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Looking Back: part two

28 Aug

Continuing my look back at the top five most memorable moments from my first year of blogging, here’s number four.

From September 30: “People Are Stupid“
It’s a classic commuting irony — you leave for work early, but it doesn’t make any difference because of a stupid T mishap. That’s what happened this day. But this posting wasn’t significant simply because of my commute. Rather, it was because the day I posted it, my traffic shot up and I gained a whole new audience, largely thanks to Adam Gaffin and his Universal Hub web site. Adam provided a link to my post and people were clicking on it in droves — or at least what felt like droves considering the minimal audience I was getting up till then. But what was more exciting than that was that Adam included this post in one of his “Blog Log” columns for the Sunday Boston Globe. It was the first time of many that my blog was quoted in the Globe over the course of the year. You can read my posting here.

Yesterday: number 5

What’s on My Mind

9 Aug

A few quick questions and observations … Continue reading →

Spiders Are Scary

19 May

True story: I was on the T this morning riding into work, and as we were nearing Park Street, waiting for the train ahead of us to move so we could enter the station, the driver started to get all antsy.

Then all of a sudden, in one of those baby-ish/wimpy/annoying tones, she screamed out, “Spider!” and actually got out of her seat.

Of course, this meant she had taken her foot off the break pedal, so we started to move backwards.

She grabbed her copy of the Metro, ripped it in half, squashed the spider in one fell swoop — while at the same time making a sound of “Oh, thank God I killed that spider before it ate me” — and flung the paper across her compartment, as far away from where she was sitting as was possible.

Then she sat back down, slammed her foot on the break — thus shifting the momentum of the train and causing those of us standing to jut forward — and pulled into Park Street.

Let’s hear it for the T drivers: Ready for anything — except spiders.

Bad Luck, Good Luck

8 Mar

Did anyone else happen to see the accident in Coolidge Corner this morning? When I got to the corner of Beacon and Harvard around 8:45 a.m., two cars had gone over the Boston-bound left side sidewalk, with one of them landing right on the T tracks. Wish I had my camera; it was quite a sight.

Needless to say, one man’s misfortune is another man’s good fortune. T riders were diverted to the outbound platform, where they were told a shuttle bus would arrive to pick them up. But there was already a shuttle bus there, seemingly heading outbound. I asked the driver where he was going, he said he was heading inbound and was about to turn around. So I got on, got a seat, and made it to work with little delay. Meanwhile, the hordes of other T passengers were left stranded on the platform because they didn’t realize the shuttle bus they were waiting for had already arrived.

Still, that was some accident. How fast must a car have been going — on Beacon Street in Coolidge Corner of all places — for it to not just go up on the sidewalk, but to knock down the railing, go through the bushes and land on the T track. And what was up that this accident involved not one but two cars seemingly right behind the other?

Putting My Past Behind Me

15 Feb

On the T this morning, I saw a guy I went to camp with back in the day. I’m not sure exactly what his first name was — he had a brother who wasn’t exactly an identical twin since they were a year or two apart, but looked pretty similar — but suffice it to say, we sat directly across from each other, and after an initial quick eye contact, I put my eyeballs back into my issue of Entertainment Weekly without ever acknowledging him. (And for the record, he didn’t acknowledge me either.)

Of course, I considered saying hello, especially since this was not the first time we had seen each other on the T, or the T platform at Park Street. But I decided it wasn’t worth my time or effort, because back when we were younger, this guy wasn’t especially nice to me and just generally wasn’t a good guy. Now granted, when he knew me, I was a much wimpier, dorkier kid (no comments, please) and I suppose I’d have made fun of me too if I was him. But that was, like, 15 years ago. If I consider myself to be a totally different person from how I was when I went to camp, which I do, I’d hope he would be similarly different. And like me, I’m sure he’s a better person nowadays.

Still, I was stuck in 1991. For example, the fact that I couldn’t remember this guy’s name, but I still remembered him by his nickname. A similar thing happened two weeks ago when I bumped into another camp acquaintance at COSI. While we’ve seen each other plenty of times and have been much friendlier, I was still inclined to call him by his nickname, which was funny back at camp (especially considering he had a younger brother, and they were “big” and “little” versions of the nickname) but isn’t so much now when we’re in our 30s. (For the record, I called him by his actual name.)

