Audge

In the past few months, public transportation has become a daily part of my life. And generally speaking....I really enjoy it. I get to read, listen to music, wind down after work, eat my lunch, take a snooze, etc. But there's also a few things I've learned and things I've had to endure.

So here we go:

1. For all the love and chocolate in this world, please don't have long and loud conversations on the phone when traveling on the train. Heaven knows I don't care what it's about, and neither do the other 50 people in this car. It's like we're back in high school, all taking a test, and there's that one person tapping their pencil on the table incessantly. Just don't do it.

2. You learn to get over your personal bubble issue and just sit next to people. When that train gets packed, you got no choice but to sit next to that three-some group of older men who talk about male things. Just read your book and pretend you don't exist.

3. I have smelled more unpleasant things while traveling on those trax then I have in New York City. Personal hygiene has a whole new level of meaning for me.

4. When you come upon sketchy characters on trax, look for the closest white shirt and tie person you can find and make sure you're in close enough distance in case you need saving from who knows what. Besides, anyone of them could be superman underneath that white collar uniform. #damselindistress

5. If you are feeling like dozing off on the train, do yourself a favor and SET AN ALARM. Set something so you don't miss your stop. OR if you are watching something, say an intensely good TV show, and you've got your eyes glued to that screen, do yourself ANOTHER favor, and just don't do that. You'll miss your stop. Then you've got a whole evening of regret ahead of you. Regret and embarrassment. And yes, I speak from experience.

6. When traveling home on the train in the evening hours, don't sit on the west side of the train. You'll start getting too warm because the sun shines on those seats. This applies only to summer and early fall, as the sun will set early enough otherwise to cause this problem.

7. People are going to stare at you. It's just what we all do on the train. People watch without realizing it. Just avert your eyes and remember you'll probably be staring them down in a few minutes anyways.

8. Trax isn't reliable. You could miss the train if it's not on time. And yes, I also have experience with this.

The train is an interesting place to be. Full of interesting people. You never know what's going to happen. You could miss your train, or you could be delayed a half an hour because that northbound train is moving as slow as molasses. That's the public transportation life.

#yourewaitingforatrain