Follow me, kids!

This doesn't surprise me at all. It's very common on BART, but since we have posted a few comments regarding this very problem, thought I should share what I saw today.

At the Civic Center Station, a mom, with 4 kids, were approaching the BART ticketing entrance.

The oldest kid, a boy about 7 or 8, goes directly to the ticket gate and asks, "Mom, how do we get in here?" The woman answers, "No, ***, you get over here, follow me, we're going this way."

She then proceeds to the side handicapped swing door and directs her children to walk that way. All five of them got onto the ticketing platform this way. This took place about 12 feet from the station agent sitting inside the glass window.

Frankly, I was pretty disgusted. It's because of people like that the rest of us have to pay around $8 roundtrip daily to get to work and back.

I said to her loudly, "You forgot to pay." Being at least 8 feet from me, she conveniently ignored me and went on to board her train.

How safe are we on BART?

A bit of a more serious thought today. Since news of the liquid gel explosive broke, I've been doing a lot of thinking and questioning.

The BART Police were doing random train walk-throughs today with bomb sniffing dogs, causing the trains to pause for at least 3-5 minutes. I was glad to hear that and didn't mind the delay, but is that enough to protect everyone should there be a plot to attack the system? And why does it always take a scare to get everyone (internationally, not just here) back to the level of awareness that we should constantly have? Are we being too reactive? Do we need more "events" to realize terrorism is not a traditional enemy? (**Please, this is not meant to stir a political debate at all. These are just some thoughts and questions that came to mind**)

BART passengers see signs around the station and trains asking us to stay alert and watch out for suspicious packages, but can we count on self-enforcement to keep us from danger? What exactly makes a bag suspicious? What if the source of harm is not actually left unattended but being carried onto the train by a paying passenger?

I'm not sure how much more BART can do to protect passengers. They could install detectors at the entrance, but can they detect explosives? Don't think so. Or, BART Police (with trained canines) can stand by the entrance to randomly inspect passengers, but that could lead to a whole new debate about privacy infringement and racial profiling in this politically charged SF Bay Area.

I don't expect there to be any new initiatives to protect BART passengers beyond what is already being done because the politics make everything reactive around here.

I am not fearful on BART and have not felt unsafe as a passneger (well, not due to terrorism at least, but have definitely felt unsafe due to homeless and drunks). These are just some thoughts on my mind.

Got bumped by a bike today

Are people supposed to carry their bike up on the escalator? I thought they were supposed to use the stairs or the elevator. It seems awfully crowded and dangerous to have a bike on a packed up-escalator!

Granted, the woman, extremely thin and frail-looking, was doing her best to carry the bike at shoulder-level to avoid bumping into crowds. I kept my distance from her the best I could...about 3 escalator steps behind her. I was getting nervous watching her because I could tell her arms were getting tired and the bike was swinging back and forth as her arms started to lower.

Suddenly, she took a step down on the escalator to help keep her balance, but the bike swung backwards anyways and she ended up right in front of me. One of her bike tires hit my face as a result. I was expecting it to happen....I knew at some point she would not be able to keep the bike above her shoulders. There were passengers riding the escalator behind me, so I couldn't take more steps back to protect myself.

It didn't hurt much. I was more concerned with the tires being dirty than hurting my face. She was so apologetic and having such a tough time with her bike that I felt too sorry for her to yell at her!

Rough start to my morning

Mondays are always tough, but today it was more difficult than usual for me to get out of bed. I pounded the snooze button more times than I could keep track of during my sleepy state and suddenly, it was very late! I had just a few minutes to get ready, drive, park and get on the train. I jammed my usual 20 minute routine (darn good for a female) into half the amount of time and rushed to the BART station.

As soon as I got there, my neck started feeling uncomfortable. It seemed like my collar is unusually high and making my neck a little tight and itchy. I looked down, and realized that I wore my long-sleeve top backwards! I was trying to convince myself that I could get away with it because by then, I didn't have a place to swap back to front. It was pretty obvious that the shirt was on backwards with the fabric jammed and gathered at the neck, the label printed right there, and the stitching of the label tag clearly visible right under my eyes.

As I got up to the platform, I saw that the train was 9 minutes late. Well, I figured if I'm going to miss my shuttle pick-up anyways, I might as well take a chance, go to the BART station restroom and make my outfit a little more comfortable, during this extra wait time that BART has given me.

I don't like public restrooms but I do use them when necessary. The only other BART restroom I've tried was Lafayette and it was quite clean for a public restroom, a B+ in my rating system. I thought Lafayette and Orinda are pretty similar cities, I'm sure the Orinda restroom is just as clean. So, I took a chance and walked in. Oh boy....I found puddles of bright yellow urine splattered everywhere and the room smelled like smoke and pee. I guess since no one follows the "No Food or Drinks" sign BART posts, why would people follow the "No Smoking" sign! Horrible combination of odors. Unlike the Lafayette public restroom, the Orinda one warrants a D+ at best in my rating system.

Thank goodness I didn't have to use the facilities, I just needed a place to fix my shirt. I had a large computer bag filled with folders and a purse. I had no space anywhere to place the bags down! The sink had ashes all over, and there was no way I would let my bags touch the ground! So with no place to settle my bags, it took me awhile to get my shirt to the ride side while holding 2 bags (1 heavy!). During this juggling of shirt and bags, I stepped into a puddle of urine. I had a pair of superflat sandals that gave me only 1/2 a centimeter of protection between the ground and my feet. I had to wipe off the ashes on the sink so I could wash my feet, and then, I poured the rest of my Purell onto them. Thank goodness, I had the foresight to roll up my jeans before I walked in, a trick I learned because of my experiences at the Civic Center Station.

Well, I did it and I made it onto the train in time. I guess Orinda doesn't keep up as well as Lafayette station. I don't even want to imagine what the Civic Center station restroom is like and hopefully I will never have to find out!

why crowd next to me on an empty train?

On a fairly empty Concord bound train this afternoon, I thought I would have the luxury of getting two seats to myself. As we approached Embarcadero from Civic Center, the train still had many empty seats, and I thought I would be free to stretch my tired arms and sit comfortably across 2 seats. But, a larger, very hairy and totally sweating older man walked in, and decided to take the seat next to me even though the train was about 40% empty.

Why oh why did he have to choose this seat?? I smelled him immediately: his sweat, his hair, his unwashed clothes (smelled like a dirty closet) and his breath! I was miserable and wanted to get up to change a seat. But I realized that it would really be a huge production for him to have to stand up, grab his things and move aside for me, and if he didn't do that and instead just expected me to walk over him, it would be extremely unpleasant for my body to have to touch his. So, I decided to just suck it up for 25 minutes.

It wasn't easy. He coughed a lot, his sweaty left arms touched my dry and clean right arm several times, and worst of all, I caught him violently scratching his big wart on his face.

Finally, I was at my station. And I was right, it did take him a long long time to allow me to exit my seat. I almost missed the door.

Glad the weekend is here!

A public conversation

There was actually a brief entertainment program on BART today. The train operator apparently did not know his microphone was on and was chatting up with a friend. The conversation was a little embarrassing for the train operator since details of his love life was divulged to the rest of us. I felt a little guilty listening (post-publish comment: I didn't feel THAT guilty...more awkwards than guilty) but had no choice since it was broadcasted throughout the train.

Here's the conversation- probably not the exact words but close.

Train Operator (TO): Hey, where've you been?
Friend (F): You know, just around.
TO: Where you heading?
F: Got a job interview in the city. Whatevers. What have you been up to?
TO: Nothing much.
F: You still dating that guy? What's his name, ****?
TO: No, we went out a couple times and he never called me back.
F: Didn't go too well?

That was it. Maybe he realized that his mike was on, or his friend had to run, but the conversation ended there, leaving us to wonder why his date never returned his call and how things are going now.

What do you think of BART's "thank you" banner ads?

If you ride BART daily, I'm sure you've noticed the "thank you" BART ads around the trains. One of them says (can't remember the exact words), "Thank you, sleeping behind your sunglasses riders," and another says, "Thank you, first ride of your life riders." I think there are a couple others, although I can't remember them ride now.

I think they are a bit corny but not close to being as bad as the SF Giants' "It's your Giants" radio and TV ads (side note: speaking of the Giants, depressing 9 straight losses. I hope we release Benitez to make a statement, waste the millions who cares, just rid the cancer). I know that BART is trying to express appreciation with humor, but I remember thinking these two ads that I've seen do not actually directly relate to me and frankly, slightly lame.

BART should have ads that thank those of us who know to walk on the left and stand on the right, those of us who have tickets ready in hand BEFORE we approach the gate, those of us who actually make a point to get up for seniors and handicapped, those of us who ride BART the next day despite horrible delays the day before, those of us who recycle newspaper in the proper bin instead of leaving them on the train, those who pay daily for parking, and those of us who write/comment about BART!! :)

Debris on track causing 30+ minutes delay

I was stuck in another long delay today. As soon as I approached that BART station, I knew it was bad news since a train was held there with the doors wide open.

Apparently, the delay was caused by debris on one of the tracks between Rockridge and Lafayette, thus trains were operating on one track only. I didn't think it would take that long, but a 15 minutes delay announcement turned into 30.

How long does it take to remove debris? Why does it take over 30 minutes? I'm sure there is a lot more work involved than I'm thinking of. Is it more than just getting a crew there to remove the coverboard or whatever it was out of the track and get the trains running normally again?

Needless to say, I was not in a chipper mood once I arrived at Civic Center station. I barely made the very last shuttle pick-up. However, I did see an adorable little pug being walked by his owner on the street today which cheered me up!!

Mid-Day BART riders

Since I take BART to work, I get in around 9 and leave around 5:30 or so. In the few occasions that I leave during the day, I usually take my car. That said, my recent encounter during a mid-day BART ride was a bit scary, but not surprising, based on what I've heard and read from everyone.

