Strike!

Well, today was a funny day. I figured I'd blog instead of commenting in yesterday's about the fiasco that was today. And tomorrow will be worse. I rode in to work on my usual schedule because my rail line was not directly affected by the strike. But tomorrow it will be close quarters because they will be pulling some train cars off the usual routes to add service in the Bronx. So it's going to be tight on my train, tight in the Bronx, tight everywhere. I got to the office and it was a ghost town. Only a couple of people were there ahead of me. I could almost envision little tumbleweeds blowing through the hallway. At one point, I had this uncontrollable urge to whistle that little Native American whistle that is associated with desolate, empty towns. And then I had to laugh at myself for doing it. This one guy drove in from Brooklyn before 5am so that he wouldn't get stuck outside the city. Others walked 30, 40+ blocks to get to work. I wasn't expecting my secretary to make it, but she had a relative in the Bronx that she stayed over with. One of the partners that I work closely with - his secretary got in late, after noon. She was coming from Queens. Because we had a conference call with a judge today and I wasn't sure if she was going to make it, I took the bull by the horns and arranged for the conference call myself. That went off without a hitch. What price for peace of mind, you know? In the middle of the day when the traffic restrictions were lighter, it was a mess. Stupid people trying to beat the light ended up blocking the box and causing gridlock on the cross streets of Lexington Avenue when I wandered out to grab some lunch. I felt like I was the frog in Frogger, except that the cars really weren't moving because the grid was so racked. I tend to be more like a DC pedestrian than a New York pedestrian - I don't bolt out in front of cars. I'm just not that brave. New York pedestrians are a different animal, I tell ya. Not only is she the mother of invention, necessity is also the mother of bad behavior. So I worked late and made my 10. Plus a little. Going home was a huge fiasco because now all the people needing to get to the Bronx were on the train. Granted, my dumb ass was running late (as usual) and I almost missed my train. I got on by the hair of my chinny chin chin and packed in with the other sardines. Seriously, I was pretty much pressed against the door until we got to 125th Street in Harlem, when I could actually turn around and exhale. Things lightened up to the usual load once we got to Fordham. I was never so grateful that people didn't stink. I had 2 bad B.O. experiences in the last few days with people on trains. It would have been nasty and I don't think I'd have been able to control my tongue if we were in such close quarters and someone stank. I'd have been bitching and dropping f-bombs for a good way. Thank you, Lord, for small mercies like that. So until the strike is off, I'm praying for more small mercies. I was telling someone about the beltway today when we were talking about transit woes. She asked me if I preferred my commute down there. I was able to have a nice short reverse commute when I was working for the dirty clown, but my experience was not the usual. I told her that the beltway is such that it is at least 4-5 lanes in width on each side and jam-packed all the way around during rush hour. If I had to ride the beltway every day, I'd want to shoot myself. I actually prefer this method of transit, taking the train, than driving. It's most definitely easier on my weary soul. Plus I do not miss DC area drivers. For them, I will happily employ The Dick Cheney School of Diplomacy. So there it is, in a nutshell (if you can call it that). Enduring chaos, and bracing for worse. Pray for deodorant. :)