happy new year!

Going to take BART out to the city tonight, instead of driving. Much safer, quicker and cheaper on one of the busiest and dangerous night driving across the Bay Bridge.

Thanks for being part of my daily commute in 2006. Happy new year, everyone!

Ugh....back to work on Tuesday!

Done with work for the year, but not done with BART!

Tomorrow is our last day of work since the company shuts down the week between Xmas and New Year's Day. I'll be working from home tomorrow and have had my last BART ride to work of the year!

Thanks for hearing me vent about (and sometimes compliment) BART all year and thanks for all the comments, whether you are agreeing, disagreeing, or just writing me to tell me that I'm ridiulous :)

I'll likely have one more BART ride before the year is over....that is riding to Emerald Bowl (ATT Park) on 12/27 to watch my UCLA Bruins play against Florida St. Seminoles in a meaningless bowl game. I'll see if I encounter anything worth writing about there, like if some Florida native is holding up the BART doors for his/her family and delaying everyone's trip!

In case I don't write again before the new year (although it's likely I will since I am not leaving for vacation or anything)-- Happy holidays, everyone!!

BART tickets? Not the worst gift!

I overheard someone say that the worst gift they've ever received for Xmas (secret santa) was a stash of BART tickets. I don't think it's that bad! I mean, you will always have a use for them, if not now...then later in life! Or, you can always sell them for a lower price? That's not a bad gift at all! Not the most exciting gift for sure, but very very practical!

You know what the worst is I've ever received? Actually, it wasn't just for me. It was for my husband and me together, which actually makes it WORSE! It was an extended family secret santa exchange. Keep that fact in mind because that's what also made this so terrible- you are giving a gift in front of all your relatives to another family member!! Pride and reputation is involved here.

Anyhow, we received a fake gold plated set of manicure set (gold clippers, gold tweezers...etc) with a dusty and yellowed plastic film over the instruments, inside a rubbery smelling fake leather zip-up pouch. The worst part was...inside one of the nail clippers was a nail clipping!!!

I don't know how this particular relative found (or dug up) this old manicure set from the 70s (judging by the yellowed plastic covering) but this was either an "innocent" re-gift, or a complete act of cheapness.

So, BART tickets for Xmas? I'll take that anytime over old gold nail clippers!

Carpet vs. plastic floors?

I've been wanting to discuss this topic for quite a few weeks now. BART announced that it plans to replace dirty train carpet with plastic, easy to clean floors? Good idea? I definitely think so!!

The carpet is so dirty that I really can't picture in my head what the color was like when it was new? Something blue-greenish I think? We often see gum, blood, coffee stains, fruit roll-up chunks, pen stains all over the carpet...plastice floors will be a welcomed change!

Of course, there will still be inconsiderate people who prefers to throw their gum on the plastic floors (they just need to be fined!), but this decision is already a huge step forward!

Read the article about BART flooring here.

5 more work days until time off!

These 5 days before the holidays are the best in terms of commuting to work. For those of us who still have to work these 5 days leading into the holidays, at least we get to enjoy lighter traffic, open seats on BART, more parking spaces at the stations and just fewer people in our way in general.

I also tend to be in an extra good mood during the week before Xmas; a lot more tolerant, a lot more sociable and a lot more considerate on BART :) Who knows, maybe I'll only have good things to write about next week on BART musings.

Hope you all are almost done with your holiday shopping! I'm only about 50% done and running out of ideas!!!

Smooth sailing today except...

Today's ride was actually enjoyable. No mishaps and early arrival. Best combination.

However, as soon as I took two steps out of the train upon my arrival, I heard a loud and vulgar sound. It was the sound of a man hurling and puking into the train tracks. After round one, he loudly cleaned out his stomach and throat yet again to let out another colorful pile onto the tracks. Juding by the volume, it seemed like he was in a lot of pain. But, after puking twice into the tracks, he grabbed his bag and walked on.

The sound is clearly engrained in my head still. At least 50 people heard and saw him. I bet I know what they're thinking of as they walked to work this morning.