I had to leave work early to take care of family matters. When I arrived at the Civic Center Station (street level), I noticed immediately that the staircase and surrounding area was occupied by at least 40-50 homeless folks. They were up and about, chatting, laughing, throwing things at each other, or screaming profanities at pedestrians or in some cases, no body. It was a little frightening to walk between them, while cautiously trying to not disrupt their game of catch with an empty bottle and another game of soccer with an empty beer can. On the other hand, I now know what homesless people do in the day time! They have fun and socialize.

When I got down to boarding platform, I noticed more homeless people sleeping and saw a few drunks passed out on the floor. I guess it is cooler inside the station than napping outside under the scorching sun. Who can blame them? I just wonder how they got in?

Once the train arrived, they woke up and joined me in the short 4 car train. My car was fairly empty: me, a few culinary school students in uniform, and them. The drunk men walked in and both found their own 4-seater area to sleep on. One of them kicked some old newspaper out of his way, missed, and almost fell down. He then screamed out an assorment of cuss words while kicking the seat in anger. The other drunk man was already back asleep by this time. He was about 2 rows from me, and I could smell the alcohol.

A few homeless folks also were on the train with me. One immediately walked up and down the trains to ask for money. I didn't feel like reaching for my wallet, but he stood in front of me and kept on asking! To get away from his smell, I ended up giving him all my change. The other homeless folks just slept. One stuck his bare feet out in the aisle.....I sure wish I had a pair of socks to give him, for my sake and his.

It was just interesting to me how different the riders are during the day time! How do they get in? Are they going anywhere? Seems like they just hopped on to sleep or ask for money.

The 1-minute sprint

I've mentioned several times now that I actually connect to a company shuttle at the Civic Center BART station and if BART arrives ontime, I have about 5-minutes before the shuttle arrives. Usually, I have about 3-minutes, which is totally enough time for me to leisurely walk up the two flights of escalators, and across the street to the 8th/Market corner.

Today, I had less than 1 minute to get to the shuttle stop. BART was stop and go the entire way and I was mentally (not quite physically) prepared for an impending 50-second dash once the door opens.

As we approached Civic Center station, I positioned myself 2 inches from the door to get a head start. Once the door opened, I ran. I zipped through people like a motorcycle steering in between cars; shifting right, left and back to right. I ran up the first escalator and cut across slower walkers in front of me...every second counted at this point. My ticket was ready in hand as usual and I made sure I was first to the ticket gate. I sprinted to the 2nd escalator, and saw that there were too many people walking/standing on the escalator so I decided to ran up the stairs. Because I had flats on today, I was able to skip up 2 steps with each step, to make up precious time.

I was really running out of steam by the time I got up there and thought that the shuttle had probably left by now, and I might as well just slow down and look forward to another 15 minutes at Starbucks to pass time. But, there it was.....the white shuttle, with its left turn signal on, just about to leave the stop. I got an extra burst of energy, and ran with all that's left in me across the street. Right as the driver was about to step on the gas, I arrived at the door.

My hard work paid off....I made it. I was huffing and panting from this morning workout, but of course I had to keep my cool once I got in the shuttle. People were already annoyed at me that the driver had to re-open the door and stop the shuttle for me, I certainly didn't want them to snicker at my out of control breathing patterns. So, I tried my best to hold it in, pretending that I made it on the shuttle like any normal person, and took out my Treo, like I normally would.

Inside my head however, I was ecstatic that I beat the clock! I know...ridiculous, but if I had missed the shuttle, I would have had to wait miserably for 15 more minutes while becoming even more bitter about BART.

How much room does one need???

Usually, I'm one of those "nice" passengers that always scoot to the window seat to leave the aisle seat open for the next passenger's convenience; I also always stand up if I'm ever in the aisle seat for the window seat passenger to leave the train; and whenever in a 4 seater quad area (when the seats face each other), I make sure to leave enough leg room for the passenger across from me.

Yesterday afternoon, I was very tired. I wasn't feeling well and had to take two Benadryls (imagine the drowsiness) to fight off symptoms. For once, I did not get up for the person next to me to get out, and instead, just squeezed my legs inwards and towards the side, to make room for him. He was angry at me!! He made many "tsk" sounds, shook his head, shrugged his shoulders as if he is trapped inside and can't get out, and then blurted out, "Don't blame me if I step on your toes," sarcastically.

There was plenty of room for him to walk out of his seat. I'm about 105 pounds-- there is ENOUGH space between my feet and the seat in front of me for him to make his way out.

I've seen plenty of people who never get up for someone to exit their seat and never considerately take the window seat just to make it easier for someone else to take the aisle seat. One of the very few times that I actually didn't get up (for very legitimate reason), I get scolded?

I just gave him a dirty look that pretty much said it all. He ended up getting out just fine, so I don't know what he was complaining about.

The down escalator domino effect

This is something that bugs me to some minor degree on a daily basis, but today, it was bad enough to compel me to write about it!

Those of you who take BART regularly know that people who are in a hurry or just like to walk faster, take the left side of the escalator and stairs, and those who can't walk fast, prefer to stand as the escalator moves, or just have plenty of time to spare, are supposed to take the right side of the escalator or stairs. Common courtesy, widely-accepted by most daily commuters, or at least, it should be.

Well...this scenario I'm about to describe actually apply to people who are more often on the left side, people who like to move more quickly. Do you ever notice the tendency for some escalator riders to suddenly stop walking down along the downward movement of the (down) escalator, just about 5 steps away from the platform? I know it's just 5 steps until we have no more steps to walk down, but just let the movement carry you to your final step...why suddenly stop walking down and put a sudden halt to the 15 people walking behind you to the same speed/downward rhythm? Instead, these people stops walking all of a sudden as we are about 5 to 6 steps away from the lower platform, as if they are scared or hesitant to take the last few steps as the down escalator diminishes. Or, maybe they forget that there is an endless line of people walking down behind them like robots who are not prepared to suddenly stop their bodies from moving (or falling) forward.

Today, I was in the middle of a domino effect that ended badly with a few people on the ground. Luckily, I was about 7 people away from the source of the problem, so I had the time to quickly step aside to avoid a tumble. Everyone was walking down the escalator in a steady pace when this woman decides that she is too close to the end of the escalator steps and must stop. The man behind her, naturally not prepared for this red light, walks right into her, while the woman behind him, walks into him and pushing the first woman down on her knees. At this point, the woman was blocking the entire escalator exit to the platform, causing everyone on their way down to either step into the man and woman #2 already on the ground and join them, or to piss off the escalator riders on the right side by forcefully invade their territory in order to maintain their balance.

It was a big mess!!! There were 3 people on the ground, and many squeezed awkwardly on the right side trying to avoid becoming part of the tumble. As this was happening, a Dublin/Pleasanton train comes and goes. (Luckily, not my train!)

Why? Tell me why must someone stop their walk down the escalator before the steps actually end? I know this scenario is impossible to picture if you don't know what I'm talking about, but my goodness, I've always hate being stuck in back of people like that because usually, my train's door is wide open while they decide to halt their speed, and by the time I actually get down to the platform, the train is gone!!!!

Why wasn't the "No Free Ride" announced on the news?

I watched 3 different newscasts on Sunday evening stating that Monday is yet another Spare the Air day. However, none of the newscasts indicated that no free rides will be offered this time around!!
Good thing I brought my BART ticket anyways today because to my surprise, the ticket gates were up as usual and there were no signs and posters declaring "Ride Free on Spare the AIr Day".
I don't mind not riding free, but shouldn't the newscasts responsibly tell us that portion too? To many of us, we equate "Spare the Air Days" with free rides. To people who don't normally take public transport, the free rides are great incentives! How do you think they felt when they walked up to the ticket gate and found out that had to buy a ticket?

What Spare the Air Day means to a few people I know

Another Spare the Air Day....kind of scary how many we've had the past few weeks....I never realized air quality in the Bay Area could get so horrible. Even if ridership on Spare the Air days doesn't exceed expectation, the campaign is at the very least educational for many of us who know little about the affects of weather have on air quality.

While Spare the Air day is supposed to encourage drivers to take public transportation, I know a few people who think of it in a totally different and twisted manner. They prefer to drive on Spare the Air days because they can get to work faster on the emptier roads and avoid over-crowded trains. They report that the toll plaza is emptier, the parking lots at work and streets are less crowded, their door to door drive time is actually shorter than taking public transport. So why bother...they say.

I think to change these people's poor attitudes, CalTrans (or whatever organization manages the bridges) should charge an extra $5 (ore more since Bay Area drivers may not think much of five bucks) for bridge toll on Spare the Air Days. I also think more companies should proactively partake in Spare the Air days by distributing exact bus/BART routes for employees...or even better, they should charter vans or buses to pick-up employees from stations or bus stops, if there is no direct route to the office by public transport.

Then again, for my selfish reasons, I don't want the trains to become more crowded than they already are. It's not like BART will increase the number of trains in operation to accommodate a significant rise in ridership on Spare the Air days.

Why I drink black coffee

It's never easy going back to work after a relaxing vacation, but today, my BART ride was so smooth that it helped me readjust to a busy schedule. I found prime parking spot at the Orinda lot and caught an earlier train that delivered me 10 minutes prior to my shuttle pick-up. Can't complain about that!

With 10 minutes to spare, I decided to get coffee to jump start my day at the nearby Starbucks. Keep in mind that around the Civic Center BART Station, I'd rather be standing in a long line waiting for coffee than standing by myself at the corner of 8th and Market, waiting for the company shuttle to arrive.

While waiting in line, I saw a homeless man walk in to Starbucks (not a shocker). He then walked straight to the coffee condiments counter, grabbed the carafe of milk and poured it straight into his mouth (a big shocker!) I couldn't tell if his mouth actually touched the carafe but it doens't matter, the site of him drinking the milk was absolutely disgusting that everyone just got their coffee, skipped the creamer/sugar and left.

After he finished the milk, he went for the half-half. I was waiting for a Starbucks barista to tell him to stop, or to change the carafes of milk and half and half on the counter, but they never came. That leads me to think this homeless man is a regular and fills his stomach on Starbucks condiments often.

