2004-09-08 - 11:13 a.m.

Today’s post is brought to you by the letter M, T, and A and by the number 4,000. MTA is the Metropolitan Transit Authority here in NY, 4,000 is how much they suck on a scale one to ten.

A two-hour commute to work is not something that happens often, but when it does it makes me crabby. I awoke this morning to hurricane Francis, knowing that the MTA cannot pull themselves together in the rain, I left earlier than normal. As I am walking to the station a train goes by so I am mentally counting how long I have to get the next one. I get on the platform and that same train is still in the station. However, the doors are closed, leaving us to stand there like rejects at Studio 54. For twenty minutes they allow us to stand in the rain staring in like homeless people. I wished I had a bucket and squeegee; I would have done the windows. The doors are opened we all get in then continue to sit for another 20 minutes. This whole time people are squeezing in and the train is now starting to smell like a wet gym sock that hasn’t been washed in 6 months. “There is flooding”, “there are signaling problems”, “there is a train ahead of us that is stalled”, these are the excuses we are offered for the delay. When the train starts moving a sign of relief goes up and people are nodding at each other as if to say, “we got through this. It will be ok now.” I expect there to be shirts for sale in Chinatown by this afternoon, “I survived the commute of September 8th.” People get snarky when faced with delays and babies get poopy. The baby next to me kept pressing his foot into my leg and grunting. I wanted to point out to the father that when they need to get a foothold, it’s time for more fiber in their diet. But he looked a bit cranky so I said nothing.

But I am here now.

It is supposed to rain like mad all day. If you would like to catch a glimpse of libbyfish, turn on the channel 4 news at 6 and you will see her floating down Broadway on a raft made of old Styrofoam coffee cups… anything to avoid getting back on the subway.

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