Subway Commute

I don't quite remember since when the #7 in Main Street Flushing has this uniformed MTA guy standing on the platform every morning, yelling at the top of his lung to remind people to let passengers off first. The platform is at least 150 feet long and he is standing on one end of the platform, enthusiastically, tirelessly, incessantly yelling the same thing whenever a train pulls over much to my annoyance. My morning commute can't be quiet and peaceful any more. Somebody needs to find this guy another job at the MTA, like cleaning up the garbage on the track or on the platform or something.

******

We have this big platform island in Main Street Flushing Station where there are three tracks for either local or express trains. But the platform is narrow and to make matter worse, there are like zillions of garbage receptacles dotted along the platform right in the middle. Passengers are forced to walk on the side close to the edge of the platform wherever there is this huge garbage thing. I don't know what they are thinking. Are we supposed to carry our home garbage to the MTA? Do we need all these huge garbage receptacles there? Not put on the side of the platform but right in the middle? It's freaking mind-boggling. Even with all these garbage receptacles, animals still like to throw garbage around ....

New York Subway from Wikipedia

Reading

I think all my readings are now done on public transportations like bus and subway. At home, I either watch TV or get online, as unproductive as one can imagine. Some thing got to change. Or actually me got to change.

A Drop of Rain Crippled New York City

The morning commute was a mess. I should have stayed home, but I didn't. It's not like I am going to get an award or anything for showing up. But there I was at work despite the rain and chaos.

Some of the subway lines were still not at full service by the evening rush hour. Meanwhile meteorologists are still deciding whether the unusually strong wind touched down in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn can be called a tornado or not.

UPDATE: Yes, it was a tornado.

Subway Reading

Wiggles' Greg Page is calling it quit. The very likable yellow Wiggle is leaving the band for good because of a rare disease that often leaves the 35-year old light-headed. According the the New York Times, his departure saddens many moms but seems to have little or no impact to the band's target demograhics, namely the toddlers. I must say I like the Wiggles too. Before Alex and Harry got suckered into the whole Japanese animation thing, they liked the Wiggles, especially Alex. He even went to one of Wiggles' concert in Madison Square Garden.

Masi Oka or better known as Hiro Nakamura in the run away NBC hit Heroes, has an IQ of 180, graduated from Brown with major in math and computer science and minor in theater. At age 10, he made the cover of Time magazine as one of a group of Asian America whiz kids. I like the Heroes show some what, I guess if I were 17 years old, I would like it more. More from the Times.

Subway #7

It's 5:49PM...

where is my ride?
My daily flying carpet runs either local or express. Problem is you never know which is which.
When the train pulls up the 5th Ave station, the conductor either says nothing or says something totally irrelevant to the everyday riders, something to the extent of "5th Ave, transfer is available for number 4, 5, 6, E and F train" and goes on and on, and finally just when the car doors are almost completely closed, he might add, if you are lucky, Flushing bound number 7 express train...I wonder why the conductor would say anything about the transfer, is it for the tourists? For tourists who are prepared, they probably don't need this announcement, and for those who aren't prepared, the announcement wouldn't help a bit. Getting lost in the New York subway system is part of being a tourist in the Big Apple.
For the everyday 7 riders like me, all I want to hear from the conductor is Express Express or Local Local, if it's too little, then Number 7 Express or Number 7 Local, Is it too little to ask?

My morning number 7 train ride

It's about time for a new entry.
I take the number 7 train every day, or actually every work day. There is little to like or dislike the number 7 train. It's crowded, it's even more crowded if you take it during rush hours. You would think with the recent terrorist alert lifted, you would get a better ride, but hell no, there was some delay and the train was crowded, I mean like at the door, people are breathing on each other's face.
Subway Fighters
So a fight broke out between these two guys at the door. They were men of few words. Just after a few nasty exchanges at Queens Borough Plaza, they stepped out and had a bare fist fight. So that's not bad, you got free entertainment on an otherwise mundane train ride. Just imagine you have to pay $40 for a pay per view on cable. You got a live performance right in front of you, no cable bill follows. Perhaps the terrorist alert was lifted, so no police was present on the God police forsaken Queens Borough Plaza. The other train riders stayed indifferent to the whole fight, after all we've seen it all. Sensing nobody is noticeably appreciating their efforts, the two subway fighters stopped and got back on the same very crowded train and breathed on each other face again, man, you wonder if they really liked each other...The actual fight lasted about 15 to 30 seconds, both were standing and were trying to talk tough afterward. That was pretty much the highlight of the ride.
Subway Donts
Don't pluck your facial hair
In my mind, there are things you shouldn't do on the ride.
While the above fight came to an end , another woman got a seat in front of me and started busy touching herself up. She was all busy plucking her facial hair above his her lips and between her eyebrows. It lasted much longer than the fight, and I was like where were those hairs going, must be airborne. What's next, was she going to wax her armpit or bikini area right on the train? Girls, there are things that ought to be done in your privacy, not for your own comfort but for others. I kind of think, applying some lip gloss or powdering your nose is acceptable, but spending the whole ride pulling hairs from your face and discarding them around is not...You got to draw the line some where. We have subway "law" that bars carrying open container, like coffee or water. Against photography. I think we should have laws prohibiting subway riders from:-

• Plucking hairs, facial or otherwise
• Combing or brushing hair continously and extensively
• Clipping nails, fingers or otherwise
• Pole hugging, pole dancing naked is perhaps OKAY
• Standing on the left side of a moving escalator showing no apparent signs of disability
  
• Seating with legs crossed and sticking them out, guys, it's the subway not your living room.
• Seating with legs wide open. Yes, you are BIG, I understand, but still you don't have to open your thighs at ninety degrees or bigger
• Squeezing in their shoulders. Everybody loves a seat, or make it a lot of people. But just respect first come first serve, plus you paid for the ride not the seat, so don't feel like you have to sit your ass down when you see a space no matter how fucking narrow the space is. When you sit down in between seats, don't exercise your right of last in and all shoulder in, there simply not enough shoulder room.

One of these coming cold winter days, I am going to explode if some jerk attempts to park their shoulders in regardless of the space, I am going to fuking kill them.