After he poured the half-half in his mouth, he grabbed a few backs of sugar and left. I believe he made several folks into black coffee drinkers today!

I've been preferring my coffee black lately, and this is just another reason why I should drink my coffee black. You never know who's used the milk before you. I actually witnessed something similar at the Gourmet 360 Burritos in Downtown SF where a homeless man filled up on free salsa at the salsa bar. I never touched the salsa there again.

Leaving for week-long vacation, but let me leave you with some thoughts about the SFO route

As critical as I can be sometimes about what goes on during my daily BART rides, BART does have merits. One in particular that I'd like to point out again is the SFO route. Many of us dread the long trek to SFO and the $10+ per day we must pay for parking. It is not easy to find a friend or parent to drop you off and pick you up, and taxis would be way too expensive if you're coming from the East Bay. And of course, the stuffy and overcrowded Super Shuttle is not exactly a desired alternative either.

I was skeptical when I first heard about the SFO-bound trains. I didn't think it would be convenient to carry luggage on BART and I also questioned the proximity of the BART stop to actual terminals. But, it is so rider-friendly and worth every penny. You arrive in front of the terminal tram, which then takes you to your desired terminal.

Sure, it could get a bit uncomfortable with all your luggage stacked in front of your legs, and yes, you may get a few dirty looks for taking up some free standing room. But, especially for those who take extended trips, $10 RT (approximately) on BART is the most cost-effective solution yet. You don't need to deal with parking lot shuttles that rarely come around, nor the horrible 101 traffic.

The transfer at Balboa station is not bad at all! Usually, the SFO train comes in less than 6 minutes.

From my station, the ride takes about 55 minutes, including the transfer, but you save on gas and extended parking, or taxi/shuttle fare. Of course I don't enjoy riding the train for an hour, but with a good magazine in hand, the time flies by! And on the way back home from SFO, you will always get a seat!

I can't say the same for the Oakland Airport route (AirBART is a bit sketchy), but it definitely is an option I'd consider if I am going way for more than 5 days.

After reading this SFGate article, http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/07/08/BAG26JS31V1.DTL&hw=BART&sn=002&sc=677, I just wanted to share that despite all my grumblings, taking BART to SFO is not bad at all.

Now, do I sound like a BART spokesperson or what? Nah...I'm just telling the truth, as I always do...which will include the bad and the good!

Is Sudoku the solution?

I have seen people at airports and trains completely engrossed in Sudoku. I've seen coworkers exchanging Sudoku puzzles and giving each other advice on which edition is best.

Although BART was on time today (thank goodness!), it was an extremely crowded train. While most people were uncomfortably miserable, I noticed a few passengers solving Sudoku puzzles and appear to be completely in their own peaceful Sudoku world. Granted, they were seated, and the rest of us were standing.

I've never tried Sudoku. Since I've never enjoyed crossword puzzles (unless I am desperate to pass time on a long flight, then I do pick up the In-Flight magazine and try out the crossword), I just assumed that Sudoku would not be enjoyable too.

Sudoku players out there- what's great about it? why is it so engrossing? Please do tell! I really do want to know. If it can make my BART ride go faster, I am willing to give it a shot!

Delays again? Reliability rating must be very low right now

I'm NOT at work right now, instead, I'm at home, waiting out a BART delay because I just couldn't stand there anymore without knowing when trains will start moving and when I might actually get to SF! I am tired of paying for taxi at the Civic Center station in order to get to my office in SOMA because BART has not gotten me to the station in time to catch my company shuttle. Who is going to pay me back for the taxi fare? BART? I don't think so.

Again, there were no signs outside the station telling us that there was a huge delay. I inserted my ticket to go up the platform and waited. The announcer blurted something completely inaudible...and apparently, he said that trains will start moving shortly but expect delays up to 20-30 minutes for Westbound passengers and 45 minutes for Eastbound. So, I left. Unfortunately, I didn't know that BART would take off $4.65 from my ticket???? Was that a mistake? I was too pissed to line up in front of the slow-acting agent to argue this amount. I figured I'll just not buy a latte today to make up for the difference!

It may not sound like a big deal for those of you who don't rely on BART to go to work, but whenever it is delayed, it is a huge inconvenience especially due to the fact that I have a connecting shuttle that doesn't come often enough. Literally, every minute counts for me because I have a very short window to catch the shuttle. And don't suggest that I should leave even earlier to anticipate delays....I already do, and I shouldn't have to inconvenience myself even more (think standing around the lovely Market/8th environment) just to allow BART room for delays.

Right now, if I were asked to rate BART's reliability, it would be 30%. I have had to spend $8 extra, at least 2 a week, on taxi fare to the office! I can't take it anymore....I already pay $8 to take BART to SF, I shouldn't have to pay another $8!

To read about the delay, see: *one correction though, ACTUAL delays westbound were definitely more than 15 minutes. BART under-estimates yet again.

http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/15013852.htm
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/07/11/MNGU8JT7PE3.DTL

Coffee drinker deservedly spills hot coffee on himself

BART was just 3 minutes late today...I was able to catch my company shuttle by sprinting up the stairs.

Many people may not be aware of this, or just don't care, but in every BART train cart, there are 3 signs that say "NO FOOD OR DRINKS. VIOLATORS SUBJECT TO FINE". Many passengers don't follow this rule. I see food on BART all the time, and coffee is a constant presence on BART too. Maybe it's because passengers who bring food and drinks don't ever get fined as the sign states. I have yet to see an agent coming through the trains checking for food/drinks and ticketing violators.

This morning, on the opposite side of the cart from where I was sitting, I heard a man frantically shouting, "Coming through, make way, hot beverage here!" as if he is entitled to extra caution and space because he was balancing an overfilled hot cup of coffee. People reluctantly made room for him, mostly because they don't want to be wearing coffee stains themselves all day. One woman with an iPod didn't make room for him, and he yelled, "Excuse me, I got a very hot cup of coffee here, please make room." The train abruptly moves forward, and he spills coffee on his hand. He yelled,"Goddammit! Excuse me miss!" She looked at him and moved. I was hoping and waiting for her to yell back at him, since he is the only one at fault here.

I didn't see what happened afterwards, but I was surprised no one scolded him for bring coffee onboard and creating more stains on the floor and seats! I was way too far (and tired) to yell across the train, but he's lucky he didn't rudely yell at me to move!

Why didn't the ticketing agent stop him? What do they do in there behind the window? Obviously we know they don't have change signs they plaster the "NO CHANGE" on every window panel. They don't stop people from sneaking in through the gates, nor do they stop bikers during commute hours.

I hope just for one week, BART agents will make the effort to ticket passengers who bring food/drinks onboard to teach them a lesson. Otherwise, the rule will never be followed.

Stick-on BART maps

Reader Rafael once again emailed me a very good point. I'm sure all of you guys (especially daily commuters) have seen the stick-on BART maps on the trains. Basically, in every cart, there is one large map board illustrating the entire Bay Area transit systems/connections, and on the left bottom corner, you have one 12X12 (apprx) inch square sticker that is plastered on top of the original map to show the new routes.

It looks cheap and tacky but I understand why they don't change the entire map. It would be too expensive and a poor use of our BART fares to change the map panel every time they extend or update a route (but of course, hiring staff members who could care less about customer service is not a good use of our BART fares either, but they still do it!)

Most of the stick-on maps looked like they were carefully stuck-on -- the routes and colors on the stickers connected perfectly with the routes and colors of the original map board. However, I have seen several maps where it was evident somebody just plastered on the corner sticker and the Fremont route is now part of the Richmond route, Caltrain route connected to nowhere, and the Peninsula has somehow enlarged and shifted to the north.

What if they extended the Dublin/Pleasanton route further? Will they stick a new sticker on the right bottom corner too? That really would be tacky.

BART switching issues...AGAIN!

BART was miserable today. The moment I got to the boarding platform, I sensed something was wrong because of the longer than usual lines! Then of course, I read the electronic bulletin: Passengers should expect at least a 10-15 minute delay due to "ongoing switching problems." What does that mean exactly? Why is it ongoing? Why can't it be fixed during the long weekend when most people are not.

So I stand out there on the platform, wrongly dressed in summer gear when there is not a bit of sun out and the wind is blowing, just waiting for the train to come. For 8 minutes, there was no indication when the next SF bound train is coming. Finally, one arrives, and I thought the worst part is over. The train operator announces again that there are BART delays due to "continuing switching problems" but again, that explanation only brings about more questions from the rest of us that are left unanswered. She then goes on about how several trains have been asked to turn around once we get into SF, but she "thinks" our train will turn at 24th Street station although she "can't be sure." Thanks for this very useful announcement, I thought to myself.

To make matters worse, our train had to stop for several minutes at 12th Street Oakland station in order for passengers from the previous train, who were forced to deboard, to get in our already crowded trains. The ride was rough...with the train pulling into a halt every other minute. It was packed and patience was wearing thin. Passengers pushed and shoved to get out of the train, instead of the usual annoyed but reserved "Excuse me".

At Embarcadero, Montgomery, and Powell, the train would stop for at least 3 minutes. It didn't help that we hadn't received any explanations for why we're holding at each station. I really would like someone to explain why there are ongoing switching problems? Why it hasn't been fixed over the holiday weekend? Why they believe this "ongoing" explanation is acceptable? Because to me, that is not an satisfactory reason for my late arrival at work, my missing the company shuttle pick-ups so I need to pay for taxi to get to work, and my usual 30 minute ride turning into 45 minutes.

Hanging dry cleaning on BART

Reader Rafael emailed me about this and yes, I definitely have seen people who hang their dry-cleaning stack on BART train's overhead safety railing. People with dry-cleaned suits, coats and sweaters, just letting them all hang on the bars, swinging back and forth to the jerking of the train.