I guess I just have a tough time letting go of the past sometimes. But I’m getting there. The other day, as I walked by a framed collage of pictures from my 5-year college reunion, I glanced at a picture of an old, unrequited crush. And after thinking about how our relationship has turned out over all these years, with her not staying the least bit in touch, I finally thought to myself, “What did I ever see in her?” So for the first time in many years, I actually felt like I was over her.

Lesson is, I need to be better about keeping my past in my past. So perhaps it’s time to move on with this guy from the T, and next time I see him I should just say a friendly hello. After all, in the name of my own self-PR, why shouldn’t I let him spread the word to whoever he’s still in touch with that I’m doing well? Isn’t that the best revenge on someone who was cruel to you as a child? And it’s not like I’ve been carrying these bad feelings toward the guy for all these years. They just come up whenever I see him. And especially if every summer I say I want to drive up to New Hampshire and visit the campus, partly to change how I feel about the place.

But until then, I suppose the door to my past will continue to creek open every so often. I have to be better about keeping it shut.

Just the Song I’m Looking For

3 Feb

Just wanted to say thanks to the guy who stood next to me on the T this morning who was playing his iPod so loudly that I could hear it clearly. Click Five‘s “Just the Girl” is a fun song to hear while riding a crowded train on a rainy Friday. Who needs a magazine when you have that playing?

(Sarcasm or no? You be the judge.)

Crude Commute

23 Jan

I realize bad commuting experience postings on a snowy day are a dime a dozen, but I thought I’d post this anyway.

Here’s my beef: I can appreciate why T drivers open the door at every stop to let people on and off when the train is so crowded and people have a hard time getting through. That said, I don’t understand why they do it, especially when the train is packed to the gills and no one is getting off and there’s no room for anyone else to get on.

Today I got on at Coolidge Corner and of course, I had to stuff myself onto the train, securing a small parcel of space at the second door from the front, against the railing on the second stair (of three). Clearly there was no room left for anyone else to get on. However, one stop later, at St. Paul’s Street, the doors opened and some woman, thinking she was funny (I know because she was laughing), got on and stood on the bottom stair. Unfortunately, when the door closed, it felt like she was literally up my ass. (Sorry for the crude imagery. It’s about to get worse.) And she remained there all the way down Beacon Street. At each stop, when the door would close, she got thrust back into me again. (Okay, it’s over now.)

At the St. Mary’s Street stop, someone was getting off, so I got off the train to make room on the stairway. What happened? The woman who had been up my ass quickly took my spot on the stairs, making me have to squeeze to barely get back on. So much for common courtesy.

I wish the MBTA knew how to handle snowy days. No kidding, every time it snows the T service is slower, less frequent, more crowded, more idiotic, and beyond explanation. It’s not like we live in Florida or something where snow would be a freak occurance. This is Boston. It snows every year, multiple times. When will the MBTA ever learn? And when will people learn how to be a bit more sensible on days like today and not be rude to their fellow passengers?

Sign That Winter Is Here, No. 67

5 Dec

The colder the weather, the slower, less frequent, and more crowded the T gets. Why is it that the MBTA can never get this right? It happens very year, like clockwork. And given that this morning it was 30 degrees out and will only be getting colder, we all know the problem will just get worse. Happy winter, everybody!

Do Me a Favor

2 Dec

If you have something against bathing, and you don’t bathe because you’re going for an earthy dreadlock hairstyle thing (or at least, really bunched up hair) and therefore you smell unpleasant … and you are waiting for the T and see the train approaching is packed to the gills with practically no breathing room … and you’re not going to work so therefore not in any huge rush to get somewhere … and you have a tendency to talk to yourself, or to others who would rather not talk to you … well then, please do me a favor and don’t get on the train and stand next to me. Wait for a less crowded car. Thanks.

