Airport frustrations

Just returned from a 3-day weekend trip and the plane ride home was horrendous. I won't go into the 90 minute delay or the fact that the ground crew took more than 10 minutes to connect the gangway to the plane so passengers can de-plane, no, I won't talk about that.

I will only gripe about idiotic passengers who STILL DON'T KNOW that you need to have your boarding pass and ID in hand when you approach the security point. Despite TSA officers yelling "Please have your boarding pass and ID ready" every 3-5 minutes, and multiple signs and TV monitors that tell you to have those handy. there are still people who cluelessly tread along the endless lines for 30-45 minutes not knowing that they are about to hold up the line even more.

Finally, they reach the ID checkpoint, the TSA officer asks, "I need your passport and ID". These idiots say, "oh, really? already? now? Oh, I didn't know that", while they hopelessly search through their purses, bags, pockets, and luggage. Finally, they pull out the ticket or boarding pass only. The TSA officer says, "I also need your ID." Again, these clueless fools act surprised, "oh? you need that too?" while they take way too long to pull it out.

Meanwhile, the rest of us waits, with our boarding passes and IDs in hand, like we're supposed to. These same imbeciles are the same ones who don't know to take off their boots, even while TSA yells in front of them, "take off all shoes, including tennis shoes."

These are probably the same idiots who block the BART ticket turnstiles while searching through their bags and purses, and the same people who block the leftside of the escalators and not noticing that everyone is walking around them!

Picture of the day

Someone posted this under comments in one of my previous entries. Look at how clean this train looks! Sure, there's wear and tear on the floors but it is meticulous. I've been to Singapore and the entire city is clean. In fact, there are cameras on every major intersection monitoring citizens and you get fined (sometimes jailed) for littering, sleeping or even spitting on the streets. Not saying that's the model that we should follow but boy, that sure would make one clean country if we had to live under those strict regulations.

It can be the end of the day and this train will still look that clean because it's in Singapore. I've seen it firsthand.

Here's the picture:

http://flickr.com/photos/danielcheong/1145184145/

Strollers on escalators-- a little too dangerous!

Now, I'm not sure about this but I thought that baby strollers are not allowed on the BART escalators? Is that the case?

Anyhow, I saw a potentially life threatening accident involving a baby stroller yesterday where the mother propped back the stroller on the rear set of wheels, with the stroller balancing on one escalator step. I've seen people do this and in most cases, the baby and parents arrive safely to the top or bottom of the escalators.

This time, however, the baby stroller lost its balance and jerked hard frontwards and skipped two steps downwards before the mom caught up to the stroller and grabbed onto it with one hand while maintaining her own balance. Luckily, the baby was fine and didn't even cry!

It's scary to imagine what could have happened if the stroller just kept on skipping downwards. I'm sure strollers are safe, hefty and will envelope the baby from the fall but still....pretty dangerous!

Just as a side note, the stroller was blocking the passing lane on the escalator too-- I was on the leftside, about 6 behind the stroller.

Are strollers allowed on BART escalators? I don't think they are, but if they are allowed, they shouldn't be for many reasons!

Turn those ringtones down please!

I am behind the latest trends. I must be because I just can't seem to get into the ringtone rage. I prefer to use a traditional "ring ring" to indicate a call and in my "younger" days, for about a year, I had a mellow electronic version of "Take me out to the ballgame". Even before ringtones took off, I've never really used the "Samba", "Bach Partita", "Marriage of Figaro", or whatever generic ringtones came with the phone. Yes, I know, I'm behind times, but call me old-fashioned, boring, or whatever, I prefer a normal ring.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love music! Anything from classical, 80s, 90s, to whatever is in these days that has a good beat. But I just don't like hearing these songs blasting on BART. My phones are either on silent/vibrate or a soft ring. I generally try to pick up immediately or just send straight to voicemail for the sake of all the passengers around me.

Ringtones are part of self-expression, so I've been told. That's fine, but hearing them blasting from left and right on a train isn't exactly pleasant. But since people paid for them, they want them world to hear the ringtones...thus, it tends to always be on the loudest volume the phone can get.

Just yesterday evening, I heard over and over:

smack that, all on the floor,
smack that, give me some more.....

The guy just won't pick it up! Not sure what was holding him back. Whoever was calling him also won't quit....Akon was blasting 3 times in a row.

It has nothing to do with the type of music. It's the volume and the inconsideration of the phone owner to let it go on and on.

This morning, the train was silent and sleepy. Suddenly, Gwen Stefani's Hollaback Girl woke everyone up like a loud alarm clock. The only person that DIDN'T wake up was the person who owned the phone.

Anyways, my point is, please be considerate and turn it down or at the very least, pick it up immediately. If I have to hear the whole chorus at least once, you've let it rang too long.

Idiot I am

I've never done this before in my years of taking BART, but between reading my book, feeling too tired, suffering from allergies, and having a half-functioning brain this morning, I got off at Powell station instead of Civic Center station.

In my head, I miscounted the stops since the train crossed the tube, and then with my ears plugged up and my eyes watery (from allergies), I thought I saw "Civic Center" sign at the Powell stop, and even imagined hearing "Civic Center/UN Plaza". I hurriedly shut my book and shoved it in my bag as if I am almost going to miss getting off the train. I run out as fast as I could past the train door before it closes.

Right as I turned my body towards the escalators, I realized, wait, this doesn't look like the Civic Center station. At that moment, the train departs. I then realized, WHAT AN IDIOT I AM, I GOT OFF ONE STATION TOO EARLY!

I've never done this before and can't believe I got off at Powell after getting off the same exit for many years! It ended up not being a huge deal since there are plenty of trains heading towards Daly City. I hopped on the next train, which was 2 minutes later, and had enough time to run after my connecting shuttle.

Boy, if this is a sign on how the week is going to turn out, I better drink extra coffee in the morning!

Food violator makes a mess on BART

A female passenger walks into the train today with a computer bag, backpack and a closed container of yogurt in hand. She stands up next to the safety pole, puts down her bags, grabs on to the pole with one hand, and opens up the yogurt container.

She tries to balance herself while eating the yogurt but between holding a spoon, holding the yogurt, and grabbing on to the pole, she loses her balance and tips over the yogurt. The yogurt spills on the ground and makes a thick white mess on the carpet.

I was thoroughly annoyed. I had to just say to her, "You know you're not allowed to eat in here right?" She said, "Oh really? I had no clue. I eat in here all the time." Then, I said, "No food signs are all over the train. See that sign over there?" Someone else chimed in, "Now who's going to clean up your mess?"

The woman pulls out notebook paper (guess she had nothing else) and tries to wipe up the yogurt with it. She smears it all over, but eventually does wipe it clean. She had a large rumpled mess of notebook paper drenched in yogurt in her hands as she finally walked out of the train.

I think she learned a good lesson as everyone was watching her struggle to clean up her yogurt stains for 15 minutes. I doubt she'll eat on BART again. Someone offered her some tissue paper to help absorb the mess a bit better. I have to say she did a pretty good job, possibly quicker and better than waiting for BART cleaning staff to take care of it. In the end, the carpet just looked like any other portions of the BART train floors- dry but stained. You can't even tell anything had happened.

Germs? No problem!

Most daily BART commuters are like me- you try not to touch too many things on BART: the poles, the seat handles, the escalator handles...etc. If you have to touch it, most of us wash our hands immediately once we get into the office, or if you're like me, you carry a bottle of Purell to quickly destroy the germs, and then you follow-up with a thorough rinse once you get to the office.

It always amazes me that there are some people on BART who could care less about germs. Last night, I saw a man (not homeless) lie down on the BART train floors. That wasn't the first time I've seen someone sleep on the train floors. I've also seen people flatten their bodies against the dirty carpet and use their computer bag as a pillow. This morning, I saw a group of passengers come in and just sat down on the ground in a circle. Other times, I've seen people sit down against the door, and start eating their breakfast. I've also watched people play cards while sitting on the stain-filled train carpet.

It makes me cringe to see them pasting their clothes and skin on the floors. But hey, if they're fine with it, why should I worry?

The closest I've ever come to sitting on the train floors is this one time when I was sick with a flu, nauseous, and I literally could not keep myself standing. I didn't sit on the floor but I did bend my knees so I'm squatting. I kept my head down so I wouldn't puke on anyone. I squatted for about 10 minutes....it was a pretty low point in my years of BART riding. But even then, sitting down on the floor is NOT an option.

Leaning on someone's shoulders

I saw a woman sound asleep on BART today. She was in the window seat while there was a man in the aisle seat. Her head was swinging from left to right, front and back, and finally it comfortably found a resting place-- on the man's shoulder!

The woman was still asleep and looked to be quite comfortable resting her head on the man's shoulder. The man looked at her but didn't make any attempt to shake her head off, or move his shoulder a bit.

I thought maybe they were together, so it's not a big deal. Well, until the man got off at one of the downtown Oakland stations without saying goodbye. The woman woke up, didn't have a clue what she's been leaning on, and just leaned her head towards the window and continued sleeping.

I thought it was interesting because I don't think I would let a stranger lean on me. I did let a baby grab my clothes and hair once but that's because she's a baby.

I wonder what this man was thinking. It's a bit weird for him to allow a stranger to rest on his shoulder. Granted, the woman is attractive and well-dressed.

Why I think there needs to be more BART police presence at Civic Center station?

I first wrote this in the comment section but decided to expand on it. BART police officers are probably very hard at work, and it's easy for the rest of us to complain their lack of presence since we don't exactly see everything they do. Even if that is true, several readers and I have mentioned multiple times that there are many things that BART police can do to help make BART a more pleasant experience. Someone asks me, "Like what?"

Thought I should cut and paste my response as a new entry. Of course, I'm speaking from my own experiences, and I just happen to go to the lovely Civic Center station daily.