Rainy days are always bad days on BART

I can't even begin to discuss how many things went wrong today. I prepare myself for a bad BART ride everytime I see rain but today was beyond expectations. First, the estimated 5-7 minutes delay was actually more like 15-17 minutes. Of course, when the trains are THAT delayed, each train is packed to beyond maximum capacity. Wet umbrellas were sticking to me. There were passengers with luggage trying to squeeze on, but have no clue that they just landed their luggage on top of someone's foot. There are passengers who refuse to step out of the train for a moment to let other passengers get off at a stop. Then there are waiting passengers who insist on squeezing onto the train when there is evidently no room left.

I stood between two tourists with horrendously bad breath. They were probably just 4 inches away from my face. They kept on talking and talking. I wished I still had my cold so I didn't have to smell them anymore. Don't they smell each others' breath?? How could they stand it?
I turned my neck unnaturally to the left to try to get away from their breath.....now I have a neck sore.

But this was not all. The delay caused me to miss two company shuttle pick-ups. I was about 7 minutes from the next pick-up so I thought I could treat myself to a hot cup of coffee at Starbucks. Usually, 3-5 minutes is enough time to get some coffee. But today, an idiotic cashier was working the lines...she was not only slow but messed up on people's orders. Then, they ran out of coffee! The cashier DIDN'T KNOW how to make a new fresh pot....and held up the line for about 3 minutes.

Finally, I looked out the STarbucks window and saw my shuttle pass by me. I thought I could still make it if I got my coffee right then! But of course...I didn't get it until 2 minutes later, and missed the shuttle.

Horrible start to the day.

Sometimes we just need a reminder

This morning, instead of taking BART to SF, I felt the urge to drive and deal with the traffic. I got a hot cup of eggnog latte and was ready to face whatever condition of traffic on the Bay Bridge. For some reason, I didn't mind the traffic today. I am still a little under the weather and just preferred to sit still in my own car than dealing with people on BART.

Not only that, I just felt like thinking in silence today. A former co-worker of mine (James Kim) was found dead after 11 days missing in Oregon and although we had not spoken in nearly 3 years, his ordeal brought out a series of emotions in me, as it did to everyone. From shock, worry, optimism, sadness, to self-reflection, I was reminded again how vulnerable life is and how often we wrongly prioritize things in life.

Instead of focusing on the Bay Bridge traffic today, I decided to look around, enjoy the gorgeous Bay view and weather. It was like rediscovering just how beautiful the Bay Area is. I even had an appreciation for the progress on the new bridge construction as I examined the beams, rods, and new concrete. Of course I know this positivity will last forever (or past this week), but at least for today, I will not let little things like traffic delays or no parking irritate me.

I really have a great life and am truly lucky.

Attack of the birds

BART was 6 minutes late today and caused me to miss my shuttle pick-up. I had the wonderful opportunity to "sightsee" in the lovely Civic Center BART vicinity today.

First thing I saw was a homeless man peeing in the corner. Apparently he missed, peed on part of his sweats, and was cussing and screaming into the sky.

Second thing I saw was frightening. I don't like birds, especially if there are many of them together. I also don't like them to be too close to me (had a bad aviary incident in a zoo about 7 years ago). Someone dropped a large, whole chocolate chip cookie on the ground. This cookie was huge, about 4.5 inches wide, with lots of chocolate chips! This cookie probably fell 3 feet in front of me! Suddenly, pigeons and other birds from all over the area flew right in front of me and started fighting for the cookie. There were at least 50-60 birds of all sizes. They were all trying to get a piece of it. Those who couldn't get close enough to the cookie decided to peck each other to fight their way in. It was vicious and ruthless. They were pecking at each others' heads, wings...anything...just to get an inch or two closer to the cookie. After all that pecking, the cookie broke into 2 pieces. The birds then fought for positioning all over again.