TGIF

11 Nov

Some miscellaneous things that are on my mind today:

Sorry, neighbors: I hit snooze for a solid hour and a half this morning. That, after waking up in the middle of the night and sleeping on my couch for what must have been four hours. When the radio went off at 6:15, blaring from my bedroom, I darted off the couch, ran to go shut it off … and then proceeded to fall right back asleep.

Bagel basics: I’ve long thought that only Jewish people should work at bagel places. Before anyone gets all uppity that this is some sort of racist, reverse anti-Semitism thing, hear me out: When was the last time you had a good sandwich at Finagle-a-Bagel? Really. A good, well-made sandwich, where the ingredients weren’t just slapped together (in excess) and the bagel wasn’t burnt, etc. Too often, I feel like bagel sandwiches — whether they’re with cream cheese or turkey or whatever — are put through like some disorganized assembly line and made without much care for their quality. I take my bagels seriously (despite the fact that I still go to Bruegger’s regularly). Jewish people know from bagels. If Jews were making the bagel sandwiches at Finagle, they wouldn’t screw them up. Go to any bagel place in Florida. You’ll see.

This could have been worse: Nicole Richie was on the Today show this morning. At the risk of sounding like an old man triple my age, what a well-spoken young lady she was. Who knew?! Apparently she has a book out that’s “a novel a novel a novel a novel a novel a novel” — it’s repeated six times on the cover to underline and highlight the fact that even though characters closely resemble former aquaintances (i.e.: Paris Hilton), the book is not based in reality. Whatever. I’m still not going to read it.

T things: So if the T isn’t crowded and I’ve got plenty of space in the back of the train to stand, why must people come all the way back and crowd me? There’s plenty of room for them elsewhere. And in related musings, is anyone who rides the B Line happy? I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone on that line smile. On the C Line, people are talking to each other, laughing — I mean, it’s not the love train by any means, but at least the general mood of the riders is happier.

Happy day: Today is Veterans Day. So who has it off? Only the post office, it seems. And also in related musings, I was in Shaw’s last night and saw “Happy Veterans Day” cakes. Do you really wish people “Happy Veterans Day?”

Bad TV: I’d care more that it’s Sam who dies on Reunion if only I liked any of the characters on that show. It’s a good premise, but not one of the six characters is compelling enough to make the show watchable. Basically, the only reason I do watch is because it supposedly takes place in Bedford, NY, which is where I grew up. Supposedly. That’s not the Bedford I know. The characters would have gone to Fox Lane High School (not Bedford High) and the hospital would have been Northern Westchester Hospital (not University Hospital). Just fyi, in case you’re curious.

Behave or be gone: I really liked this story from Wednesday’s New York Times. I think Dan McCauley, owner of a coffee shop in Chicago, has the right idea. “Part of parenting skills is teaching kids they behave differently in a restaurant than they do on the playground,” he says. It’s easy for me to say since I don’t have kids, right? But the same goes for movie theaters. Bad thing is, of course, it’s not just children: too many adults treat the movie theater like it’s their living room. It’s my biggest pet peeve — after people who don’t know the correct way to ride an escalator, of course. (If you’re going to stand, stay to the right and let the rest of us pass.)

Summertime: Got an advance copy of UB40‘s new CD, Who You Fighting For?, in the mail today (it’s out January 24). Yes, those guys are still around, and with this album, they’ve got a return to form. (And I’m not just saying that because the British Mojo Magazine said it first.) I have the CD on while I’m working and it’s making me forget that it’s, like, 40 degrees out and that I dug my cold weather coat out this morning. At least mentally, summer’s already here.

No day but Tuesday: Got my invite yesterday to see an advance screening of Rent next week. Can’t wait. Especially now since Jeff Wells has posted such a huge rave about the film on his site, “Hollywood Elsewhere.” Jeff calls himself a “not-very-hip type,” something I can identify with if I know what he means, and he, like me, saw the show in 1996 when the original cast was still in it (I also saw the original cast in London, if you’re interested). I’ve been listening to the movie soundtrack for a couple of months now and like it. I’ve also seen clips, but they cause me to be a bit reserved in my enthusiasm. Jeff Wells gives me hope today. Look for my review of the film mid next week.

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