I can think of different examples everyday on why we need BART police presence even for "minor"things but the one that pops out at me most is what happened to me today and many other times in the past. Right outside the Market/8th exit off Civic Center station, there are homeless people coming up to passengers exiting up the stairs or escalators, asking for money, for food, for cigarettes, or whatever. I don't mind solicitations, but it's when they are hostile that I feel unsafe. If you ignore them, they yell obscenities at you. If you say sorry, I don't have anything, they curse hell at you too. Occasionally, they spit at you. Once I've even had one point a plastic toy gun at my head closely (I wrote about this back in 2005).

I've written the BART comment site about this several times. I never saw a visible difference or noticed an increase in BART police presence around there.

A coworker and I once told a ticket agent that there's blood on the stairs and all she said was it happens all the time, what do you want me to do about it. I said, well, maybe it should be cleaned up, and I don't know, maybe someone's hurt? If anything, I was stunned by her attitude.

On my way home, I've seen a disheveled woman inviting men to 'check out' her g-string. I can go on with other examples but hopefully you get the point.

For anyone who will likely blame me and other passengers for these mishaps, please hold back your criticisms and really think about why there isn't more BART police presence at a known to be troublesome station like Civic Center/UN Plaza?

Stolen car parts in BART parking lots?

I received an email from a reader about his experience. Somehow, having a car part stolen during the day at a BART station DOES NOT SURPRISE ME AT ALL! It seems like the lots can go unmonitored for quite some time. I know people whose cars had been broken into under bright daylight! Also, I was once told that you weren't allowed to put flyers on parked cars in the BART lots. REALLY? Because a few times I find myself returning to not one, not two, but three flyers left on my car. One on the right side of my windshield, one on my left, and on stuffed in the side window. I'm trying to make a point here-- it is pretty easy to "do things" at the BART parking lots. You've all seen beer bottles left there. So, it doesn't shock me that this reader sent me the email below.

Take a look. Has this happen to you? Do you know if this happens?

Dear bartmusings,

Yesterday, I was walking to my truck at El Cerrito Plaza Station and happened to take a peak under it (was overcome by a funny feeling) and guess what? thieves stole my catalytic converter! I guess the thieves extract the valuable metals (Platinum and Palladium) and sell them. I Googled around for this topic and it says that 1 Catalytic Converter can fetch $50 - $100 on the scrap market.

Based on my Google research, reports of Catalytic Converters being stolen have occurred at Orinda, El Cerrito Plaza, North Berkeley, and El Cerrito Del Norte. This phenomenon seems to have started this year.

Thieves like the 1990's Toyota Trucks and any SUV with enough ground clearance. A Catalytic Converter can be stolen in a minute or so depending on if it is welded or bolted to the tail pipe. My truck, it was bolted, so it only cost me $150 to fix, I installed it myself.

I have not gone to BART Police yet, I figured since I have only seen them 5 times in my 10 years of riding BART, that they would have little interest in knowing about this. I have never seen BART Police doing foot or other patrols in the station parking lots.

I would like to know has anyone else had this happen to them? What has anyone heard from BART Police about this?

You don't think people know that you are wearing a toupee?

I think the title says it all. Saw a man today wearing a hair piece that looked like a car-smashed bird. This hair piece was larger and wider than the top of his head and the color of the fake hair strands was a several shades lighter than his sideburns. The toupee literally looked like it was taped on with double-stick. It was tilted side ways, with the part near the back of his head. Perhaps this man had a rough day because the toupee was nearly off, slipping, barely covering his bald spot! Strands were going all directions! Not to mention how dirty the toupee looked! The strands were oily and stuck together. Really, I can't allow myself to be any gentler. He looked like a FOOL!

It's sad really. I have nothing against baldness. I think if someone is bald, they should embrace it! If they don't want to accept baldness, then they should seek a real solution-- hair transplant, Propecia, Rogaine, or maybe a professionally designed and fitted wig if nothing else works? I think this man would look so much better if he just proudly walk around with whatever real hair he has on his head.

If you're a Seinfeld fan like me, you probably recall this episode where George had this ridiculous looking toupee on and suddenly had a ton of confidence. Later, Elaine tossed his toupee on to the ground, it was smashed by pedestrians, and some homeless man picked it up to wear it. Well, this man's hairpiece looked like that (the smashed piece) but worse!

Good question: Ferry vs. BART

One anonymous commenter left a message in response to my blog about reading materials.

The comment was:
When I worked in SF I used to take the Vallejo Ferry to the office. Now, I work somewhere else and take BART. Please someone tell me this: Why are people more social and conversational on the ferry, but on BART no one talks to each other, if you do talk to a stranger, then people think you are a looney!

I've never taken the ferry before but I'd like to try one day although it would be a huge inconvenience to get to the ferry station, and then in SF, to find a way to get to my office. Yet, it just seems like a more pleasant experience all around with the extra space, the water, the view..etc.

This question is a good one because it made me think....I'm not an anti-social person. I talk to people at ballgames, grocery stores, restaurants, even sometimes on the plane! But why is it that on BART, I don't want anyone or anything to bug me. And it is true, the very few that attempt to make conversations with others on BART are considered weirdos. Silence is golden on BART. People really just want to get the ride over with, get to work and get out of the crowded trains.

I lean alone

When all the seats are taken, people tend to gravitate towards one of two places as the next best thing: 1) any of the side mounts to the handicapped seats near the train doors, or 2) to the connector doors that go between the cars. While a lot of people like to lean on the handicapped side mounts even though when they do, they are blocking the entrance and exits, I personally prefer to lean on the connector doors: it's roomy, I'm not blocking anyone, and when the trains are already crowded, few people go from car to car.

However, I've been noticing that people are beginning to think the connector door is a space for TWO! It's roomy, true, but it really can only comfortably allow one passenger to lean on, not two! You can squeeze two, but it is inevitable that the arms will be touching and I don't quite like that. I've been getting a lot of unwelcomed neighbors joining me in my favorite spot, and leaning on the connector doors with me! I think it's a space invasion issue-- I don't want my arm to be touching someone else's arm, I don't want to have to squeeze all the way to the corner just to make room for two. And I don't want someone's computer bag to be hitting me with every sudden train movement.

Am I out of line here? Do you know what I'm talking about...the connector doors between cars? It's a one-passenger standing area in my opinion!

I gave in to the "devil" today

This morning just seemed so gloomy with the heavy fog that it somehow affected my mood and willingness to take BART. I just didn't feel like putting up with BART and was trying to think of any reason to drive to SF instead. I know I should take BART for many reasons: my tickets are paid for by my employer, I already pay a hefty fee for reserved parking, it's better for the environment, I'll probably be sitting in traffic if I drive to work instead, I'll have to pay toll and parking...etc. It was a definite "fight" between the "angel" and "devil" in me as I approached the BART station. The BART parking lot entrance is just 50 yards from the freeway entrance...if I skip BART today, the path leads me to 24W towards the Bay Bridge.

I gave in to the "devil" in me, telling me to enjoy the privacy of being in my car, and urging me to take a chance with traffic today.

I just need a break from BART every so often. I get like this once in awhile for whatever reason and I just don't have the patience and will power to take BART to work. I like listening to talk radio in my car, I like being able to sing out loud (although I've seen some people in BART sing aloud too), and I like being able to let out a loud yawn and stretch to relief myself.

I ended up saving 10 minutes of time by driving, but ended up spending more money on toll and parking! And now, I'll have to deal with horrendous traffic driving home!

Keep your eyes on your own reading material

On BART, I am sometimes guilty of looking over someone's shoulder to check out today's headlines or quickly glance at the title of someone's book but I DO NOT start a conversation with them and make it known that I am sharing reading material with them.

This morning, the man sitting next to me was a bit too chatty for my morning mood. I knew he was reading my US Weekly (yes, guilty pleasure, helps me get through my BART rides) magazine but I forgave him for it, I mean, people do that every so often, and I understand that the trashy headlines attract second glances!

But he didn't stop at that! He pointed and touched the picture of Eva Longoria and Tony Parker in front of the Eiffel Tower and said, "Heck of a wedding site, isn't it?"

I didn't want to be rude, so I responded with "Yes, very nice," and hoped that he would just leave it at that. But he continued, "Have you been there? It is incredible. Can you imagine getting married there? Only some people can do that."

I said, "Yes, I've been, it's nice. Didn't get married there though." I flipped the page to end the conversation there. He then said, "Have you been to the top?" I sort of pretended I didn't hear him.

Then, after 2 minutes, he saw a photo of Britney Spears looking trashed and said to me, "These young celebs are so irresponsible." I just nodded and flipped the page again to a "beach wear". Finally, the final straw came. He said, "That's an interesting article isn't it?"

AHHHHHH!!!! Leave me and my magazine alone! I don't feel like discussion every article with you!!!!

I got up, pretended I had to get off at downtown Oakland and switched to another train. I don't mean to be anti-social but I just want to read my mindless magazine and get on with my day. I do talk to people sometimes when appropriate-- like when we all have a comment about a TO's whispering, or the depressing weather. But isn't it bad enough to have someone blatantly looking over my magazine but to also comment aloud on every page?

Slowpokes blocking the ticket turnstiles

This is a pet peeve. I absolutely cannot stand it when people are not readily armed with a BART ticket in hand BEFORE they approach the ticket turnstiles. I hate it when people stand in front of it, blocking it, while digging through their purse or computer case endlessly for a ticket. They search for 5 second, and then slowly realize that oh, they don't have one, causing a long line of people waiting behind them to get through. I also cannot stand it when people don't realize in advance that their tickets do not have enough $$ value to get through the gate. Instead, they try again and again AND AGAIN, while blocking a line of passengers behind.