I took a few steps back and just watched these birds feasting on this cookie. FINALLY, one bus pulled over to park...the birds realized they had to move, and all 50-60 of them just flew up, over my head. Yes...my fear...I let out a quick squeal from the shock, but pretended nothing had happened to save face since there were several people near me.

I'm not acting

I don't know what happened or what I ate, but I woke up this morning feeling pains in my stomach and felt the constant urge to regurgitate (sorry!). I knew that BART would be a tough ride today. I saw an empty seat on the train, but it was a "handicapped" seat. I usually avoid taking those seats, but today, I actually felt like I needed to.

Mid-way through the ride, a woman in her late 40s maybe, tells me that she needs to sit down because she can't keep her balance. There were 3 men seated in the other handicapped seats- one overweight, one appeared to be asleep and the other is a senior. (Not trying to suggest anything here- that debate took place a few months ago, in a couple other blog entries). I guess I was the person most likely to give up my seat in this situation. But I really did not feel well. I continued to fight back any urge to throw up.

So, I told her nicely, "I'm sorry, I really don't feel well today, I need to sit down." She didn't buy it but before she can get mad at me, another male passenger a few feet away told her she can have his seat. Confrontation avoided. She sat over there and left me alone.

I just continued to close my eyes with my head back. No one else asked me to give up the seat. I made it OK to work, but now I have to deal with the rest of the day, hoping that this sickness or whatever it is will just go away!

Go ahead, ask me why I am sneezing and sniffling!

The ride to work this morning was painful. I was sniffling and sneezing nonstop. No, I do not have a cold. My nose and sense of smell was attacked by a man wearing way too much cologne. I wanted to change seats but there wasn't anywhere else to sit and with my heavy bag today, I didn't want to stand. The strong scent from the cologne was bothering me the entire time- it was absolutely overpowering. I first fought back the sneezes but it was almost like poison and within a minute or two, my nose and any sense of nasal control I had left completely gave in.

I sniffled and sneezed. This man kept on looking at me, seemingly annoyed that I was having nasal issues. His looks turned into impatient stares. I just stared at him back.

I wanted him to ASK ME WHY I WAS MAKING NOISE??? WHY WAS I SNIFFLING AND SNEEZING EVERY OTHER MINUTE???? OR TELL M I AM MAKING TOO MUCH NOISE! GO AHEAD, ASK ME!

Because if he did, I would have LOVED to take that opportunity to be a bitch and tell him that his cologne stinks and putting on cologne does not a) attract dates, b) cover up any body odors, c) boost self confidence, and d) take place of showers.

Must be the "holiday spirit" ?!?

I don't know if it's because the holidays are coming up, and you see red, green, fake snow and lights everywhere, but something in the air is making BART passengers very social and friendly to each other. I've been seeing strangers striking up conversations randomly and talk the entire way through the ride...some even go as far as exchanging business cards!!

BART passengers generally try to avoid talking to each other. We usually bury our faces in reading material, sleep, or completely tune out to surrounding noises with music. It is quite rare to see someone say, "Oh! I like your phone! Where did you get it?" and start blabbering away from there on.

I have not yet sat next to someone who wanted to chat...I don't know if I want to. I love the holidays but when it comes to socializing early in the morning when I'm still sleepy, or socializing in the evening when I'm completely drained by work, I remain a Scrooge! However, in my defense, I will always be polite should someone talk to me!

Got so lucky today!

As lame as this sounds, what I'm about to describe is one of the most satisfying and gratifying moments I've experienced as a BART passenger. It doesn't happen often but when it does, I feel like I've won something huge or I've beat the system.

OK....so I had no idea there was a bad BART delay today until after I got on the train. I drove to the station and parked my car like I normally would. Due to slightly lighter traffic, I got there a few minutes earlier than usual, leaving me about 8 minute before my train is scheduled to arrive. I thought, oh great, I'm too early, I'll now have to stand out in the freezing cold (32 degrees in Orinda) for waiting for the train.

Usually, when I have this much time left before my train, I take my time walking to the station and I stand on the escalators instead of walking up the steps. Today, because I was so cold, I thought maybe I'll just jog to get my body temperature up.

