow passengers and try to get into the groove for the week ahead.  This week I have lots on my plate, so I've been silently reciting a mantra to be positive and productive.  Let's hope it works. 

Police Presence

The Aberdeen train station was teeming with police officers this morning.  There were at least six SUVs, a dozen  or so officers and even one canine.  I thought I had interrupted a major sting operation and was hoping I could regale my blog readers with a tale of intrigue today.  But alas, it is not to be.  As I began walking my morning laps and get a closer look at what was going on, one officer stopped me to hand me a card announcing the "See Something Say Something" campaign, encouraging people to report suspicious activity.  The card even contained "Seven Signs of Terrorism" to be on the look out for, including "elicitation, suspicious  persons out of place and deploying assets."  It was all very confusing because the very things I was supposed to report were the very things these police were guilty of.  I've never seen more than one officer at a time at the train station, and even that is a rare occurrence.  Today's officers were eliciting information about suspected terrorist activities and they had deployed a significant amount of assets to do it (did I mention the computer screens that appeared on the dashboards of the SUVs).  So I guess I need to say something.  I'm just not sure if anyone will take me seriously.  But the card reminded me to "report suspicious activity anytime or anywhere" because "if you think something is suspicious, it probably is." 

Reserved Seating

Okay, so there are no assigned seats on the MARC train.  But apparently appropriate train riding etiquette dictates that you don't sit in seats that are usually taken by regular riders.  I learned this lesson this morning.  I typically sit in the first car, and there is one seat that I especially like because it's a single seat (not a double) and it has a window from which I can watch the world pass by.  But, I don't sit in the seat every day because sometimes a rider from the stop before mine gets it.  It never really bothers me when this happens.  I just select another seat and continue on my way. 

On the mornings I do get my "regular" seat, I sit across from a man who pulls a blue pillow from his brief case, props it against the wall, and falls asleep.  We haven't seen much of each other this week, though, because it seems these seats have been occupied when we've boarded.  Not so today.  Both were vacant and we sat down in our "usual" spots.  As he was pulling out his blue pillow, the man looked at me and said, "Finally, the riders from Perryville have stayed out of our seats."

It's the first time this man has ever spoken to me despite our close proximity on a regular basis.  And for that matter, it's the first time I've considered where I sit as "my seat".  But, I guess it is. . . at least for today.

Leaves of Green

The record high temperatures these last few days, have made the buds on the trees burst and now as the sun rises on my morning commute, I also see the feathery green of new leaves.  It's a sure sign that spring is here.  Washington, DC is beautiful in the spring.  The cherry blossoms, tulips and daffodils are in bloom and the days are still cool enough that taking a walk at lunch to enjoy the foliage doesn't mean you'll be drenched in sweat.  So this week, I encourage everyone to get out there and enjoy spring.  I know I will.

New Train

A late morning meeting allowed me to take the Amtrak train into the city today.  And frankly, I could get use to these comfortable seats with tables to hold my laptop.  Not to mention the coffee available in the cafe car and that today's commute will take just over an hour rather than the nearly two it normally takes.  So why won't I be taking this train more often?  Unfortunately, it doesn't fit my work schedule.  I think that's by design.  If the schedule was a bit more convenient, I think more riders would skip MARC altogether and hop aboard Amtrak.  This is ironic given that Amtrak is responsible for operating the MARC trains along this route.  You'd think the company would want to pass along some of its best practices in order to establish some good will among riders.  That's just not so, though.  Which is why today I will simply sip my coffee, enjoy the shorter commute, and hope that I will have another late morning meeting soon.