With BART, every second counts. If I'm delayed for 15 seconds let's say, it could cause me to miss a train. Instead of running through the doors before closing, I'd be watching the train just leaving the station.

Yes, I am impatient. I move fast through the parking lot, through the ticket turnstiles, up the stairs and into the train. I do not allow myself any step of inefficiency and expect others to do the same. 90% of daily commuters are like me. But the other 10% somehow find themselves hovering around the ticket turnstiles, ticket machines and escalators like they've never taken BART before. If they are first timers, they can be excused, but some of these folks I see daily.

In your face insult to SFPD and BART Police

This is not new. I've written about this before but it was worse and more in your face today than I've ever witnessed. A disheveled looking man was leaning against one of the BART escalators on Market Street and 8th. He was smoking a joint, no doubt about it. Puff after puff, with no anxiety, no apprehension, whatsoever. Two SFPD officers on bikes were about 10 feet away. The officers were looking around, checking the area, they even looked in this man's direction. I don't know if they saw him smoking the joint or not, but they didn't care if they did.

I understand that they have bigger crime to worry about and that smoking weed is a lesser offense, but it's almost like they allow it by not doing anything about it!

When a man is not afraid to smoke marijuana in front of the cops (within smelling distance), that tells you that law enforcement is not working in the area.

Good or lame idea? BART credit card.

I don't have a well thought-out impression of this BART credit card idea just yet. I'm still thinking about it. My initial impression is...how much did it cost to launch this program and why couldn't we just spend that on something else? My second impression was...if you only gain points by buying BART tickets with the BART credit card, it will take forever to get free BART tickets.

Take a look at Contra Costa Times' article about this new BART credit card program.

Based on Linton Johnson's statements, I believe part of BART's intention is good, but I don't know if I'd risk my credit score opening yet another credit card. Also, watch out for the interest rates!

Some people can really save from this, especially those who spend $10 a day, 5 times a week. I guess I'm lucky since my employer gives me commuter checks. I probably won't need to apply for this credit card because the money I spend from my own pocket on tickets is a small amount.

BART Bathrooms

Rachel Gordon of SF Chronicle wrote an article on cleanliness of BART station bathrooms today. I've written a few times over the past couple of years on BART bathrooms (see one example here.)

BART bathrooms are worse than public park restrooms. I've used restrooms at park facilities thinking that I'd pass out from the filthiness and stench, but most of them have been cleaner than BART bathrooms. Heck, some BART bathrooms are worse than facilities I've used while traveling in more impoverished regions of the world.

I used to think the cleanliness of the BART station bathrooms has a lot to do with the demographics of the city the station is located in. But I have since learned that's not the case.

I used to live in Lafayette and being the clean freak that I am, I actually can brave going in there. The worst thing you see are a trail of water to the paper towels. You don't smell urine, you don't see graffitis, most people do flush the toilet and do their business within the bowl, there is always soap and paper towels and the trash rarely overflows. I used it twice- both times were necessities (fixing contact lenses). I'd rate it a B+.

However, now that I live in Orinda, the demographics although identical to Lafayette, I was in shock to see the bathroom to be closer to a D- than a B+. The bathroom stunk, urine poured all over the place, bowl was lined with stains and residues, sink was full of scum and leak stains, trash everywhere.....I had to hold my breath the entire time and jetted out there as fast as I could. This was a year ago, and I've never walked in there since. My only explanation to that is Orinda BART station is used by many passengers from cities off 80 freeway, accessible by San Pablo Dam Road. It's just a guess-- please don't over-analyze it and get offended.

BART commented that they clean the facilities 5 or 6 times a day? If that's the case, I don't think any of can tell. If it is so evident that 5 or 6 times a day is not enough to keep it to a C or above sanitary condition, shouldn't they have increased the cleaning schedule? I think even airport bathrooms are cleaned once an hour in some places...I've peeked a couple times at the cleaning schedule. And what exactly does BART constitute as cleaning? A thorough scrub down? Or just simply refilling the toilet paper and dumping the trash?

"You are guilty" - Part II

So based on my earlier post about the handicapped seats, I've been asked to say a little more about the 8 passengers seated in the handicapped seats. How old are they? What did they look like? Were they kids? Business professionals? Troubled youths?

Everyone envisions these 8 people differently in their minds. Well, it may surprise some of you that most of these 8 people were well dressed professionals in nice, pressed suits. The oldest one is probably about 50, a man, dressed in a fancy suit, shirt and expensive looking tie. He had his Blackberry up to his face, blocking the view immediately in front of him. He was seated closest to the standing elderly woman.

2 of the 8 looked like college or grad students, one was studying, the other was sleeping apparently. The others were all well-dressed and downtown SF bound, buried in magazines and work.

If forced to stereotype, I'd say they all appeared to be well-educated, fairly well-off people. Not that financial and educational background should have anything to do with whether someone has basic courtesy or not. It's just common sense.

I mean, seriously, we all sit at work all day, it really isn't THAT BAD to stand for a 15-30 minutes, or however long your ride is.

You know who you are, and yes, you're guilty

The handicapped seats really stir-up a lot of controversy especially in crowded trains such as this morning's. Every single one of the handicapped seats were taken by able-bodied people today. Then, a frail, elderly woman with a cane walked in. appeared to be in her 80s and was visibly having difficulty walking. I was standing in the middle of the train aisle, sandwiched between passengers, and far from the entrance where she entered. But the 8 able-bodied passengers seated in the handicapped seats by the door (2 were from the flip-down seats) did not bother to get up for her.

I started observing their behavior because I found their (lack of) action ridiculous. The elderly woman was shaking from left to right- she CANNOT stand! There were 5 females and 3 males in the 8 handicapped seats (men, I'm not picking on you guys ok?) 6 of them at one point saw the old woman from the corner of their eyes but continued to read their books, magazines, or Blackberries. They even held their reading materials over their eyes as if that justified them not seeing the poor woman. The other 2 were "sleeping" but conveniently woke up at their stop 10 minutes later.

The poor old woman didn't ask for the seats. She just stood there, holding on to dear life, swinging miserably from left to right. Standing passengers around here didn't say anything on her behalf but then again, the 8 passengers seats in the handicapped seats really should have already gotten off for her.

Finally, a man seated 3 rows away got up and helped her to his seat. The behavior of those 8 people was just insanely irresponsible. I don't know how they can live with themselves.

Back to the grind, oh, and can we be a little friendlier to visitors?

Well, I'm back from my vacation and it sucks. It's tough to readjust to the work routine after a week of waking up tto only white sand beaches. It was almost depressing as I stared blankly from the train today into the unpicturesque sceneries along the stretch from 12th Street to West Oakland station, lost in the sight, with no reaction to the pushing and shoving around me. I've passed the route hundreds if not thousands of time by now, but never had it looked so depressing and run-down.

Anyway, that was this morning, and I think I've snapped out of it now. I saw a few tourists wearing Mets, Braves, and Yankees jerseys around the Civic Center BART station today. Obviously, they were visiting SF for the All Star game. They looked lost. First of all, why were they even staying near Civic Center?? Out of all the better tourist friendly places to stay in SF, why there?

These guys looked very lost and made the HUGE mistake of asking a homeless person for direction. The homeless man could not offer any advice that is understandable and frankly, the tourists were appalled by the smell around him. I could tell because I pass by him every single day. The tourists then asked a man dressed in a suit for directions, and he simply said, "Sorry, can't help you." Whenever they tried to approach someone for help, the person would purposely walk the opposite direction. This went on for about 2 minutes. No one wanted to help them.

I was waiting for the company shuttle and decided to offer my assistance. They seemed grateful to see a friendly face but unfortunately, being TERRIBLE at directions, I didn't know how to get to Fisherman's Wharf by MUNI. Gosh...I felt bad. All I could say was....oh, maybe you can go ask the concierge in the hotel right there, I'm sure they can give you a MUNI map.

I was not helpful at all but at least I was friendly. I wished them a good time at the game and enjoy SF. Though I didn't to a thing to steer them the right way, they kept on saying thank you. I cant believe people were so unwilling to help them out! We're not an unfriendly city, if anything, I think SF has the reputation of being hospitable to everyone! Come on, people, it doensn't hurt to spend 15-30 seconds to help out first-timers to our city!

Pets on BART

I completely understand why BART does not allow pets onboard (assistance dogs aside). Not all pets are well behaved and not all owners are responsible. The last thing you want is to have dog poop add to the already plentiful stains on the floors and seats, or have someone's dog attack another passenger while in the train.

However, people still do bring small dogs on BART, sometimes not so small. I've seen it a few times. Little Yorkies or Chihuahuas mostly. On the most part the dogs are very well behaved aside from some occasional barking. I once even saw a little Golden Retriever puppy onboard....he was so scared and terrified of the loud sound of the train running through the tracks. I've seen people bring medium sized dogs in a crate covered by a towel.

Personally, I don't mind seeing people with their pets. Makes me happy. Keeps me entertained during my ride and distracts me from the other rude people on BART. I love animals. Dogs in particular because I'm the proud mom of the sweetest little pug in the world.

I could count so many positives to allowing dogs onboard but on the same note, I can think of a ton of negatives. Too many people just aren't the most responsible handlers of animals and it would just make BART an unpleasant experience for the rest of the passengers.

Would be nice though to take my little "king" to Embarcadero on a nice Saturday afternoon instead of battling weekend Bay Bridge traffic for an hour or more and be worn out and grouchy by the time we finally find parking!

BARTitis. Happens every summer.

BARTitis is what I call the syndrome I get every summer when traffic is lighter and I am just tired of riding on BART and putting up with the inconveniences of catching my company shuttle. BARTitis hits me hard especially when the weather is nice. The thought of being trapped inside BART, putting up with all the little big or insignificant things I complain about on this blog, just does not seem tolerable to me all of a sudden. I think of every excuse in the world to drive past the BART station and continue on the freeway.