I ran to the station and as I inserted my ticket in the gate, I heard the train arrive. I thought it might have been the train going towards Pittsburg but I still ran up the stairs anyways. Lucky that I did because I barely made it onto the San Francisco train!! The next SF/Daily City train is 18 minutes behind!!!

Whew...I was pretty proud of myself. I felt like I stole one and got lucky. Otherwise, with the delay, I probably would have missed 2 shuttle pickups to work and not get in until 10am.

Maybe I should buy a lotto ticket??

The every-other-step rule

On the up-escalator today, a woman with a huge backpack violated the every-other step rule and almost caused a dangerous downward domino affect. She was clueless. She was SO fickle about where she wanted to stand on the escalator. She looked like she was about to take on the step that is two steps above mine but then suddenly changed her mind and just casually and cluelessly took one step down.

As she did that, her oversized backpack pushed my face! She had no clue! I lost my balance. I was tipping backwards. My torso leaned backwards unnaturally in a desperate attempt to hold my body upright without causing the passengers behind me to fall over. Luckily, the man in back of me saw what happened and anticipated that I would be stepping backwards to hold my balance. So, he stepped back, right when I suddenly placed one foot back to hold my body upright.

This woman had no clue what she did and just walked out of the station.

Stupidity or misinterpretation?

Ran into something outrageous today. I think this couple has never ever taken BART. They had 5 pieces of luggage with them and looked really winded in front of the station agent's window. I had some extra time so I wasn't running as usual...I slowly walked towards the the ticket gates and got a good portion of their conversation.

Apparently, they were very upset with the station agent and BART for some reason. I listened closely and found out that they were waiting by their parking space for over 20 minutes for the BART shuttle (first of all, no such thing) to pick them up from their space to bring them and their 5 pieces of luggage to the ticket gates. They saw the "County Connection" buses and mistaken them for BART parking shuttles. The couple said BART shouldn't have advertised that holiday travelers can park their long-term and take BART to the airport because long-term airport parking lots transport the patrons and their luggage.

I know how large and expansive some BART parking lots can be...especially for people with suitcases, but this is just plain stupid! Have they never taken BART? Do they actually think that BART cares about people's ability to carry 5 suitcases while walking a quarter mile to the platform?

Quite an entertaining little observation.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Driving on Empty

No BART for me today since I had to drive to San Jose for work. Traffic wasn't too terrible on 680 since a lot of people have already left for Thanksgiving. I was trying to make a 10am meeting and it was already past 9am. I needed every minute. My fuel level was probably at about 2 notches over the 1/4 mark when I left home this morning and I figured on a light traffic day, I should be able to make the roundtrip (120 miles) on over a quarter tank of gas left! HOW WRONG I WAS!

By the time I got to San Jose, a quarter tank was gone....the fuel was probably just 2 notches over "E" at this point. I knew that I would need to fill upfor sure before I reach Orinda, but I was hoping maybe I could fill up around San Ramon, or somewhere else off 680 that I am sort of familiar with and know it's safe to get gas. The gas stations near my San Jose freeway entrance are pretty shady and I've never had good experiences there....so I try to avoid filling up there when I can. Besides, I wanted to beat rush hour traffic...so yet again, every minute of headstart counts.

Within 3 miles on the freeway, the needle dropped to "E" for some reason. I knew I could still get at least 15-20 miles out of what is left of the tank so I kept on going. Well, around Sunol Grade/Sunol Pass, I started hearing loud airy pumping sounds whenever I stepped on the gas pedal. Whenever I stepped hard on the pedal, I noticed the car was not going faster. I took the nearest exit, hoping that there's a gas station....and to my dismay, there wasn't ANY in sight. I kept going, passing 3 lights. The car, at this point, was really not moving much anymore. Then I thought I saw a Chevron sign..I very slowly turned in but noticed it was a Speedy Oil Change with a "Chevron Lubricant" sign. Oh great...I thought....what the heck am I going to do?