They don't care that their dry-cleaning is sweeping the heads of seated passengers, or that the squeeching of the metal hangers against the metal safety railing drives some of us insane! Even worse, when I'm already in a bad mood and standing in a very crowded (and sometimes warm) train, I cannot tolerate the feeling of dry-cleaning plastic covering sticking to my face and arms. The longer the dry-cleaning hangs up there, the farther apart they spread....before you realize, the suit is 3 feet from the shirts. And yet, they do nothing!

How hard is it to just hold the dry-cleaning? Or fold it in half and hold it under your arm? It's heavy, sure, and I understand the metal hangers can hurt your fingers after awhile. In that case, just do your dry-cleaning near home and pick up on weekends! Don't let the rest of us suffer!

Slammed by a MUNI door...

I'm not a regular MUNI rider, so maybe some of you out there who are can help explain this "malfunction". Does MUNI give riders a warning or a quick alarm signal, or a "Doors are closing" announcement like they do on BART, before suddenly slamming the door shut? I was walking out of a MUNI train last night (N Judah, going to the ballpark) and suddenly, without warning, the door slams on my shoulder and shoves me to the edge. The door had JUST opened for us to exit, and within 3 secondds, it slams shut on me?? It was a huge shock and since I'm not a big person, it actually hurt for a few minutes. The worst part was that the platform agent (to stop people from hopping on trains that say "DO NOT BOARD") who saw this incident, just looked at me with no remorse or concern and turned away.

Is this normal? Does the door just slam shut without any beep or announcement? That is dangerous!!!

Another parking lot brawl

OK, it wasn't exactly a brawl, but I wished I had the time to confront him. There was one last space left in the closest reserved parking lot. The problem is, to get to that space and row of parking, you have to enter the one-way entrance, go up another one-way row of spaces, make a left u-turn to go down to the row that this space was in. While I was approaching the space (after making my U turn), some pompous looking man just entered the lot, went against the parking lane direction, and made a sharp and awkward turn into MY space! I was pissed off beyond belief. I honked, I yelled, I parked my car in back of his on purpose to make sure he sees my angered expressions as he made his exit, but he pretended he didn't hear or see me, and just stayed inside his car. BASTARD!

If I wasn't running late, I would have gotten out of my car and tapped his window to give him a piece of my mind. What a jerk! But alas, I was already late to a conference, and still needed to peruse the more distant parking lots for a space.

I made my train, but boy, I was still pissed off for at least half an hour!! URGHHH!! The worst part is I didn't get a chance to get the last word!

Bringing in furniture on BART

Since BART doesn't allow bikes during commute hours (a policy I'm grateful for whenever I'm in a crowded train, but can't help but feel bad for the bikers since they are 'sparing the air' everyday), shouldn't they enforce a similar policy for people who want to bring on large pieces of furniture on BART during peak time?

A coworker of mine shared with me a bizarre experience she had on BART. A weird experience, but it sure doesn't surprise me considering it happened on BART.

She was on a crowded train heading home when a man, who appeared to be mentally disturbed to say it politely, carried a large dining table onto the train. Everyone had to readjust their already uncomfortable standing positions to accommodate this man and his large table.

A few stops into the ride, the man suddenly yells, "WHO THE **CK BROUGHT IN A DINING TABLE?" and walks out of the train, leaving the table in there!

How weird and scary is that? Did he just act that way to dispose of an unwanted table? I doubt it.....why bother carrying the table all the way to do this when there are many other free and easier ways to dispose old furniture? In this case, I'm sure he was mentally disturbed, since he clearly appeared that way. I'm not quite sure what it is about public transportation that attracts the weird and scary, but it does. I've seen people who walk into the train, scream obscenities, and walk out of the train.

Does anything excuse a bad parking job?

As I walked back to my car in the BART lot this afternoon, I noticed a piece of paper on my windshield. It didn't look like a parking ticket, and since I pay a fee for a reserved spot, it doesn't make sense for them to ticket me anyways. As I got closer, I saw that it was a torn piece of notebook paper. I pulled the note off my wipers, and it read, "YOU ARE AN ASSHOLE!! LEARN HOW TO PARK!"

Hmm..did I park poorly and piss someone off today? I walked around my car to see my position, and noticed that I was parked a bit too far to the right, and was touching the right side of the parking line. I guess I was running late today and just pulled into a space sloppily and dashed towards the station. It sure beats repositioning, missing the train, and waiting 10 additional minutes for the next train.

The car to my right is a huge Mountaineer (huge under my standards). I can see how he/she could have had a tough time getting in the space and squeezing out of the driver door, since the car was humongous. But hey, he/she should have just taken another space! It's Friday...the lot is emptier, there should have been plenty of additional spaces for a big SUV.

I touched the right side of the parking line, but I didn't go OVER it. Technically, I was still within my space. If a Corolla, Civic, Pontiac, or Altima parked next to me instead of the Mountaineer, this would not be an issue!

Someone must have had a lot of time to actually get out of the car, take out a piece of notebook paper, write a note and leave it on my window. That, or he/she was quite pissed off. Come on now, I saw the room remaining between our cars, I would have been able to get out of the car effortlessly.

I generally excuse people who park crookedly in the BART parking lot. I understand that they must have been in a rush to catch the train. What I can't excuse are those who take up TWO spaces! That is deliberate and inexcusable. Especially when it's a brand new Porsche- small enough to fit within one space easily, but the driver insists on taking two spaces because he thinks he's entitled and more special than the rest of us!

But me? I'm innocent...it was an innocent carelessness, so I claim. Did I deserve the note? Maybe a little...

BART Blogs a trend?

Just wanted to thank Mike Adamick of Contra Costa Times for including Bartmusings.com in his article about BART bloggers. http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/14886344.htm

I do enjoy peoplewatching on BART and writing about the unique, the inspiring, the annoying, and the frightening things I observe daily as I commute to SF.

Spare the Air Days!

BART passengers generally love Spare the Air Days! To us, it's really like a "passenger appreciation day" when we get free fare for a day or two to make up for all the inconveniences we've experienced for the year. For me, two Spare the Air days save $16 total! These special passenger appreciatoin days put us all in a great mood for a change.

On Spare the Air days, we tend to more easily forgive BART for any delays, over-crowdedness or other mishaps. You just can't complain a whole lot when you're riding for free.

BART train floors and the varying degrees of germ threshold

I saw a woman who let her 3 kids play on the train floors today. The two toddlers, in shorts, were sitting, the baby, in diapers, was lying around, on the worn out and stain-ridden carpet. If you don't know already, the carpeting on the BART trains is extremely filthy. You can find gum, dirt, spit, coffee stains, pen marks, trash, and food stains embedded on the carpeting, not to mention the microbial germs brought onboard by the hundreds of thousands of shoes that occupy these floors!

I know it's not a big deal for kids to immerse themselves in dirt. I mean, they play in sandboxes that are often hidden with old candies and plastic wrappings. But as a BART passenger who hardly even allow two of my fingers to touch the safety poles or the escalator handrail, it was difficult seeing these kids roll around the train floors, stamping their cute little palms on the carpet, and moving their toy trucks across the floors and onto their bodies! I felt the urge to hand them my bottle of Purell, but I held back, fearing the mom will think I am a freak.

Britney Spears recently got scolded by the public for changing her baby's diapers on the floors of a Victoria's Secret. Those floors, although dirty I'm sure, are mopped and polished daily (especially a store in Beverly Hills.) The BART floors might get a vacuum every so often if not a few times a week (gosh, I sure hope so) but it's not like the floors are ever steam cleaned or chemically treated.

I cringe when I see passengers sitting on the floors of BART, yet these kids are treating the train floors like a play den, rolling around and lying their little heads on it. Actually, once I felt so ill that I couldn't stand up during the ride anymore. But even at that point, I didn't sit on the floor, I merely squatted. I don't even let my purse or computer bag touch the floors, although once I allowed the computer bag to rest on my shoes since I was so tired from the long work day.

I've seen a few trains with plastic floors and plastic seats. I think that's probably the better way to go for future BART trains. It's much easier to mop and clean up stains on plastic and the trains will just last longer and look more appealing!

Baking in another delayed BART ride

My usual 30 minute-ride today took over 60 minutes! Apparently there was an "incident" at Balboa Park causing delays between East Bay and SF both ways. I knew something was going on as soon as I approached the Orinda platform. The line was significantly longer than usual. Luckily, I got the last seat on the train and had a new issue of US Weekly in hand to help me deal with the long ride that was about to take place. It was stop and go all the way. By 12th Street Oakland stop, there was barely any standing room left on the train. Standing passengers' computer bags kept on hitting me on the head. They were so close to my seat that I could see the pages of my magazine blowing up and down to their breathing patterns. Very gross.

I would really like to know how BART train temperature is controlled. Does the train operator have a personal fan up in the controller room or something because he/she has no idea when train temperature becomes unbearable? Why is the AC not on full force in a situation like today when the train is likely over maximum capacity, the sun is heating up, people are sweating inside, and body odors are brewing? The air coming from the BART fan felt warm and stale. Passengers were getting grumpy, shaking their heads constantly, rolling their eyes and making "tsk" sounds every time the train comes to yet another sudden stop.

The ride was long and unpleasant, to say the least. Meanwhile, the length of delay was increased with each announcement. By the time I finally got to Civic Center, I had been on the train for 65 minutes.

Luckily, I had a seat and my reading indulgence, US Weekly, to get me through the long ride. In addition to being totally engrossed in the useless celebrity gossips, the perfume samples in the magazine helped mask the sweat scents all around me.

Here's some info about today's BART incident: http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/14861329.htm

Inflation affects everyone, even the homeless!

As you know, Civic Center BART station is a popular camp ground for the homeless. It's tough sometimes seeing them there in the rain. Long ago, I used to give change daily, which eventually turned into a weekly amount but in a bigger sum. After awhile, I started seeing the same folks there, and on occasions with a beer bottle in hand. I became a bit disheartened after that observation and stopped giving money away on a regular basis, and instead only when someone appears to be truly in need of a meal.