Today, my excuse was I saw a train on the platform that was out of schedule which implies that there must be some delays going on. I decided to continue listening to my car radio, enjoy the privacy I have in my own car, breath the unscented nice clean air within my vehicle, and take a chance with traffic. Luckily, traffic was light across the Bay Bridge. I got to my office within 30 minutes. Which is about 25 minutes shorter than if I had taken BART and then the company shuttle without delays. (BART ride is actually only 30 minutes for me but the process of getting to the station, parking, and then waiting and catching my company shuttle adds to the extra time).

It was a nice change. I definitely can't do it everyday but it's nice to take a break from BART once in awhile especially during summer.

What about adding small waste bins around the trains?

We all know that there's nothing to stop people from eating and drinking beverages on BART, but can't there be something to discourage them from littering? I see people who not so slyly place their empty Starbucks cup underneath their seat, or crumble their napkins and food wrappers and leave it on the seats. Maybe BART should add small waste bins every 4 seats or whatever feasible so some of these people might actually just toss the items into the trash instead of leaving it all over the trains.

Even if 35% of the litter bugs toss trash into the bins, that is already a big improvement and might help keep the trains cleaner in the middle of the day.

I know I have drawn comparisons often between BART and transit systems in Europe, but yet again, I have to mention that trains in Europe have that, and it does make it easier for people to toss trash into the bins instead of on the floor.

BART in 2057...as they asked

OK, Chronicle has this poll (today) and article about BART's future...far future. Poll had people picking specific extensions they'd like to add. There are talks of adding another Transbay Tube. Sure, that's fine, but I'll probably be long retired by then, let's hope.

What I want is more frequent trains. I dont want to wait for 15 or 20 minutes for the next train to arrive. In Europe, I'm able to just hop onto a train within 3-5 minutes, at any time. Maybe those trains were serving a smaller geography but still, that's mass transit. That's how BART should be too. It's ridiculous that at 5:30pm, while everyone is rushing home from SF to the East Bay, people have to wait 18 minutes for the next Fremont train, for example. Sure, they can transfer, but transferring doesn't shorten the trip or the wait in the end.

My ideal BART experience is getting on and off a train without waiting more than 3-5 minutes...that means in the morning, when i get home from work, to and from ball games and airports. Can BART deliver that?

Question of the Weekend

I haven't written much this week due to health reasons. I'm going to cheat a little today and write about something that isn't directly related to BART. The only correlation this has to BART is that many fans take BART to ATT Park...and I expect this weekend to be quite crowded on the trains with many big events going on in the city like the Pride Parade and the high profile Giants-Yankees game.

I was listening to KNBR today and heard an interesting question posed to listeners.

Would you rather have a team that is somewhat competitive and interesting to watch every year, or a team that wins a WS once every ten years and sort of just suck in between?

Seeing how the Giants are right now, it's easy for people to say they prefer the latter because once you have that championship, you can wait out the miserable times. I leaned at first towards saying that, but decided that no way! All these painful games we're watching now, all the years we'll need to be under .500 until we fully rebuild, and all the miseries we're feeling when we lose games by 1 run......they'll all make it that much sweeter when the SF Giants do FINALLY win a WS. If that's 5 years, or 25 years, as fans, we'll just have to patiently watch them evolve, progress, digress, decompose, and flourish again.

Easier said than done, I know. I am just as impatient and bummed out as any other Giants fan out there.

Anyhow, hopefully we'll take two from the Yankees! That's asking for a lot, but please???

When did overweight become handicapped?

This is not a debate about weight. It's a discussion about ongoing issues related to the ambiguity of the designated seats on BART for the handicapped.

An overweight, but not overly obese woman today straight out asked me to get out of the handicapped seat for her. I'm always very conscious of who is around me- if I see a child, a pregnant women, someone with a crutch or cane, or anyone who appears to be a senior citizen, I am the first to give up my seat, wherever I am on the train, for them!

This woman was probably at least 75 pounds overweight. She was large, but she was balancing and walking just fine. I saw her walk in and contemplated giving up the seat for her, but she was young and seemed to be OK standing. I didn't want to insult her weight by asking her to sit down either!

So should I add overweight people to my list of people to give up a seat to? What if they yell at me for implying that they are overweight? I've gotten snapped at before for mistakenly giving up the seat to someone who looked older than they really are! No win situation it seems.

In this case, she asked me if she can sit down. I just said, "sure", and let her sit. She wasn't rude or anything but it was implied in her tone that she should have that seat over me. I'm fine with it, no big deal. Just thought this was worth noting on BART Musings.

Pre-party on BART?

A friend of mine told me he saw college-aged students taking BART to the airport and drinking BEER this morning!!

Alcohol on BART is nothing new but generally it's someone homeless crashing on the train, not college passengers using BART as a pre-party location to celebrate the start of their summer vacation!

Please don't just blame the rest of us for not calling the TO to report these activities- some of us do or are starting to. But BART also needs to take more responsibility themselves, to enforce these rules and fine people who blatantly violate them. Be more proactive!

Come on! Drinking beer on BART?? That is really quite an insult to BART police and staff....it's telling them, I can do whatever I want because you won't catch me or make me stop.

Hot and Hotter

I'm not talking about a person here, but instead, I'm referring to BART trains in this recent heat. We're already baking while we're waiting on the platforms and we think we will have some relief as we get into the trains. But 50% of the time (I actually counted from my recent rides), the train feels HOTTER than the outside, while mixed with smells of food, body odor, perfumes, and cologne. The hotter it is, the more people find the need to mask their bodily scents with perfumes and colognes.

My rides recently have been miserably warm and stuffy. I understand that TOs cannot control individual train temperatures but why is the AC constantly too low when it is over 90 degrees outside?

I walked into different cars just in case it is my particular car that has a broken AC, but all the cars in the train are equally warm and uncomfortable!

A new level of filthiness

It's really quite a good (and much needed) thing that BART is appropriating funds to clean up the trains in addition to adding on-site medial staff to minimize train delays whenever there is a "medical emergency". Seriously, some passengers call anything a medical emergency and completely waste everyone else's time. Once, a woman tripped over and fell on the ground due to a sudden train halt. She seemed able-bodied and although she needed to catch her breath and regain her composure, there was NOTHING wrong with her. Some man frantically said, I'm going to call the train operator. She said, "No, I'm fine, thanks, really, I'll be OK." He went on to call the TO anyways and says "A woman has fell over and hurt herself. I repeat, a woman has fell over and hurt herself. Please send medical staff." There was a tremendous waste of 20 minutes! URGH! Some people just love drama. I just want to get to work or go home without these pointless interruptions. Please only call when there is really someone in need of medical attention.


Now, about the new level of filthiness. It's been warm, so I dress accordingly. Today I had a short-sleeved shirt on. I was leaning back on the seat with my arms completely touching it. I am not kidding but I started itching on my upper arms. It didn't help that I kept on touching it, but the patches of itchiness turned into hives. I then thought about all the germs and whatever else that are completely all over the seats, touching my bare skin. I even imagined the "CSI" staff using their flourescent sticks and imagined all the fluids, germs, food stains and dirt that would glow brightly in the dark! By the end of my ride, I had lovely patches of hives on my arms. I ran into the shower the minute I got home and applied a thick layer of Cortaid.

I'm sure it was partially psychological but am I that off? My arms DID start itching after 5 minutes of resting my skin on the seat.

Just glad that something will be done about the train conditions!

I am allergic to YOU!

I have allergies and this year, it's been rough. I take medication in the morning and that generally calms my nose and eyes down a bit before I get on the train.

I ran out of medication today, so from the moment I started driving, I could not stop sneezing and tearing. On the train today, of course I was sneezing. I got stares, but whatever, I always make a point to cover my nose with both hands, use a tissue, wipe my hands with Purell. I also try to minimize the volume of my sneezes by pinching my nose a little.

The point is..I know sneezing nonstop on BART can annoy people but I try my best to be considerate. However, one thing in addition to weeds and pollens that gets to me most is STRONG PERFUME or COLGNE.

The woman sitting next to me had very strong perfume on. It's not the fruity and light perfume that I can tolerate...she was wearing some strong and old-fashioned scented perfume and was apparently wearing a lot of it since the second she sat down, my nose shook!

I kept on sneezing. But I always faced the window and covered my nose. Everytime I sneezed, she would look at me. And no, she was not a nice sweet lady, she was one of those older woman who still think she's young and tries to cover age with tons of makeup, tight clothes, and to my detriment, perfume!

After the 8th sneeze, she turns to me and says, "Are you sick?" in an accusatory tone.

I thought about my response, and even contemplated apologizing for my nonstop sneezing. But because of her mean stares and her poor tone of voice, I decided to say loud enough for people around us to hear, "No, I'm allergic to your perfume." People around me laughed softly because I know they too are suffering from her horrific and overpowering scent.

Oakland Coliseum BART Experience

I'm a Giants and 49ers fan, so I rarely make my way to the Coliseum for games. A couple times a year maybe. I don't dislike the A's, in fact, whenever they are not playing the Giants, I do root for them. Wednesday night, we went with friends to the Red Sox-A's game.

The game itself was exciting and ended favorably, but the BART rides were horrendous. Yes, it is very convenient, even more convenient than taking BART/Muni to AT&T Park. But, tonight, there was a long delay between each station, making a 25 minutes ride into 45 minutes. The BART ride home was even worse. No lines, no order, no courtesy whatsoever with people overflowing all around the platform. It didn't help that the train didn't come for 15 minutes. By the time it came, it was so crowded that you can smell alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana, and lots of bad breath all around. During the game, BART even had a little game between innings rewarding a passenger who took BART to the game. But shouldn't there have been more trains if thy want everyone to take BART?? Maybe it was just extra crowded and disorderly because the Red Sox were in town.