The mechanics at Speedy Oil Change were nice enough to dump in some gasoline (from a huge 10 gallon tank) into my car, spilling gas everywhere. They also told me that the nearest gas station was 4 miles down and it would not have been good to get stuck on the street without gas since it wasn't the best neighborhood.

I guess I got pretty luck that I was able to land my car there. I made it to the gas station, filled up and drove back home.

This was the first time ever that I've ran out of gas. I usually am pretty careful about filling up before a long trip but today...I don't know what came over me. Glad things worked out OK.

Tomorrow...I'm happy to be back on BART!

It's been awhile...

Wow, I think aside from vacations, this really is the longest lapse between posts. It's been one nutty week- on top of a very stressful week at work, I was also ill with bad food allergies.

The only noteworthy thing from BART this week was seeing fresh barf stains during one of my morning rides. It looked like someone make an effort to clean it, but there were still bits and pieces of particles left behind in addition to the big, heavy smear of residues. There was a faint but very recognizable lingering scent around the area. I was already feeling sick in my stomach from my food allergies and seeing and smellin the stain only made me sicker. I had to rub my hands with my coconut lotion and cover my nose with it to prevent myself from creating another stain for the rest of the passengers. I was glad to make it through the ride without causing a scene.

I'm looking forward to a light commute next week with many people taking the entire week of for Thanksgiving.

Good BART, bad shuttle

It's really been too good on BART this week. It's been on time, I get a seat the way there and back, and I haven't ran into anyone abnormal, inconsiderate, or annoying on the train. Wow!

On the other hand, it is my company shuttle that has been late and keeping me out in the cold, windy and VERY smelly corner of Market & 7th. With the extra minutes that I had around the Civic Center area, I got to do a lot more sightseeing. I saw a homeless man screaming **CK YOU at everyone who walked by him, a disoriented homeless woman wearing leotard, torn stockings and an old smelly jacket mumbling to herself, and another homeless man looking into the trashcan, throwing out items he didn't want to eat and stuffing the items he does want to eat into his mouth. Very sad observations...and they say homeless population in SF has declined?? Perhaps it has, but in the last few years, the homeless population in the Civic Center area seems to only have increased.

Anyhow, I hope the luck I've been having with BART continues! Hope I didn't jinx it.

Performers at stations

Especially along the downtown SF exits, there are always performers inside the station, by the exit elevators. Whether it's a string quartet, gospel singer, saxaphone, harp, barbershop singers, mariachi or Chinese instrument, you always expect some form of entertainment when you exit one of the downtown stations.

I always wonder though, if they take a spot on a first come first serve basis. It seems like there is a different one each day of the week, but on a given Friday, or a Tuesday, you see the same performer.How do they work out the schedule, if there is one? Or is it truly just first come, first serve.

I also wonder how much they make? I think the good ones do pretty well! I've seen the same gospel singer many times and he is really good! I always give him a buck, and see many others open up their wallets. The mariachi guitarist is not very good at all. The mariachi guitarist is not very good- he cannot sing in tune- it might just be better if he sticks with guitar! His guitar case is always near empty, with a couple coins, and I've yet to see someone give him money.

What I don't understand is why a string quartet would sit inside the station to perform? Is it to practice? They can easily get at least $500 for playing an hour at a wedding. Do they need the spare change that badly for all 4 of them to get out there with a cello case open?

Well, for whatever reason, I think it's good that they're out there, making a few bucks, with their musical talent!

Oh yes, it's Halloween!

I forgot it was Halloween today until I saw a man on BART putting on white paint on his face to finish his ghostly look. His hair was spiked with some red, blood-like streaks and he attached a fake ax on his head. He frightened me initially until I realized, oh yeah, it is Halloween!

You just don't see too many adults dressed in costumes at work anymore...although I did see a man dressed up in a large, full-on dinosaur or lizard costume at my work. A few people had shirts, wigs and buttons, but not a lot of costumes.

Happy Halloween, everyone!