After a restful weekend, I was in a positive and giving mood, and decided on the train that I would give whatever quarters I had in my wallet to the homeless man who always stands next to the 8th Street side of the station exit. I had 3 quarters, not much, but I figured he could probably use it to buy something at the Burger King across the street. I dropped the quarters in his cup, and he said, "Come on, you got more than that?" I was caught by surprise. I said, "no, that's the change I have." He responded, "Man, how am I supposed to live with this?" I said, "Sorry, that's all I have" and dashed across the street.

When did the homeless population become so picky with the amount you give? I would think any amount has the potential to help someone. I understand that 75 cents can't get you much these days, but it's only a quarter away from a cheeseburger at McDonald's.

But who can blame him? Inflation certainly has hurt us all! 75 cents can't even get you over 8 miles by car anymore with today's gas prices.

Wouldn't it be nice if we knew when the next train is coming as we are pulling into the parking lot?

If I get $1 for everytime I run like an Olympic sprinter from the parking lot into the station and up the escalator to the platform, only to find out my train has been delayed, I would have enough money for a nice pair of shoes (think Via Spiga not quite yet Jimmy Choos) every two months!

I really wish that someday, BART stations would catch up to 21st century technology and have a scrolling monitor at the parking lot entrace, or even better, if they could offer riders up-to-the-minute BART daily schedules and delays via text message, it would really save many passengers an unnecessary sprint to the platform.

Yes, I know that we have monitors on the platform, but what good do they do if we are already lining up there, waiting for a delayed train to arrive?

The "Handicapped" Pecking Order

I saw an elderly, fragile-looking woman standing on BART today, and gave up my seat (I was seated in one of the seats by the door that are designated for handicapped or elderly anyways) for her use. At that moment, a man in his 30s, fully healthy, except he had a big cast on his foot, swooped in for my seat before the woman could.

The old woman got upset and said, "This is for the elderly", and gestures for him to get off. While he said, "Oh no you don't, see my cast on my ankle? I am handicapped rignt now." He wouldn't get up, and she wouldn't quit with her comments about how she is entitled to this seat. Finally, someone else got up to give the elderly woman his seat.

This brings up an interesting debate! Hypothetically, who should get the seat? An elderly person who has "shaky" legs? Or an injured, otherwise capable person who is balancing on two crutches with no free hands? (which was NOT the case with this man...he should have given her the seat since he could have easily balanced off one foot while leaning against the wall!) The elderly person may have tired legs, but he/she has the free hands to hold on to a bar while standing. The injured person with crutches may be naturally healthier and younger, he/she does not have the use of the legs or arms. Is there an order that we must follow when giving up seats? Is the order determined by age and general state of health, or by who fits more into the definition of "handicapped" at the very moment?

Watch out for the recycled newspaper bin!

I don't know why it took me this long to write about the recycled newspaper bins situated in every BART station. Basically, these bins are located right next to an escalator, so passengers who've already read the papers can toss it in the bin to recycle. This way, the BART trains won't be piled with hundreds of sets of newspapers. What these bins have also become is really quite interesting. New passengers throughout the day know to look into these bins to grab a used (but normally in good condition) copy of today's paper. Why not? It's free and it's eco-friendly to use recycled products.

The problem is, a lot of BART passengers are inconsiderate. They toss leftover coffee (first of all, coffee is actually not allowed on BART), food (neither is food), ticket receipts, gum, and anything else they'd like to get rid of, into these bins. The only time I've ever looked into the bin for newspaper became my last because I found a piece of gum stuck on the top pile of paper. Today, I saw a man hurl out a significant and weighty piece of phlegm and spit it into the bin. Luckily I didn't have to see the output closely, but judging by the long and deep hurl up the throat, I already know that whoever looks into the newspaper bin will find an unpleasant surprise.

Why can't people just follow the rules?

when a bad day turns into a very bad day

I got up earlier this mornig to catch an earlier train because I have an important meeting at 9am where my boss and other important folks will be attending. As soon as I got on the train, I heard the announcement that there are significant delays en route to SF. It's ok, I thought to myself, I got on early so there is plenty of time to spare. But of course, late becomes very late, and by the time I got to Civic Center station, I had 30 seconds until the shuttle pick up time, in order to make it to the office BEFORE 9am. I ran like mad! I purposely wore flats today for this purpose. I sprinted up 3 flihgts of stairs only to see the shuttle over 200 yards away from the pick-up area. I missed it!

By this time, I realized that I will have to be a few minutes late to the meeting. I stop by Starbucks to get a cup of coffee. Well, of course, I spill the coffee on my sleeves, and drop contents of my purse all over the cafe while wiping myself. Finally, 15 minutes passed, and I get on the 9am shuttle. I figured, I might just be 5 minutes late to the meeting, but since people start meeting late all the time, this just might be my lucky day. To my dismay, the lights, at every single block, turns red right when the shuttle approached. A usual 5 minute ride turned into 10.

Once I got to the office, I had my badge prepared to open the door. BUT....my badge no longer works. So there I was, standing at the door, with my bag in one hand, coffee in the other helplessly hoping for another employee to let me in.

Finally, I get in, joined the meeting late while catching my breath. While no one else seemed to care that I was a few minutes late, I felt miserable! I did everything I could to try to offset delays- I got up early, I hopped an early train, I wore "running" shoes on purpose in case I needed to dash for the shuttle, and still.....I arrived 11 minutes late. Not to mention I now am wearing a huge brown stain on my pink sweater.

Hope the day gets better from here on.

Back from vacation

Just returned from a 8-day vacation in Eastern Europe. The trip absolutely met my expectations. One particular experience actually made me appreciate BART. We rode the train in between cities and somehow mistakenly got ticketed to sit in a smoking cart! At first, we thought, well, maybe these passengers won't actually be smoking during the 4-hour ride, but we quickly realized that smoking train means all passengers in the cart WILL chainsmoke, packs after packs. The space was so confined that quickly, I lost my sense of smell. I see lit cigarettes all around me. The heavy smoke filled up the cart.

I take it for granted that California enforces a non-smoking environment in transportation, restuarants, and common areas. Everytime I leave the country, I realize how lucky I am that I don't need to deal with second-hand smoke much in the SF Bay Area. Smokers are like pariahs in the Bay Area, while non-smokers are such in Europe.

Rule of Silence (part 2)

I seem to have been misunderstood by readers! "Unspoken rule of silence" entry has apparently upset a few people because they don't understand why I'm so "snotty", "antisocial", or "rude" when people are just trying to be friendly to me by offering me advice or striking a conversation about a destination I'm about to visit.

I don't ignore these people who are offering me their tips and memories of Prague! I do acknowledge them with short responses like, "cool." I just don't like it when people ask me about where I'm staying, what I plan to do there, what the weather is like, when I'm going, how long, and itty bitty details about my personal trip! Especially since they are strangers, I really don't feel like getting into a conversation about this, or anything really.

They say, "Oh Prague is the most beautiful place! You'll love it", I say "cool." They say, "You have to see X palace," I say "yeah." Isn't that polite enough?

Allergies and cheap cologne

As I am writing this entry, my nose is completely plugged up, red, and my eyes, dripping with tears. Yep, morning allergies. What made my ride even worse today was the overbearing smell of cheap Walgreen-brand equivalent cologne that the man next to me was drenched with. There were 4 other seats open when I sat down, and during the whole ride, I regretted taking the one that I was in.

The scent was nasty- it was like a very poor combination of "fragrances", that can only be sold in drugstores. It was a smell fit for a greasy, sweaty, and portly hick (the NASCAR-branded cologne comes to mind...can you believe they actually came out with a NASCAR cologne?) Each time I breathed in, my nose would itch so hard that it hurts, followed by a deep, hard sneeze. I was sneezing nonstop during the ride, attracting many glares from fellow passengers.

It was a rough ride to say the least.

The unspoken rule of silence

Passengers seated on BART generally don't talk to each other, and people prefer it that way. I know I do. On occasions, when BART is really uncomfortably crowded, we make one-sentence comments to each other, like, "it's going to be a long ride", or "don't think it could get worse than this." And even more seldomly, people would ask me, "is that a good book? I've been thinking of getting it." I would then say, yes or no, followed by a one-sentence reasoning. I don't mind yes/no questions so much, as long as they don't have a follow-up question.

I generally don't want people to talk to me. I've been reading a travel guide on Eastern Europe (book is called Travel Guide to Vienna, Prague and Budapest), and for some reason, it has drawn a lot of unwanted conversations. People would ask me, are you going to Prague? I would bluntly answer, YES, and think to myself, "duh, it says that on the book" and wish that they won't talk to me anymore. Then, they would volunteer comments like, "oh it's beautiful there, you will love it!" or "Oh, I always wanted to go there!" or "make sure you see X or X". vSome people would even go a step further and ask me, "when are you going?" or "where are you staying?"

Don't they get it? I don't want to talk to them! I don't want their opinions and I don't wish to share my travel plans and details with them!! The worst part is, people who try to start conversations are usually the less normal (don't want to say abnormal) passengers.

I see people with Spain or France travel guides and I don't ever bother them and volunteer my personal travel experience! BART is just not the place to have conversations. If they need travel tips, they can go to Tripadvisor, Frommers or whatever! They don't need it from a complete stranger.

A few changes to my BART ride

Wow, it sure has been awhile since my last entry! The past couple of weeks have been full of changes. I now live one stop closer to SF, making my ride 5 minutes shorter, but coincidentally, I've returned to my old job, extending my ride by 5 more minutes, dropping me off smack in the middle of the drug addict, alcoholic, and homeless central, also known as Civic Center BART Station.

For those of you who have read my blog from the very beginning, these tales might sound familiar. Yep, I'm now hopping around "puddles" again in the morning. No, not rain puddles, but urine puddles! I am now again at the mercy of BART delivering me on-time in the morning so I can catch the connecting shuttle to work....the very company shuttle that inexplicably has a 30-minute gap between pickups during peak morning time (when I arrive), yet just 15 minutes during all other times!!