Now, the game itself. I never could understand why there are so many darn Red Sox, Yankees and Cubs fan in the Bay Area. Whenever those teams are in SF or Oak, at least 1/3 if not 1/2 of the stadium are filled with them. And boy, do they annoy the heck out of me! If they're true fans, fine, whatever, they can root for their team and live in the Bay Area. But I find most of them to be fake fans or bandwagon fans with no real attachment or deep knowledge of the team and players. They just like to put on the Red Sox, Yankees or Cubs hats and jerseys and walk around our ballparks like they actually care about how the teams are doing beyond this series. Hate bandwagon fans.

I was sitting in back of a young couple who were dressed in Red Sox attire. Who knows if they are true fans, maybe the guy is, but all the girl wanted to do was take pictures during the game with her boyfriend. First with her camera phone, then with his, and then with her camera. I swear they took at least 30 pictures of themselves (same exact pose) throughout the game, during critical points of the game too! It was annoying- not just the constant flash but the fact that I am in the background! Just watch the game, darn it!!! Goodness!!!

I still highly prefer the Giants and AT&T Park, even though the Giants are sadly sitting in last place with no solid plan to climb out of there. We've sunken below the Rockies...never thought that would happen.

The BART Soap Opera

Maybe someone into astrology can tell me why today was a day filled with soap operas on BART. Is it because certain stars align to cause people to be extra sensitive and emotional that they don't mind having quite a large audience listening to their phone conversations?

Normally, I avoid taking all calls on BART because I don't like talking knowing everyone is listening, even if they don't want to. But you know how sometimes, there are situations that trump everything else and you just no longer care who you're broadcasting your life story to? For me, the one time was when I heard my husband got in a car accident. I didn't care who was listening- I spoke as loudly as needed to make sure he can hear that I'm coming home.

Soap opera scene #1: A woman in the train was fighing with her boyfriend. It was a crowded train, so I think there were at least 15 people near her that could hear what she's saying.

She yells, "So you're telling me you lied to me last night?" "Were you with her last night?" "Was she there with your friends?" "Is she with you now?" "Oh no, don't tell me she is with you right now? Right now? As I'm talking to you?" "You are one sick bastard."

Obviously, I couldn't hear what he said, but I can only imagine this to be unpleasant for both involved. Yikes!

Soap opera scene #2: A man also in the train was fighing with his ex-wife about being able to see the kids. This was sort of sad. I don't know his situation but I hope his ex-wife becomes more understanding. I'm only going to write a small excerpt of his conversation because this is not anything to laugh about. It's just plain sad!

He pleads, "You can't keep the kids from me. I know they miss me. I can hear them asking for me back there. You are being unreasonable. No, this has nothing to do with paperwork."

How awful. Although we don't know her side of the story-- maybe she has reasons?

There was a 3rd soap opera scene that is not PG-13, so I'd rather not share it here. Basically a young man was bragging to his buddy how he scored last night.

We, the rest of the passengers, didn't purposely listen in but these conversations were so loud and engrossed that we had no choice but to listen. I know I have a choice about sharing them or not sharing them, but I wanted to make a point that people should just keep their personal conversations out of the BART trains although there are times where you just don't care anymore.

Fighting for a parking space

Got in a parking space "fight" this morning. It was completely ridiculous! Picture this:

Orinda BART parking lot. Every row of parking is one-way only, and each row alternates so cars can go up the row, then turn to the next row to go down the row, to look for parking spaces.

I saw an empty space today in the 2nd row. I was going up the row like, in the direction that we're supposed to be going, while another car, going the opposite direction (against the flow of the parking spaces) decided to take that space.

I got to the space about half a second later. I signalled before he did. I slammed on the gas to try to beat him there. He saw me, he knew he was going the wrong way, but he still insisted on jamming his car towards the direction of the space. Of course, since he was not going the right way, he couldn't turn into the space, and required to back up and re-position.

I was obviously pissed off. He can't be going the wrong way (shorter way) to take a space! Besides, I signalled way in advance! I didn't want to let him win, so, as he backed up to re-position his car, I took the space! I only did that because he had to completely back up, turn directions, block the entire row, and keep me from going anywhere else! Hey, if he needed me to back track to take what should have been my space, I am not about to do that for him!

Well, I took the space, and he was pissed. He called me crazy, and I said, "no, you're crazy. you're going the wrong way." It turned out that he didn't have a reserved parking sticker anyways, so I just told him to park in the general lot unless he wants a ticket. Our argument ended cordially.

New BART commuters staying even after Connector reopened

It's been re-opened for a week now and I have not found BART to be any less crowded. If the connector shut-down has made temporary BART commuters into permanent ones, I guess that's a good. The fewer cars on the road, the better!

I'm looking forward to the summer months as people start to leave for vacations, and start taking days off on Fridays! It'll definitely lighten the situation in the parking lots and allow more open seats in the trains!

Speaking of vacations, mine is a month away. Can't wait. I need one badly!

I've been having problems with blogger.com (which powers this site) all day! They've somehow identified me as a spam blogger and won't allow me to publish! Spam blogger? BART Musings posts are all based on daily, individual experiences...how could it be a spam? Maybe someone flagged it as spam because I write things that they don't like?

Well, I'm back, and happy to write again!

Karma

It's hard not to believe in karma. On the way home today, the train was completely packed. I got on at Civic Center so I was able to get a seat. Right across from me was a seat left empty and if you take a closer look, you'll realize why. The seat was filled with WET sunflower seed shells. The shells, some mangled with teeth marks, were all over the seat. You can tell they were sticky from the wetness. Some previous passenger with no class apparently decided to spit out shells onto that seat. Anyhow, as we past Powell and then Montgomery, people walked towards the seat, saw the scattered wet mess, and opted to stand.

At Embarcadero, one stocky man rudely pushed his way through the crowd, yelling, "out of my way, excuse me" in an impatient tone, as if other passengers owed him something. He saw the empty seat, and felt that it was his right to take it while shoving others aside. In his haste, he sat down! I would have warned anyone else but not him- he deserved it!!!

He got up at MacArthur and once again, rudely pushed his way through. I took a glance at his butt (didn't want to but wanted to get a good laugh). As expected, at least 20 dirty spit-out shells embellished his black pants.

Haha! That's what he gets for being such a rude jerk on BART.

Smooth riding in the early AM

Had to go to work extremely early today (left home around 7:15am) and was pleasantly surprised how easy it was to find BART parking, how many empty seats there were despite lines at the platform, and how ontime the train was! Maybe I just got lucky but I found this morning's experience to be almost relaxing! Like BART claims their rides to be in the commercials!

Is this just luck? I doubt I'll get up early just to have an easier BART ride but it's good to know that whenever I do need to suffer from shorter sleep, BART will not give me a bigger headache!

Would you eat that?

I wasn't feeling too well during yesterday's ride home from work. I felt like throwing up, I felt light-headed, and the body odors and muskiness around me due to the heat wasn't helping at all! I was dying to chew on something sour and sweet to stop the urge to puke. Suddenly, I realized that I might actually have a green apple jolly rancher in my bag somewhere, left from a few weeks ago.

I was pretty desperate. I hate stale candy but I actually felt like I needed to have that sour taste in my mouth to get throught the BART ride.

I flipped things around in my large computer bag and finally dug out the unshapely jolly rancher candy. It was hard to unwrap- the wrapper had somehow melted onto the candy. But I didn't care, I was determined to get the wrapper off so I can eat this!

As I was nearing the final stages of taking off the last bit of plastic, the jolly rancher rolled off my fingers and onto the seat! I thought about eating it, but then images of the disgusting people who I've encountered on BART rushed through my head. Pictures of dirty clothes, dirty hands, dirty nails, coughs, sneezes..etc were overwelming my brain.

I just could not eat it. It would have been too disgusting. I ended up feeling sick the rest of the ride...but don't worry, I didn't throw up.

At risk youth as escorts in Oakland stations? Good?

When I first read about that I was like, oh, yeah right, like that is a great way to promote safety in Oakland. Having at-risk youth helping you to your cars, cleaning up, giving you directions? Sounded to me at first, like a sure way to get an already lost passenger to be the center of a mugging plot. But then I kept on reading and I thought about it some more.

I have to admit that if properly monitored and evaluated, this would be a great way to help at risk youth become a true part of the community. For them to want to trust the community and leave a positive mark, we have to trust them too.

It's worth a try and could become something life changing for these kids. When I first heard about Delancey Street restaurant in SF, I had a negative reaction too, but who says people don't deserve a second chance?

However, I may be a bit of a hypocrite. I don't want to have escorts in ALL the BART stations. I don't think escorts are necessary in all the stations. I think at-risk youth program aside, we definitely need escorts at SFO and OAK stations for travelers. We need at-platform-level info booth at key transfer stations (or easy phone access to TOs who are willing to help) too for travelers.

Broken turnstile and marijuana -- what a morning!

What a way to start the week! I was in a mad rush today trying to catch my shuttle at Civic Center station. I have my ticket ready before I approach the ticket turnstile, I have my hand ready to grab the ticket as it pops back out, and as usual, I am one step ahead before the turnstiles open up to let me through. Today, the turnstile that I've walked through at least 500 times in the past years was BROKEN. Only ONE of the two cushioned "obstacles" opened up, causing me to run my knees into the unopened one. And because I was already in walking motion, I fell!

