Shall I Jump Off as You Speed By?

Twice in the last week I've been on a bus with a driver who seems to have difficulties handling all that's required of a bus driver. I'm sure the job is a difficult one, controlling such a large vehicle, watching out for crazy drivers, making sure everyone pays the correct fare. However some drivers seem to forget that part of the job includes stopping to pick people up and drop people off. One driver last week blew past two stops in a row, then got upset when the people trying to get off hollered as she started to speed by a third stop. Another day, a driver on a different route twice missed different stops. Apparently driving the bus while keeping track of where the stops are is too much for some drivers to handle.

What's with the humming?

Why is it that every time I hop on the El, there always seems to be someone humming to themselves?  I just don't get it!  I would totally feel out of place humming to myself, especially when the train is so quiet.  Anyone else notice this phenomenon?  Please share your stories.

I must be dreaming

When the conversations at work inevitably turn to commuting woes, I often try to steer it back to current WTA standings, historical Cub's batting averages, or last night's production of The Pearl Fishers at the Lyric. Failing that, I generally fall silent. I never have much to add.

Of course, a one-hour ride on the train is accepted as routine. This is often in addition to a 15- or 20-minute dive to the station, combined with a 10- or 15 minute walk to the office. Typical.

Well, my short walk in the morning is not always as nice as it sounds. Many, many times in the years I've lived downtown, I've jolted myself awake with only 12 or 15 minutes before I need to be at work. Never one to back down from a challenge, the elevator instantly becomes my walk-in closet. A dash over the river and up Franklin, and I am at my desk just in time.

Here's the issue: my thoughts remain sleep-cloudy and dreamlike. Critical retention is impossible in this state. The coordination of typing, the act of placing a phone call, the morning mechanics of social interaction, all seem unfamiliar and require extra focus and concentration. With ambient morning temperatures, usually 58-76 degrees F, this effect is intensified.

For someone who appreciates the pleasures of lounging around, with coffee flowing and the FT Weekend ceremoniously unfurled all Saturday morning, the contrast is especially painful.

The Metra commuters just don't understand.

Survey: Chicago has the 2nd longest commute in the country

According to the Census Bureau’s annual American Community Survey "Chicago ranks second in the country for cities with 250,00 people or more with an average one-way commute time of 33.2 minutes. New York City clocks in first with 38.3 minutes."

This is not surprising to me considering Metra and CTA inefficiencies;
I live in Glen Ellyn which is in western suburb of the Chicago. My commute is about an hour each way. My daily commute is really time consuming but the most annoying thing is the delay time of the Metra trains. Sometimes if find myself at the station waiting for train which is 35 minutes late. Thank God I never missed class or test due to that delay. Last winter was my first winter and it was terrible, but commuting made it worse. I will never forget one Sunday in January when I was going to church early in the morning. It was around −5 °F, and train was 30 minutes late!!!I was freezing outside the station!

It said that some of the causes of such delay are heavy traffic, equipments not supplied on time, police activities etc...
Whatever the reasons are, I think our trains systems should be improved in terms of operations and infrastructure.
An average of commute time of 33.2 minutes is too high for us and actions should be taken to reduce it.

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=15968&seenIt=1

People and musicians that ask for money: are their stories really true?

A couple of months ago, I was on the red line train. Suddenly a musician that usually plays in one of the stations sits down beside me. He is very badly dressed and people don't feel very comfortable around him in the train. He starts talking to me and I keep on the conversation. We talk about professions, my profession and what I'm studying and then we talk about his. At the end of the conversation I asked him how is it like to work in the station playing music for money (thinking how tough it might be). Well guess what? he earns 20 dollars per hour! more than I DO in my current job (and tax free). I ask him where he lives and he tells me that he lives in a very good area of Lake view which surprises me a lot. I guess its a good business to ask for money in the public transportation as a musician!

Mornings with Al

As some of the regular contributors to this blog may know, my commute consists of walking seven blocks to and from my office. With increasing regularity, a neighborhood homeless guy, Al, finds shelter at night by lying directly across the front door of my building. As I must be the first guy to leave by that door (sometimes before 5:30am), the responsibility of Al's wake-up falls to me.

Now I could exit the building another way, but that would mean walking downstairs, crossing the garage, activating the door, and walking up the ramp, --a hassle. What usually happens is that I tap rather softly on the glass near his head while simultaneously pushing gently on the door. This used to get him to scramble to his feet and thank me for allowing him access to the building. After several unsuccessful tries at this, he then took to rolling over just enough for me to squeeze out the door and step over him. This is harder than it sounds when carrying a tennis racquet and a backpack.

Now that the weather has turned much cooler, waking him up becomes harder. He has increased the number of blankets that surround him to the point where he resembles a giant, rather fragrant cocoon with feet.

Other tenants have taken to leaving the building by the garage method, but I hope Al appreciates the friendly voice and the gentle nudge that greets his day.

Colors

As much as I hate the approach of winter, I have been enjoying the changing colors of the trees. To get to the bus, I walk down two blocks lined with trees which have started to produce a plethora of colors. Most of them are turning bright yellow, but one stretch has a tree that's a mix of the bright yellow and vibrant red, next to one that's all a deep maroon, near a few that are bright yellow, and a few that have still retained their summer green.

I just wish this was as cold as it would get. In the meantime, I'll enjoy the colors before the world goes gray.