But who am I to complain? A new home and a happier workplace. Besides, with my horrible morning allergies these days, I can't smell the pee and barf all around the station's exits anyways.

Another inconsiderate behavior on BART

Just when I thought I had pretty much listed any and every possible inconsiderate passenger behavior on BART, a new observation took place to me that put me back to reality.

In the middle of a crowded morning train, a man seated near me took out a gold nail clipper and started clipping away his fingernails!!! Even worse, he didn't make ANY attempts to catch the sick clippings, or try to lower his nail cutting position to a more discrete angle. He was clipping away one by one at at chest-level while the rest of us watched his clippings fly away like ticks, one after another. It was sickening.

I would have said something but I was actually seated in back of him, so I wasn't directly affected by the clippings. I was also too tired to cause a scene, but even any of the nail clippings landed on my body, I would probably have yelled at him instantly.

Inspiration on BART

I saw something inspirational today on BART. A man, probabably in his 40s, a plumber, painter, or construction worker of some type, based on his attire, hands/fingernails and accompanying toolbox, was intensely studying algebra on BART. He had a small notepad on one hand, a huge algebra textbook on his lap, and was solving equations one after another. He was concentrating hard, and never looked up once.

Maybe he's studying to tutor his kids, maybe it's just for personal reasons to prove to himself that he can tackle any obstacle, or maybe he's studying to complete his high school degree, whatever the reason may be, I have a ton of respect for what he's doing!!

Rock-a-Bye (plastic) Baby....

Shocking revelation during my morning ride. In the handicapped reserved seat was a middle aged woman, with a small, older baby carriage, and 3 beach bags filled with things. In her arm, she carefully cradled a baby wrapped in a blanket. The whole time, she was talking to the baby, "hi sweet pea, we're almost there. just sleep tight. almost there, honey. mommy loves you. yes, she does!" It was really cute. I didn't see the baby but I thought, this is a nice way to start my day, seeing a mom totally loving her newborn. So sweet. SO I THOUGHT.....

Before I exited the train, I smiled at her and made an effort to try to smile at her baby too. Instead, I was horrified. The baby was a pinkish plastic doll, wrapped in a baby blue and yellow blanket. I was in disbelief. I looked twice, three times....finally confirmed that this baby is fake! She was talking to a plastic doll the whole time. I didn't have much time before the door opened to examine the woman again to see if she just might be a little mental. She didn't look crazy, the only thing strange about her was the extremely old carriage and the 3 very large and full bags of things. I didn't think anything of it because maybe she is reusing an older carriage, and maybe she had to carry diapers, toys, clothing..etc. for the baby.

I am not sure what to think....soon after I got to work, I forgot about the incident. But, it was frightening because the way she was speaking to this 'baby" was as if she loved her dearly and that this child was the most important thing to her in this world.

Maybe she never recovered from a death of a child many years ago? I don't know..but this was a bit shocking and sad to see.

Skunk onboard

A passenger this morning must have stepped on some skunk roadkill or had just been sprayed by a skunk because that entire section of the train (sadly, my section) smelled like a skunk! It was unbearable. Not even breathing underneath my magazine helped. The scent seemed to have permeated through the cloth on the seats and the carpet...you cannot escape it. After I got off, I was very concerned that it was on my clothes. I couldn't tell though, after sniffing my coat and sweater multiple times. So far, no one has told me I smell like a skunk, so I guess I'm OK for now.

On a different matter, I found out from a friend who has family members working for BART that BART employees are quite well paid (that I've known or at least suspected). He has an aunt and uncle who worked as front-office staff and were paid very handsomely. However, he also told me that he had a cousin who worked for BART for a brief time (got the job because of the family connection.) He worked as the person who took out change from the ticket/change dispensers. My friend said his cousin got paid $25-$30 an hour...and that was like 5 years ago!!! I have not personally verified these numbers but assuming this is all true, why must we pay $25-$30 an hour (5 years ago, so today probably over $35) to a change attendee?! I've only heard rumors about the train operators' wages and the station agents' wages and how high they are....but knowing this hourly wage, I can only imagine theirs to be quadrupled this pay rate, if not more.

Get a room, please!

Before I get into my BART experience today, I'd like to point out that this is not a matter of heterosexual PDA (public display of affections) or homosexual PDA. It just is unacceptable and inconsiderate to subject your surrounding passengers to excessive physical displays of love.

Today, in a delayed, overly-crowded train, I was standing uncomfortably between a mass of people, and just happened to be situated in front of a gay couple seated in the designated senior/handicapped seats. Cool, happy couple, I thought, nice to see that love exists, even on BART. That is until they started rubbing and stroking each other's thighs up and down, and then massaging each other's necks and making all sorts of sounds!! At every stop, they go into massive make-out sessions, making the rest of us standing literally 5 inches away from them extremely uncomfortable. Finally, one of them had arrived at his stop I guess, and they gave each other a long passionate good-bye kiss. Suddenly, the recorded train message announced, "stand clear of the doors". The guy ran out frantically, wiping his mouth, while his boyfriend, yelled, "I love you! I'll call you tonight!"

I am all for love, but I can't stand it when couples have to act out their love in a confined, crowded space like a rush-hour BART train!!

I once cringed the whole trip because a girl was seated on top of her boyfriend (straddling), and making out in front of everybody. It was sick, inconsiderate, and classless. Not to mention they left one seat unused but yet unusable!

I see couples who commute together on BART all the time. Usually, they sit (or stand) together, maybe hold hands, and give each other a quick good-bye peck when they part. I appreciate it when couples are discrete. I mean, keep your PDA at home!

A couple side notes:
* Embarcadero escalators are STILL broken!!!
* Rain has finally stopped, but BART trains are still delayed! So I guess they can't blame rain now...what can they blame the delays on?

A not-so-pleasant view from the train

I didn't bring any reading materials today and finished going through my Blackberry early, so I decided to look out the window, relax, and enjoy the view! What I saw today was absolutely appalling!! Don't get me wrong, the Bay Area is beautiful! I think SF is one of the most beautiful cities in the world!!! The bay view on a sunny day will make any one smile and feel grateful that they live here. But, there is no view of the Bay from BART. The trains travel underneath groundlevel 50% of the time on the East Bay to SF routes.

Today..it was rainy again...it's been raining nonstop since February. Looking outside the window, I saw a homeless man, with his pants down, rear-end bearing, squatting, taking a #2 underneath the freeway, right before we go underground to the Oakland 19th Street BART exit. Thankfully I didn't actually see whether anything has come out yet, and I fear for the passengers in the train cart behind mine because if they are looking outside the window, they will no doubt be seeing something coming from this man.

I always see homeless people sleeping in that area, but this is the first time I saw one "going to the bathroom." I guess they must relieve themselves somewhere!

A shocking view for me. I think I should stick with reading magazines or books from now on. The view from BART just isn't that pleasant.

Update on the Embarcadero escalator status- it's STILL broken. It's been broken for 2 weeks now.

Welcome to SF, buddy!

Just how tourist-friendly is BART and the Bay Area? Judging by today's observation, I would have to say not very. A man, who appears to be a tourist (he has a Euro accent, a huge backpack and 3 luggage pieces), looks at the train status sign, confused. The sign is flashing, "SFO 10 car train." He looks up at the sign, then inside the train, extremely tentative to step inside. He finally asks a passenger inside, "Does this go to San Francisco?" To my surprise, the passenger (standing by the door) responds, "No!" The tourist then says, "What's SFO? Not SF? No?" The passenger says, "No. Wrong train buddy." This man looked like a normal commuter so he must know that a SFO train passes by SF! I was too far from the conversation to yell out that yes, this does pass by all the SF stations! Apparently, no one else wanted to help out this tourist.

Finally, the tourist turns way from the train, asks someone standing in line at the station. As the train was pulling away, I am guessing by his expression that he found out that this train DOES go to SF, and he was the subject of a mean joke. He could only watch the train leave without him.

Not a great impression for the tourist to have of the SF Bay Area.

Tune-less on BART? Anyone else suffering from defective Nano? There is a solution!

Once upon a time, I used to rely on my iPod mini to block out the noise around me on BART. I would nod my head lightly to Usher, or walk down memory lane with some Luniz and Warren G., or soak in my despair with Enya. It's been about 6 months since I've been able to enjoy music on BART...ever since I gave away my mini iPod when I got my new Nano. However, within a day, I realized the on/off switch was busted. I could not turn it off once I took it off the charger. Or if I turned it off, I can't turn it on again until I put the charger back on! I would just use it once...let the battery run out. It became a one-time use only deal and then the Nano goes back on the charger before I can use it again.

It totally sucked!! I couldn't keep up with the daily charge requirement and as usual, I never keep receipts or those registration cards they give you in the box, so I figured it would be useless going to the Apple store since they are such sticklers on receipts. All I want to do is buy a new product that works for at least a year or two!!

I gave up...I accepted my bad luck and just figured that my new Nano had a permanent defect and there was nothing I can do about it. I've been tune-less on BART since.

HOWEVER...my coworker showed me that Apple actually CARES about you and that the defective on/off button on Nano was a known defect. There is a way to send back the defective Nano without a receipt and get a new one.

To find out about the Nano recall, just register at: http://depot.info.apple.com/ipod/

It was simple! Within a day, I got a DHL box to send in my defective Nano. I finally dropped off the box and according to my coworker, I will get a new Nano within 2 days. We'll see...but this is great news nonetheless.

Another wet day!

Today, it wasn't just raining, it was pouring! The train was just 3-4 minutes delayed but it was completely packed with soaked passengers. Wet umbrellas and raincoats were sticking to my clothes, purse, and worst of all, my magazine! It was infuriating seeing the pages of my new US Weekly absorb the leftover drain drops off people's raincoats as they squeezed into the train.