Quickly, I tried to regain my balance, and acted like nothing happened in front of the people around me. Then, I walked up the stairs only to approach 3 men openly smoking pot. Two with joints and one with a pipe. Did marijuana become legal suddenly? They were so open and unafraid of being reprimanded by the police! They were definitely high, in a very happy zone. I smiled at them, and they asked me if I wanted some. I responded, no, thanks, gotta go to work!

Definitely not surprising to see people smoking pot around the Civic Center BART. But it was quite surprising how open they were with it! Apparently, they know that BART Police and SFPD don't seem to circle around that area much.

Peddlers on BART

I felt like I was in Tijuana yesterday afternoon! A man and his child were selling from seat to seat. The kid had a tray of random things from gum to bracelets, and the man had CDs, DVDs, fake Giant/As pins, caps and head bands in his tray for sale.

They were non-threatening so I didn't bother to get up to call the TO. It was actually kind of funny that they were doing that on the train.

I see people selling things outside of the stations but rarely inside the train. I've seen people begging or performing on trains, but not actually carrying around a selection of random trinkets in a tray and asking people to take a look.

Alcohol breath, but in the morning??

It's not uncommon to smell alcohol in people's breath on BART, especially in the late afternoons as people are coming home from happy hour or whatver.

This morning, however, at 8:15am, I sat next to a passenger, a professional, clean-cut looking middle aged man with a suit, tie and high-end briefcase, smelling like he just spent over $200 in a bar. I didn't even need to try to smell the alcochol. The drunken scent was all over. I felt like I was in a return flight from Las Vegas.

Yuck!

SF Bay Area ranks #11 on Rude Driver list

I would agree with that list. NYC, Boston, and LA are all MUC MUCH worse than the Bay Area in terms of rude drivers. Miami ranks first but I've only been a tourist there, transported around in buses and tour shuttles, or walking straight to the beach from my hotel....so I've never actually been in the thick of traffic there to judge.

I think Bay Area has more stupid or timid drivers than rude drivers. If anything, I think people are more clueless here than rude or impatient. I see people who don't pay attention to lights, who back out of parking spaces without turning their head to see what's behind them, break for no reason, or they merge into lanes way below speed of traffic, causing everyone to brake. I

I'm probably one of the more impatient drivers around and think people drive way too slowly in non-pedestrian zones, stop way too early for a yellow light, take way too long to merge into lanes, are too scared to make a quick turn or lane change, and too often insist on following or driving under the speed limit.

Ranking high on that list might mean you're in the middle of a lot of driving hazards but it also means that people are more efficient (impatient) and you can count on the person in front of you to not waste a second during a green light. Whereas here, I have to wait 3-4 seconds sometimes for a driver to respond!

Cleveland is #19. Not surprised. My sister lives there and has gotten ticketed twice for driving over 25mph on an open, carless road!

Too smooth to be true

Is it just me or has BART been unusually on-time lately? I almost stopped myself from writing that because now that I've declared BART to be usually on-time, I might have jinxed the on-time streak and will be waiting on the platform tomorrow, then squeezing into a late and crowded train, while missing my shuttle stop at Civic Center.

Hope that's not the case. It sure has been nice to walk up the pair of stairs to read on the scrolling bulletin that the train will arrive right on schedule. I don't have to frantically and impatiently look at my watch every 2 minutes trying to estimate just how brief of a time I have between my Civic Center arrival and my companys shuttle pick-up. If I have one minute in between, I know to roll up my pants a bit, tie my hair back to prepare for a lightning speed sprint up the escalators. If I have under 30 seconds, forget it, I'll just slowly ride the escalators, get a cup of coffee at Starbucks and wait until the next shuttle stop....waste of time!

So, let's hope this on-time streak continues for all of us. If it ends tomorrow, I guess you can blame it on this blog jinx....and count that I will never write about how on-time BART is again!

Citizen Carpool Police Discussion - Part II

I talked about this a couple weeks ago-- the proposed new hotline for drivers to report carpool lane violators. There were some great comments and discussions going on since then from BART Musings visitors.

So today, I had to drive to San Jose for work. I tested just how easy or hard it will be to memorize the license plate number of a car zooming past me in the carpool lane.

I was going about 35 mph, and the solo drivers in the carpool lane were driving about 65 mph. I had about 2 seconds to glance at and memorize the license plate number while trying to pay attention to what's going on in front of me in my own jammed lane. I was able to memorize the number but it was not easy to keep track of everything around me that's going on....I can definitely see how hard it will be to have to call in right there and then and report the violator's license plate number!

Sort of a dangerous task! Harder than I thought. I think this is not a good solution. The only viable options are 1) more CHP during carpool hours, or 2) install a camera device over the carpool lanes like what they have on the bridge toll plazas and a camera snaps when someone is violating the carpool rule. Although this means there needs to be some infrared technology to sense the human body presence in the passenger seats. Might be too advanced for the state.

BART TV and other portals

Have you guys seen BART TV? Not sure how BART is pushing these video and news clips out to the masses but for me, I just randomly came across it last month on the BART website. There are relevant BART news items that may not necessarily be on the local news. Not a bad idea, but too hard for passengers to access to rely on as an up-to-the-minute news update on BART.

MyBART is another interesting portal for BART to connect with the Bay Area community. Have you used it? I haven't. I've seen promotional snippets scrolling on the BART electronic bulletin on the platforms but haven't taken advantage of the discounts and activities. Again, the MyBART web page is not the first place I go to during weekends but it is a good start for BART. Maybe I'll start checking it out more as they fill it up with more discounts and events. Not a bad idea really!

You know what BART REALLY needs??? What BART really needs is up-to-the-second SMS alert on daily train delays. For example, I take the SF-bound train from Orinda. Sometimes my train is 5 minutes late, other times it is 8 minutes late. I would like to know BEFORE I leave my house, or even as I am driving to the station! WHY? Because if I know I have 8 extra minutes, I won't be running yellow-to-red lights, and I won't be breaking my heels running like mad from the parking lot up the escalators to the platform only to find out that my train will not be here for awhile.

When can BART launch this capability?? I don't want the BART schedule on my mobile phone- I have the schedule by memory. I want the updates to delays or an alert saying it is ontime!

A seat for two

This is really tacky. A lovey dovey couple today walked into a crowded train together. They stood through two stops, until one seat in front of them vacated. Now, in a similar situation, my husband would likely ask me to sit while he stands next to me, and if I'm tired, I'll sit, but if not, I'll continue standing with him because it's easier to carry on our conversation.

But this couple, the guy sat down immediately, with the young woman whining that she wants to sit too but refuses to sit away from him. So, instead, he tells her to sit right ON TOP of him! So there they were, doubling up on each other on top of one seat. As the train moved, this "body tower" shifted from left to right, right to left to front, completely getting in the way of the passenger seated next to them. They then pretended they were on a roller coaster ride together. They were young, 20s maybe, but not young enough to act like idiots.

It was completely ridiculous and immature. They continued to sit on top of each other over one seat until the train emptied out at Embarcadero.

Sunny weather = HOT trains

What a beautiful day! It's quite refreshing to be able to wear short sleeves without shivering while waiting for the train on the platform. The comfortably warm breeze actually made me smile on a Monday morning.

Well, that is until I stepped into the train. I immediately felt the hot air, mixed with scent of seat and body odors. People were fanning with newspaper or bookmarks. Someone in my train called the train operator to turn up the AC. I couldn't quite hear the response but if the TO did anything (I'm sure he or she tried), we didn't feel the difference in train temperature.

I felt OK. I was warm and disliked the smell around me, but I wasn't sweating. Others were sweating. One woman even had sweat stains on the front of her yellow T-shirt.

Maybe the AC was broken? It was like an oven in there! I was itching to get out of the train for some fresh air...but when I finally got out at Civic Center, the first whiff of air I breathed in smelled more like urine than fresh summer air.

580 ramp will be rebuilt within 2 months

Wow, by June 29th? That's a lot quicker than I thought. I was expecting 6 months at least. This is a great example of organizations, decision-makers and resources pulling together to get something done quickly and effectively. Here's what Caltrans spokesperson said about the time table.

We'll see what ends up happening, and if they actually meet this timeline, but for now, this time table seems extremely reasonable, even impressive. Makes me feel more confident about the state of CA being able to handle disasters in a timely fashion, when necessary.

I understand this is not close to being a true "disaster" but it's good to know that we are able to plan around a state of emergency. Whether it's a terrible earthquake (knocking on wood this second to keep it away), weather-related disaster or something worse, it is a positive that California appears to be headed towards getting an above-passing grade on this 580-80 connector meltdown setback. It would be nice to have BART back to normal capacity when people are back on the freeway.


**Quick unrelated update: Congratulations to the Warriors!! What a game, effort,and heart! Special congrats to Bruins Baron Davis and Matt Barnes! Hope the Warriors can carry this momentum and energy all the way!

Increased ridership on BART is felt!

Day by day, it has become evident that BART trains are getting more crowded. This morning, even standing room was hard to come by. I thought they were going to increase number of trains?? My train was still an 8 car train, in the thick of commute time.

Each stop we made towards SF, I also noticed that the lines at the platform were longer than usual. Rockridge and MacArthur both had lines swerving towards the stairs. That is defintely not normal.

Train conditions were much worse. More trash and paper left in the train. You see more food violators too. The trains are becoming a big mess!

Today, the train arrived 6 minutes late too- not horrible, but because I need to catch a connection shuttle, I was late!

Lastly, an unrelated note, all the luck, feng shui, and good karma (whatever works!) to the Golden State Warriors tonight! Hope they can close out the series tonight and send the Mavericks home depressed with nothing to do but pack up their lockers.

Improved BART parking situation today

Well, at least in Orinda. I definitely appreciated seeing parking enforcement issuing tickets early in the morning. The immediate impact was very evident! There were a lot more spaces left in the reserved lot today at 8:10am. I saw several white envelopes as decor on several windshields. Thank you, Orinda BART, for making a visible difference in one day! (not sure if anyone there will actually read this, but just in case!)