The most frustrating part of the journey this morning was the Embarcadero Station's out of service escalators. These escalators (both sides) were out of service yesterday AND today! The past two days, the staircase have caused a huge line (or actually mass of people in chaos), causing at least a 3 minute delay exiting the station. You've got people with suitcases who have to carry it up the stairs. You've got people who are physically unable to walk up the stairs at a normal pace. You've got people who are also coming DOWN the stairs from streetlevel. Everyone is sharing a staircase that is about 4 feet wide. And ADD umbrellas on top of everyone's head and you've got a serious wet, crowded mess. The man in front of me was using a huge golf umbrella and the tips kept on poking at me that I had to protect my head with my flimsy miniature umbrella. He had no clue that his oversized umbrella was about to poke my eyes out.

Then, suddenly, the lines of people slow moving upwards came to a halt. This sudden stop caused everyone walking up the stairs to jam into the person in front. It was a cluster ****! The woman in back of me stepped on my right shoe causing me to trip and push the man in front for balance. I felt his glare, but the oversized umbrella saved me from seeing his pissed off face.

I walked into the office this morning with the bottom 2 inches of my pants wet. It was impossible today to avoid puddles since they've become mini ponds.

I just hope the escalators will be fixed tomorrow.

3 Important Questions Answered!

Crowded, but on-time train today..which is more than I can ask for these days. Lost a couple seat fights to other standing passengers....I shouldn't have hesitated when the seats opened up, because once I did, others took charge and planted themselves on the seats. I was merely trying to be polite, looking around for elderlies who might need the seats more than I do. Instead, a couple 20-somethings claimed the seats before I did!

If you look back on my blog entries this month, it's really been a rough March. Fires, bomb scares, delays after delays. Of course, the 24 days of rain this month doens't help timely arrivals and departures, although I can't understand how weather can affect a heavy duty transit system that is digitally controlled. For a recap of the rough month of BART incident and delays, take a look at Michael Adamick's article on Contra Costa Times: http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/14230560.htm

BART has been a popular water cooler topic this month with friends and coworkers. Each of us pay a good amount of money for a roundtrip ride and cannot comprehend why it is so difficult for BART to keep the trains on-time and keep the trains clean.

I asked Mr. Adamick the top 3 questions that many BART passenger would like to know: (Thank you, Michael Adamick, for taking the time to respond!)

1. How are our BART fares appropriated? How much of it goes to employees, management, maintenance/service..etc.?
MA: Fares make up 60 percent of BART's budget, which goes into a large pot with state, federal and local tax funds. The money is then divided up between maintenance, employees, capital, etc. I'm not exactly sure of the breakdown, but employees take up a large chuck of change. There's 1,300 or so of them.

2. Are train operators trained?
MA: Yes, there is training -- extensive training. About 50 percent of bart people who try to become train operators actually fail the training and have to try again. It's apparently pretty difficult.

3. Are train operators evaluated?
MA: Yes, they are evaluated. I'm not sure how rigorously, however.

************

In response to #3, I really wish passengers had some say in their evaluation! Maybe there are passenger satisfaction surveys, but I personally haven't received any. I feel that BART is out of touch a little bit with passenger needs and expectations.

Some thoughts after the computer glitch fiasco

Although it took me nearly 2 hours to get home last night due to the 90-minute delay caused by a computer glitch in the BART system, I found out from a few coworkers today that it took them over 3 hours to get home! I guess I was lucky to have caught the first train that was back in service. (To put a positive spin on all this!)

Amidst this disasterous evening, I do want to compliment BART station agents and control center for their constant updates. They were very good about letting us know that the delay will be a long one and what the cause was. Whether it's a bomb scare, fire, or a medical emergency, passengers really appreciate continuous updates. It's good to know why we have suddenly stopped or why the engine shut off or why there are no trains in service. We get very anxious and impatient when we are locked inside a train that isn't moving, and have no idea when we will be able to get to our destination, or at least get out to get some fresh air.

If any BART employees happen to read this blog, please do realize the importance of updates in delay situations. Passenger need them to stay calm and sane.

90-Minute BART Halt!

For those of you who have just read my previous post, please disregard the last sentence where I stated that I, for the moment, am an appreciative BART rider.

I had a funny feeling that when I said that (or typed that I guess), something was going to happen to make me regret writing it. And goodness, was I right!!!!

The moment I walked into the Embarcadero station, I saw the electronic signs that usually say the time or flash the train that is arriving, scrolling an unfamiliar error message. The station was PACKED with lines twirling in all directions. The barely audible station agents made an update- there is a computer glitch and all service have stopped!

While everyone expressed a huge sigh of annoyance, we had no idea how bad this delay was about to get! It was 5:3opm, passengers were coming down from the escalators, elevators and staircases. People were pouring into the boarding level by the hundreds every minute, from all directions. Meanwhile, we got an update that they were still fixing the glitch, and we should expect a 20 minutes delay. The lines twirled until they could twirl no more. The station was like a refugee center, completely overcrowded!

We then got another update- this time, they said we are 30 mintues delayed and they don't know when the computer glitch can be fixed and we should take alternative transit. I have no alternate transit- carpool I guess, but I don't know where I would get dropped off at once I'm in the East Bay. I couldn't take the AC Transit to cross the bridge because I don't have a connection to my city. I considered taxi for a moment, but with the traffic hour wait time on the freeways, the taxi fare would probably be over $200. At this time, people who were lucky enough to have alternative transit options left the station, while others who didn't, sat down on the floor. I remained standing..there was NO way I would sit on the floor of a BART station.

45 minutes went by and suddenly we heard trains moving. One train pulled into the station and lucky for me, it was MY train. I knew I had to fight with the hundreds of people around me to get on the train. I squeezed myself into the corner of the train entry...tucked my arms inwards. Whew..I made it...so I thought!

The train held at the station for 15 more minutes- it was so crowded that my body was touching the man behind me and the woman in front of me. 5 minutes into the train, we stopped and got an announcement that the computer glitch was not fully fixed and they are halting all service again!

We waited again for another 30-45 minutes inside the train. People were sweating, babies were crying, people were yelling at each other or yelling to their friends on the cellphone. I couldn't lift my arm high enough to get access to my purse to pull out my magazine. The woman in front of me had horrendous breath, but after 30 minutes of smelling it, it just became part of the air and I couldn't smell it anymore.

FINALLY...the train operator announced that the glitch is fixed. We moved to the next station only to stop ONE MORE TIME! Luckily, we stopped only for 2 minutes or so and resumed again.

It took me nearly 2 hours to get home today. Surprisingly, after yesterday's 2 hour drive into Downtown SF, I just laughed at this horrible commute experience.

One thing that I am proud of however....while many passengers around me caved into the 90 minute delay and sat down on the ground, whether at the station or on the train, I did not! I remained standing the entire time. I was not about to let the germs, bacteria and virus thrive on my body.

I'm just happy to be home.

A taste of rush hour traffic

For the first time in quite awhile, I actually drove to work yesterday because I needed to attend an evening work event. Maybe it's because of the rain, or it was just a very bad day on the Bay Bridge, but it took me nearly 2 hours to get from my residence in the East Bay to get to Downtown SF. Imagine that....almost 2 hours to drive a little over 20 miles. I even left 45 minutes earlier than usual in anticipation of bad traffic. I was prepared for an one hour drive or even 75 minutes, but not 110 minutes! The hopeless speed that I was moving almost drove me to insanity. Not only was I running late for an important meeting, I needed to go the restroom.

Today, I resumed my normal routine of taking BART to SF. At least for the time being, I have a new found appreciation for BART.

The morning after....

I generally don't buy the newspaper before I hop on BART. I rely on my magazine subscriptions or a good book to get me through the ride. I get my news from the SF Chronicle website (sfgate.com) and generally don't like flipping through the big pages on BART since I rarely get a seat. HOWEVER...there is one exception to this non-habit...and that is when one of my teams win an awesome game the night before. When that happens, I cannot get enough of reading the morning-after articles or watching the highlights. I can read the same article and smile at the same photos over and over and never get sick of them!

It can't just be any game, it has to be an incredible and emotionally charged game, like a huge win against a deeply hated rival, a comeback, or a game with huge implications!!

Last night, my beloved Bruins pulled off the most amazing comeback game that I've ever seen them play! It was just unbelievable and a serious miracle that they pulled themselves together to shut Gonzaga down the last 3.2 minutes, while scoring 11 points. It was a newspaper-purchase-worthy game for sure!!! Even though I already read the articles around 1am last night, I didn't care, I wanted to read it in hard print too. My 30-minute BART ride zipped by instantly. I was in total morning after bliss.

Baseball season is less than 2 weeks away. My newspaper purchase goes up generally during the Giants season, although last year, my purchase was very low due to their disappointing and injury-plagued season. Usually, when they lose, it bugs me to even look at the headline and photos from other passengers' sports pages.

I hope to be spending many quarters this baseball season!!! It only means good things when I do.

Bomb scare on BART today

It took me two hours to get to work today because BART trains were suspended due to a bomb scare at West Oakland station. It wasn't at all inconvenient, in fact, I was glad that they take these things very seriously. I ended up getting a coffee at a nearby cafe and worked at home for an hour or so before heading back to the the BART station.

You can read about today's bomb scare here: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/03/22/MNGREHS8KD4.DTL

A "captive" audience

Thanks to my good friend R.S. for reminding me to write about interesting people who sell things, perform, or beg on BART.

There are too many to write about, so I will just list a few of them out:

1) A middle-aged woman walks around in old and dirty gym clothes telling people waiting in line that someone stole her purse so she has no money to get home and asking if we can spare $1. I almost fell for it but overheard the man in front of me tell her, "You asked me the same thing yesterday and the day before." She had to quickly think of an excuse and said, "Yes, I've been here since then, and still need money to get home." The worst part is, SO MANY people fell for her trick. I think she probably gets at least $100 a day with that false story.

2) Once, while on a train ride home, a woman fights her way to the middle of the train and starts belching out "Ave Maria." It was so loud that those of us standing close to her were visibly annoyed. No one looked at her while she was singing and when she was done, no one clapped or gave her money in her hat. Everyone was grouchy and uncomfortable and her singing just wasn't appreciated in that cramped condition. Besides, it wasn't that great...just loud.