Have you seen an improvement in parking today? Is BART parking enforcement doing their job?

Take a look at SF Chronicle's article on BART parking situation.

Take a bite! You're on camera!

In response to my rant about people who eat on BART, an anonymous reader posted a comment and created the following:

The reader writes: Here's something you can do: Take pictures of the eaters and post them on this flickr group created just for them!

BART and BART lots overly crowded today due to 80-580 freeway collapse

Day 2 morning is far worse than Day 1. My goodness!!! It was nearly impossible to find parking today, and I have a reserved parking pass! I see a bunch of idiots, possibly forced to ride BART to work due to freeway collapse, parking in the reserved lot without a sticker or a one-day pass. I hope they get ticketed! BART parking enforcement better step it up this week and ticket every violator.

I actually saw a line in front of the BART ticket machines today!! I don't think I've ever seen a long line there before.

The train, by the time it got to my station, was already packed! It is generally never the case...I may not get a seat, but I'd be the 2nd or 3rd passenger standing, not the 20th.

Allow yourself some extra time to find a parking space. Lots such as Orinda and Lafayette are filling up fast from what I heard. Even if you pay $$$ for a reserved monthly parking pass? Ha! Unless BART parking enforcement does something about all the violators, you probably won't have a space either. I had to squeeze myself in a 3/4 space today-- probably left untaken only because it was unfittable for many cars.

BART parking enforcement: Please ticket those people!

BART Police (updated)

After posting my first entry this morning about the questionable characters passengers often encounter on free BART days, I've learned that others actually have experienced similar situations. One reader suggested having the BART police number ready on your cellphone- which I thought was a great idea. A lot of times, if you call the TO during the harrassment, you actually might get yourself into more trouble. But discretely dialing the BART police with your personal phone might be a safer alternative...or you can report someone else being harrassed.

Here is the number for BART police in case you encounter any questionable characters while on BART today. BART POLICE: 877.679.7000

(UPDATED) After a brief exchange with Scott Marshall of Contra Costa Times on 5/1 regarding what best to do in these situations, he recommends the following:

Directly call police communications center, 510-464-7000, but the best way to get help quick is to use the intercom phone on the train.

Just talked with Zone 2's Sgt. Barry Williams. He says you're going to get a much quicker response by using BART's intercom system. You have to decide if it's safe to move to another car. But if you can and pick up the intercom, you go directly to the train operator and you're in contact with the police in seconds.

Describe the people, the behavior, tell them what train you're on and which direction you're traveling. They'll stop the train and investigate. If they can't get to you, they routinely call a local agency (Orinda police, Oakland police, and so forth), who are more than willing to assist another agency (they train for that).

If you call 911, then your call goes directly to the Highway Patrol's Golden Gate Division dispatch center in Vallejo, and then they transfer you to a BART police communications center.

BART status this morning

Not sure if it's because I left very early today, but my BART train was not crowded at all. However, I suspect it is because the system was a few minutes delay (less than 5) and the trains are not spread out by time properly. The train I hopped on arrived 4 minutes earlier (probably a delayed train from earlier) than anticipated, forcing me to sprint up the escalators and stairs. I barely made it on.

Having free BART today was nice but it definitely had its drawbacks and safety concerns. In my train car today was a group of very questionable characters who were literally harrassing passengers around them. They seemed like they were just taking a fieldtrip to nowhere- had no idea how the system worked nor where they are going.

They even ended up harrassing a larger woman, calling her fat, asking her how she got to be this **ckin large. They then started cussing at nearby passengers, asking them what they are looking at. A lot of passengers walked out of the car to another. Then, they started screaming, where the **ck you are going. It was actually a little scary. They looked like they could very well be carrying weapons.

Traffic on the freeway (24) looked like the normal level of congestion as of 7:50 AM. Maybe people are staying home to avoid significant delays?

80-580 Connector Collapse

This is absolutely crazy and the one and only non-negative is that this didn't happen when the interchange was packed with cars. I haven't heard that there were many injuries aside from the driver of the gas truck. And from what I heard from KRON News, he was not the most responsible person. Apparently, the truck flipped over due to fast speed, entire tank load of gas explodes, he gets out of the truck right before, CALLS for a cab to bring him to Kaiser (correction: later reports state that he walked to Kaiser and was picked up by a cab along the way), instead of reporting the explosion ASAP, and after he gets to Kaiser, THEN he FINALLY calls 911 to report the incident! He has 2nd degree burns- yes, that is bad, but what is he thinking not calling 911 right away? There's no guarantee that would have minimized the melting of the connector but still, how could he think that walking to Kaiser would actually be better than calling 911 to A) treat his burns and B) minimize the damage. He was later transferred to St. Francis and will recover fully.

This is going to affect almost everyone tomorrow morning. I am aiming for a much earlier train to anticipate any delays, confusion, changed schedules...etc. My husband cannot even get to work anymore by car and will need to explore BART and bus as an option.

Get ready for a very very messy day on Monday. Free BART and public transit was just announced.

Train Operators, Speak Up!

Let me start by saying that what I'm about to say only applies to some of the train operators I encounter. There are others who speak loudly and clearly, which passengers appreciate.

Today, (actually, this happens many times), our train needed to hold still for a few minutes for some reason that I still don't know because I couldn't hear it! I actually didn't know how long we would be holding because all I knew was the door remained open for at least 2.5 minutes and the TO was mumbling something softly over the system that no one could understand!

We all looked at each other, asking, "what did he say?" "what's the problem?" I don't know if it's a problem with the speakers but a good number of TOs do have this issue. They go on and on about the transfer information (which, by the way, is VERY important to visitors, first timers..etc.), door warnings, or just announce the stations with a whisper when none of us can hear a thing! In this case, I think someone tried to call the TO to ask, but I'm not sure what happened because I never heard a clarification.

We know something is being said, but all we hear are mumbles, whispers, and a lot of noise.

It can't all be because of the noise, because I have encountered many TOs who actaully loudly and proudly announces every bit of important information!

So, is this problems caused by the speaker system/sound, or is it just that many TOs don't want to speak with volume and clarity??

The Citizen Carpool Police - Good start but will it be enough?

Did you guys see the good news today?? SB889, legislation that would set up a hotline and website for us to report illegal carpool lane users passed in the Senate Transportation Committee this week. Check out this article on SF Gate! We're moving one step forward to citizen carpool police- which I applaud.

I ride BART 4 times a week, but once a week, I drive to my company's San Jose location. It is a horrendously long drive. Always, on 680, I see single drivers zooming past me in the carpool lane. Over 10 years ago, I did the same thing and got caught. I've never done it again! There are much better ways to spend $300+ than to give it to the government.

It just drives me crazy seeing just HOW MANY solo drivers freely take up the carpool lane during carpool hours! WHERE IS THE CHP???? I've yet to see someone get caught! Why aren't the CHP patrolling during those hours??

It makes me so angry to see those law breakers get away with it while I am stuck in traffic. Particularly during the stretch from Bollinger on 680S to my turn off on 24W. It is 13 miles but could take up to an hour on a bad day! Yet, these law breakers take up the carpool lane, and then cut me off when their exit is up!

Am I going to use this hotline? YOU BET I AM! The limitation, however, being that it is a citizen-reported incident, is the offender will only get a measly WARNING! Still, better than nothing at all! It is a start, although I'm not sure it's enough.

So all you solo carpoolers, you better watch out for me on 680! I have a good memory and I am on to you!

Hit by computer bags three times today!

It was just one of those unpleasant morning rides today. A lot more crowded than usual for some reason, and everyone seemed to be getting in each other's way. When I finally sat down in a vacated seat after MacArthur station, I didn't realize that I was seated in overhead danger zone.

Because of the many people standing in front and next to me, and all the nearby people squeezing in and out of the aisles, my head got whacked by three different passengers' over-the-shoulder computer bags, during 3 different stops when people are making ways for each other to move out of the aisle.

BAMN! The first computer bag swings right into my head as one passenger tried to turn around to let someone get out of the crowded aisle.

WHACK! Another computer bag hits my head as the passenger excitedly turned around to scoot herself into an empty seat.

THUD! The 3rd bag bumps the back of my head this time as the passenger tilts his body to fit into a tight standing space.

My initial reaction was anger, but then these passengers were so apologetic and obviously didn't do it on purpose that I just smiled and said, "it's ok!"

This happens often on BART. It'll be nice when those new trains w/ extra storage space are finally ready. Maybe that'll alleviate these "headaches"!

Is it up to me to enforce the No Food rule? What would you do?

Saw a girl (who purposely chose to wear a sweater and dress full of holes and rips but she's not homeless) who busted out a big burrito from a brown bag, with a salsa dip, in the middle of a crowded train already lacking fresh oxygen.

Everyone smelled the burrito instantly. She took big bites after big bites and even poured salsa into the burrito after each bite. It was stinking up our entire area! Most of us looked at each other and made an annoyed face. Some even stared her down. But...no one, including myself, actually interrupted her forbidden afternoon feast to say, "Hey miss, you know that food is not allowed on BART??" or something like that.

I thought about telling her from a few feet away but didn't. I then thought about why I didn't...and it's mainly because judging (yes, being very superficial here) by her attire, I would expect her to tell me to **ck off and mind my own business, which in response would trigger me to want to argue back with her, and I just didn't have the energy at that time to engage in a verbal battle. So, I'd rather not deal with it and put up with the smell. I'm wrong, I know, I should probably have said something but why didn't anyone else say anything? We were all suffering from the burrito scensory overload.....we all wanted her to put it away, but why didn't any of us speak out?

I had fought back a few times inside BART or at the station, but as sharp tongued as I am when provoked, I typically prefer to not cause a scene and judging by the way this girl appeared, I think she would provoke me to leave the boundaries of professionalism and courtesy.

What would you do? Now, think a little bit before you immediately say that you'd actually tell her in a crowded train to not eat! I welcome your feedback!

In Boston this week....navigating through the congestion

I'm in Boston this week for business. I've been here before but never had the pleasure of navigating the congestion, traffic, and confusing one-way streets on my own...generally, I'm here in a group where hiring a driver was allowed. Not this time, however. Maybe it's the combination of very bad weather (don't even get me started about my trip here from SFO...I've had enough gas fumes from sitting still for 3 hours in the jetway that I think I probably have lung cancer), Boston marathon + tourists, and the massive size of the tradeshows here this week, it has been very trying getting anywhere by foot or by taxi.

As for public transport, I do not even want to attempt to learn it. I've heard good things about Boston's public transportation but just looking at the intricate map routes confuse the heck out of me. That, plus freezing weather, made me lose my will power to be adventurous. I HAD INITIALLY intended to try it out and compare it with BART and MUNI, but not this time...maybe in my next trip.

Not much to say here except, I'm looking forward to going home and taking BART to work-- at least I know what to expect.

BARTed to SFO again- several first timers asked me questions about transfer, where it goes in SFO, how it works..etc. Do I just look like I know BART or something? Maybe I appear very approachable. Anyhow, I was happy to answer their questions and show them the way.

BART to add 24 workers to cleaning crew

With an estimated $8.9 million budget surplus, BART is planning to expand their cleaning crews. That's good news! I just hope that it will make a visible difference. Will they clean during the day, after morning commute but before evening commute? Will they actually keep up with the frequent spills on the platform level to avoid passengers slipping? Will they actually pick up after fast food wrappers left all over the trains by mid-day riders for daily commuters to find during their ride home? Will they clean off urine, alcohol, throw-up, and other lovely things frequently surrounding the Civic Center BART station entrances (and some other stations I'm sure)?

We'll see if the cleaning crew will make a difference but this is indeed a step in the right direction.

However, I must question: Why is it that the $8.9 million surplus will only add 24 workers? What else will be done with the surplus? Don't tell me we are hiring superpower cleaning workers who cost that much each year? How else is BART using the surplus to help current conditions?

On a side note, expect another fare hike on 1/1/08. 5.4%! Board voted in 03 to increase fares every other year to offset inflation. Boy, BART just continues to get more pricey. How do passengers with lower incomes afford it??

Teaching your kids the right thing on BART

Saw a mom with her little girl who is probably no more than 4 years old. They are seated together in the handicapped seat. The mom whispered something to the little girl and the girl got up instantly and asked a senior citizen to take their seats. It was very sweet. The little girl then made sure she was out of the doorway whenever someone walked in or out, and even when seats became open, she always pointed to anyone who looked "older" and asked her mom if she could ask them to sit down.

It was very cute and refreshing. Especially since there are so many 20 and 30 somethings who DO NOT get up for anyone!

People who dump liquids into the paper recycle bin

Saw a "disaster" from afar today. A man was poking his head into the paper recycle bin at the BART station; flipping through for a copy of today's paper. I'm not sure why he was flipping through copies after copies, digging deeper and deeper, but as he finally pulled out a copy of the paper, I saw dripping coffee all across the paper, and he, unknowingly, clutched the copy of newspaper under his arm, and stained up his shirt. He was very pissed off when he noticed the stain and wetness. He threw the paper out of his sight from the escalator. Luckily, the coffee stained paper didn't hit anyone else.

As I approached the paper recycle bin, I took a quick peak. Yep, there was a large 7-11 coffee cup right on top, and apparently, the coffee has drenched and stained up a thick stack of paper on the very top. I guess that's why he kept on digging deeper for a clean copy but he didn't dig deep enough.

The sad thing is, I am not at all surprised that this happened. I see people throw trash in there all the time, anything from food, bottles, to wrappers. I see people spit in it all the time...and I have even seen puke in it before!

Personally, I'd never pick up a copy of paper from the bin. It's just too risky, especially seeing what this man had to deal with, I would rather stare into space with no reading material than to stain my clothes with someone else's old coffee.

Baseball is back! Know what makes a heated Muni ride?

After UCLA's loss to Florida last Saturday in Final Four, I had to quickly reajust my mindset, get over my depression, and focus on the Giants. I haven't attended a game this week yet but we're going to Friday night's game against the Dodgers and will be taking BART. Great option to have to avoid the horrendous Friday night Bay Bridge traffic while saving $$ on parking.

Those BART/Muni rides to ATT Park are always eventful because you are pretty much putting Dodgers and Giants fans into a small, uncomfortably crowded space (Muni) and we bicker, especially after the game when one side is obviously very pissed off about the loss, add alcohol on top of the emotions and you have a train-full of short-fused sports fans who pretty much hate each other!!

Although I haven't seen anyone get hurt yet. Nothing can be as bad as the Dodgers-Giants game back in 2003 (I think it was 03) at Dodgers Stadium where a Giants fan was shot by a Dodgers fan in the parking lot. I used to live in LA, and I've been there as a Giants fan. Compared to ATT Park, Dodgers Stadium is a very ghetto ballpark with very questionable chracters there who look like they are armed. I definitely didn't feel safe there with my Giants gear.

I hope that I will be a happy fan on my BART ride home. I am slightly more encouraged now seeing their improved performance Thursday night against Padres. Still pessmistic though.

Road rage galore

I had to drive to work today because I needed to carry something heavy home, and there is just no way I can handle that on BART, especially standing. (Note to BART: This is when overhead racks could come in handy, esp. when things can't fit underneath the seat. A few subway systems in Europe and Asia have this.)

Due to spring break and the religious holidays, Bay Bridge was fairly light today until past the toll plaza. During the lane merge, you generally have no problems since every driver knows that one goes behind the other...it is just how everyone normal does it. But some jerk *ss driver decided that he will NOT let me go when it is my turn and just kept on pushing his car forward and forward, not leaving me anyroom to merge.

I definitely am someone with roadrage (that's why BART is better for my blood pressure). And this was one of those incidents that I just could not understand...why the hell would he go out of his way to not let me go when everyone is merging in order????

I couldn't take it. I yelled and gestured with my arms, "WHAT THE **CK ARE YOU DOING? IT'S MY TURN!"

He, as expected, responded, "**CK YOU!" and kept on moving forward.

Then I squeezed my way through, risking him hitting me...but no, the war has not ended, not by far!

Once his car was positioned behind me (as it should be), he started honking at me and flicking me off!! I turned around and told him to "**CK YOUSELF!" and just decided not to even look at him.

He continued on with the honking, the finger giving, and whatever else.....

Not a pleasant commute. True, I got to work about 15 minutes faster than I would have with BART (My BART ride is only 30 min. due to my company shuttle, my commute is 45 min.), and I now have the liberty to drop off the heavy load into my trunk instead of struggling with it on BART, but this *sshole really raised my blood pressure today!

"Just block the doors for me!"

A seemingly first-time BART passengers today did something completely idiotic. It was obvious they were running late since I saw them just being dropped off with their suitcases as I was inserting my tickets in the ticket gate. 2 minutes later, the train arrived.

As I was walking into the train, I see the wife running up the escalators yelling down to the husband, "Hurry, we're going to miss the train! Hurry!"

He was obviously still struggling with the suitcases (they had 2 huge ones) and could not quite hand carry them up the escalators. He yelled back, "Tell them to wait! I'm almost there."

The wife walks into the train, confused, looked around, and then stands in the middle of the doors, yelling, "Hurry, the doors will close soon."

The husband was visible at this point, he was finally making his way up the escalators towards the top, but still needed to drag the suitcases onto the train. He yells, "Just block the doors for me!"

At this time, we heard the warning, "Doors are closing, please stand back from the doors." Followed by the "ding" sound. The wife must freaked out because she didn't block the doors (thank goodness!) and she didn't step out of the train to help her husband. Instead, she ended up in the train, riding with the rest of us to Rockridge!

She was panicking....she must not have had a cellphone on because she didn't attempt to call him. She ran out of the train at Rockridge, stressed out, looking from right to left. I hoped she had the sense to just ride the Pittsburgh Baypoint train back to Orinda and re-unite with her husband there, or just wait patiently for him to arrive at Rockridge and join his train.

The next train was only 5 minutes behind......they really didn't need to put themselves in such a situation.

Pursuit of Happyness

So, I finally watched this movie. I didn't realize what a huge part BART played in it. The bathroom scene was very touching and sad, perhaps might even soften my views a little bit on homeless population in SF. But, having volunteered in shelters and Homeless Connect Days, I know that 99% of the homeless population is not like Chris Gardner, who never stopped trying to get himself and his son into a better situation.

What I wanted to share here was my observation of the BART scenes. Did they actually shoot this in real trains and stations? Because I am pretty certain that in the movie the seats and the floors in the train are much much cleaner than they are in real life. Also, the floors in the station are less stained and more polished than in real life. I realize that the movie was set back when BART was still fairly new, but if they really spent the effort to clean it up for "new-ness" to fit the time of the story, why can't they spend the effort to clean it up for real, for all the passengers that take it daily TODAY?

Did anyone else see the movie? Was it just me or did you think the train seats were cleaner (darker, not faded with stains), and the floors were much cleaner?

As for the side note I made on Friday about UCLA-Florida, I guess my pain has subsided a tiny little bit now. It still hurts and I was pretty down after the game. I'm still extremely disappointed that Gators have devoured my Bruins two years in a row...it was hard to watch, and very hard to swallow. I hope Ohio State beats them in them championship.