3) A frail old man walked towards me during a train ride to ask me, "would you like to get closer to God"? I didn't want to be rude and tell him to leave me alone, so I said, "thanks, I'm OK." He then asked everyone else on the train, one by one, whether they would like to get closer to God. Some people ignored him, others said, no thanks. Daily BART commuters really just don't want to be bothered. We just want to sit quietly (or stand, in most cases), and do our reading or stare into space.

4) I know that BART riders have nowhere to go while on the train, but there is just something totally wrong when a mother brings her daughters to sell Girl Scout cookies from train to train. It's dangerous for kids to walk around and try to maintain their balance during the stop and go. It's not safe for passengers either to try to take out their wallet with one hand while holding on to a safety bar with the other. That is just irresponsible parenting, don't you think?

5) An obviously drunken man (he might be high too) has a cellphone clipped to his jeans. However, he walked around the train, literally spitting out the request, "got any quarters to spare so I can make a call?" You can smell the alcohol and whatever else he has consumed 10 feet away. Everyone was cringing while anticipating him visiting their area next to ask for money. I didn't check if his cellphone had enough battery life left for him to make a call, but I somehow doubt the money he's asking for will be going into a payphone.

There are many more stories but these are just a few interesting examples! BART is never boring, that's for sure!

A ride on BART with my folks

My parents were visiting me for a few days and I've decided to take them with me to work via BART. I had just a few minutes to teach them proper BART etiquette (have your ticket ready before you enter the booth, make sure you have the right amount, stay on the right on escalators unless you're walking up and do not take more room than you are entitled to on your seat.) They were pretty good about following my instructions and moved smoothly from the lines, through the booth, up the escalators, and into the train like trained BART riders.

When they got on the train, they instantly noticed the little things that bug me daily. For example, a man taking up two seats: he was seated in the aisle seat, while his computer bag and old newspaper took up the window seat. I usually force people like that to move their stuff out so I can take the empty seat, but my parents were too nice and bashful....they just looked at the seat and hoped he will get the clue. As expected, he didn't. I then asked him to clear out the seat for my mom. Eventually, we all got a seat, in 3 different locations, leaving my parents plenty of time to observe BART and its diverse riders.

Immediately after we got to SF, my dad asks, "why don't they ever announce the stations clearly? I can't understand what they're saying? I will get lost if you aren't here with me." Yes dad, I said...it does seem like they like to employ train operators who mumble or are too softspoken or just don't care about passengers who rely on their announcements to get around, although eloquent operators do surface every so often. My mom then said to me, "I see people eating on the train. Why do you tell me you don't have time to eat breakfast? You can eat it on BART." I had to tell her that no food or drinks are permitted on the train, although many passengers completely disregard the rule, thus, leaving food and coffee stains all over the seats and floors. I said instead of getting mad at me for not eating breakfast, they should be proud of me for respecting rules. Finally, my parents commented that they really should enforce a max capacity rule on the trains. I completely agree!! There really should be some type of signal when the train becomes uncomfortably crowded, forbidding additional passengers from squeezing on. Maybe a weight warning bell, like on an elevator? But that would be rather embarrassing for someone overweight to squeeze on and hear the loud buzz! Not nice.

Overall, however, my parents still thought riding BART was better than braving the Bay Bridge traffic and repeatedly wonder why LA does not have it!

The Art of Hair

One thing on BART that you may not want to have a bird's eye view of, but you do, is hair!

As a standing passenger, you see pretty clearly how clean someone's hair is, whether they have dandruff, whether they are balding, how they are covering their bald spots, and when they are long overdue for a cut or color job.

A couple noteworthy observations I want to point out here. I see two trends in bald (or balding) men. The first is those who do whatever they can to cover up the bald spot by growing their hair long, and covering the spot with it. It looks ridiculous. One man that I won't ever forget has a handful of hair that is about 6 inches long, that goes from his right temple to his left. It does a poor job covering his baldness as the skin is quite evident and frankly, it looks very sad and pathetic, that someone finds it that difficult to accept baldness.

The second trend is those who shave their heads or keep it at a very short length so the bald spot just blends in. I much more prefer this trend. It looks cleaner and people just don't laugh at you behind your back!

There are, of course, still people who wear toupees. That, by far is the MOST ridiculous, and thankfully, a dying practice. I once saw an older man who has some natural hair left around his ears that were gray, but awkwardly positioned on top of his head is a dark brown toupee!! It was so ridiculous looking and out of place that everyone who passed by him gave a second glance.

To all bald or balding men out there, you should definitely accept baldness gracefully and tastefully bcause there really is nothing wrong with being bald! Unless you can afford a hair transplant and deal with the pain, keep your hair short, or shave it, and be proud!

Fire at Embarcadero BART today!

BART made the news today, and it's never a good thing when that happens. I wasn't involved in the fire and the evacuation process, but I can only imagine how chaotic everything was.

Most of you in the Bay Area probably already heard, but for those of you not near SF, this is what happened on BART today: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/03/09/MNG29HLABU3.DTL

It's crazy!! I hope everyone who suffered injuries will recover soon.

How vain is too vain?

We're all vain to some degree. Most of us take a quick glimpse of ourselves as we walk past a mirror or we stop to fix our hair or outfit when we're washing our hands in the bathroom.

Most of us care about our looks to a normal degree. I see some women bravely walk into BART with no make-up at all, then when they sit down, they grab out a huge make-up bag and start applying foundation, eye liner, eye shadow, blush, mascara and curler, lipliner, lipstick..the whole works! It takes them 30 minutes to finish applying make-up. I often wonder what they would do if they didn't get a seat? Go to work without make-up? But I think that's a normal level of vanity. I personally wouldn't want to do all that on BART since I like getting ready in my own home. Besides, it only takes me10 minutes for make-up and 5 for hair.

However, there are people who take vanity to a whole new level! They don't care that they are in public, and they will just stare at themselves in the mirror for ten minute straight or longer. I saw a woman today who stood in front of a window on BART. Because BART goes underground several times during the Pittsburg Baypoint to SF route, the window becomes a clear reflection, like a mirror. This woman could not take her eyes off herself in the reflection. She brushed through her hair with her fingers, then pouted her lips, touched her hair some more, and flashed smiles at herself.....then repeated the whole routine again. The entire ride she was checking herself out in the window. That was just too much! This other time, I saw a woman who brought a small mirror in her purse, took it out, and started checking her eyebrows, make-up, hair, teeth, lips, and also smiled at herself in the mirror during the ride.

Why would anyone do that? I check on my compact every so often to make sure I don't have anything awkward on my face or teeth, but I look at myself for 1 second or 2 seconds max. What would propel these women to look at themselves for 30 minutes straight? Even if they are the most gorgeous women, which they are not, they still do not need to stare ar themselves in that fashion. Were they trying to look good for someone at work? Were they practicing a smile for an admirer? Or are they just so vain that they don't realize they're doing this?

A crowded train with a crock pot full of sour cabbage

I haven't had any luck lately with getting a seat on BART. The trains have been crowded and I consider myself lucky if I can keep a corner to myself.

Believe it or not, a woman brought with her onto the train a crock pot full of sour cabbage or some type of pungently sour and spiced vegetables. Immediately, the sour smell spread throughout the train. I love sour cabbage, sauerkraut, and pickled vegetables, but bringing a freshly made pot of something so pungent onto a crowded BART train is somewhat inconsiderate. In fact, you're not supposed to bring food or drinks onto the train at all, although many people still sneak in coffee or fast food. Scent tend to magnify on BART- burgers, fries, chicken, pizza...I've smelled them all. It's disgusting. The sour cabbage scent turned into a smell resembling dirty bathrooms. Normally delicious foods just do not smell good on BART. There just isn't enough oxygen for all of us to breath in as it is.

That is why BART commuters hardly participate in pot lucks at work! When we do, we usually bring the salad, drinks, cookies or brownies....things that don't stink up the train. Well, at least I bring those things because I don't have a signature dish to show off, but still...even if I did, I wouldn't subject fellow passengers to 30+ minutes of unpleasantry.

What could be worse than a Southwest flight?

My title is misleading because there really isn't anything worse than a OAK to MIA flight on Southwest and making 2 stops and a plane change along the way. Lucky for me, I didn't take Southwest to a business conference in Miami. I took a direct nonstop flight from SFO to MIA on American, but boy, it felt like a Southwest flight! The conditions reminded me of a crowded BART train and a delayed SW flight (meaning the cabin hasn't been cleaned).

The long 5.5 hour flight between SFO and MIA seemed longer than it already is because the cabin temperature was so high! Some people were sweating profusely, and the heat, as expected, brought out many assortments of body odors. The lavatories have not been cleaned and you can smell the urine from 10 rows away. I had to keep on applying lotion around my neck to mask the scent.

People were very grouchy and unwilling to make room for others walking down the aisle. Babies were screaming, making the conditions even less tolerable. The beverage cart was slow to move down the aisle, and we had no food service, but only the option to buy cold sandwiches or mixed snacks that used to be free. Meanwhile, you can smell the food from first class and see the empty champagne glasses brought to the back of the cabin by attendants for disposal.

One man in particular was completely inappropriate. He got upset at the man in front of him for leaning his seat back! He yelled, "there is no room for you to lean back. see where my knees are? i am cramped." The flight attendant had to reason with him that everyone has the right to lean back. But the man continued on about the crowded conditions and pushed the seat in front of him forward, each time the passenger tried to lean back. Totally immature and inconsiderate! If he wants space that bad, why doens't he just fork out the $$ for a first-class ticket??? Oh..he can't afford it? Well, just sit back and don't cross your legs, like the rest of us!

I took BART to the airport for the 2nd time during this trip, and while the ride was long and I missed some train connections which made my wait even longer, it is still a more ecnomical and traffic-free way to get to the airport. I urge everyone to try it out!! But, be prepared to have a book or stack of magazines to read because it is a LONG ride.