The one day metro really worked

One day, I woke up late for work and headed out of the house extremely late. I had 30 minutes to get from door to door, and usually, this is never enough time. But, low and behold, the metro got me to work four minutes early!

As soon as I arrived on the platform, the train came. It ran smoothly. I transferred to the next train. Everything ran smoothly!

A once in a lifetime phenomenon that I just had to share.

Metro price hikes: I have a few minor complaints, so please fix it!

As many of us know, metro has yet again increased the cost of a metro ride. And, what we usually see is the price go up and the quality go down (or stay the same). So, these are a few things that I've noticed on metro that should be fixed since we have to pay more money.

1. The escalator at Gallery Place Chinatown--the one that takes you up from the green/yellow platform to the red platform. It has been broken for almost a month now, and it really slows up the commute.
2. The escalator at DuPont Circle North Exit. That one breaks down every time it rains. And, it has been broken down for a few weeks now.
3. The elevators. I don't use the elevator, but there are always outages everywhere.
   
4. The air conditioning on the platform. If you're gonna make us wait a long time for a train even though it's rush hour, can we at least have the AC working on the platforms.
5. The air conditioning on the trains, in every car. I can't tell you the amount of times I've been on a train that had no AC, and with this heat and humidity, it is much needed.
   
6. The amount of "sick customers", which is code for "We screwed up somewhere." I don't experience this as often as before, but it seems to always happen during rush hour.

I know that my blog gets little to no traffic, so the chances of me sparking a metro change movement is 0%, but it's so fun to complain about these things..

Please feel free to add to the list.

FYI. I heard on the news today that the price increase affected people's smart trip cards not being read properly. Another thing to add to the list = another price hike. DC Metro, please get your act together and stop ignoring and adding to the problem.

Metro Etiquette Part 1

Many of us try to get to our destination, just to get stuck behind some slow person or almost get stuck on the train because someone decides to stand at the door. This has happened to me several times, making me suffer the misery of the hot underground metro station. Here are a few tips of metro etiquette. I'm thinking of printing this and handing it out to people, but I thought I'd share it with my small audience first to get your reactions.

1. Do not hop on the metro and automatically stand in front of the door. Most likely there are other people behind you that are trying to get on the train.
2. Don't stand in front of the door when people are trying to get off. You slow down the flow of traffic and cause people to miss their stop or not get on the train.
3. Please do move to the center of the car... Expeditiously. I can guarantee you that you will get off the train at your stop, even if you are at the center of the car.
4. Do not form a line where it is not needed. (I only say this because lines bother me and often stop the flow of traffic.
5. When someone says "excuse me", try to move. (I'm not a rude person, but I have to push people all of the time because they don't respond to my politeness.)
6. Try to place your bag under the seat in front of you. There is a bit of space for some smaller luggage pieces to go under the seat instead of in the aisles. (My carrier bag fits.) This frees up a lot of space.
7. Be aware of your surroundings. You are not the only person on the train so be aware that people will get off and on at various stops. Be aware that you may have to move to allow people to get off an on the train. And, please be courteous when doing so. Don't just look at people like they are stupid because you are in the way.
8. Tip for tourists especially... Map out your exact route so you won't get in people's way. And please do not get off the escalator and stop to admire the scenery. There are people behind you that are trying to get out of the metro station too.
   

I'm up to eight right now, and I'm sure I'll be adding some at some pint, but please help me out by adding to the list or commenting on the list already published.

Dude, you got her number?!?

A couple of days ago, I observed a phenomenon that happens on the metro often—a dude trying to pick up a girl. I’ve experienced this a few times, and I personally think it is creepy for someone to try to pick me up in the metro. The metro can be creepy at times, so that’s automatically what I think of people that approach me there.

While commuting to work, I saw a dude with a big smile on his face. I noticed the wheels turning in his head as he sat next to an attractive young sister –I mean she was attractive to him of course. He said a few words to her, then he got those digits. I saw the glee and accomplishment on his face then immediately thought of the many men I burned on the metro that tried to get my phone number. Here’s a scenario that happened to me a few weeks ago:

I’m on the metro prepping for a lunch date with a colleague when the man sitting next to me said, “You are so beautiful.” Acting like I was vain so he’d think I was a gold digger and would leave me alone, I said, “I know,” and continued to read my notes. Then he said, can I get your number so I can talk to you. I told him that I had a boyfriend that I talked to often. That still didn’t faze him. He said he just wanted to be my friend. So, I got up and stood at the door to get off at the next stop, which was my stop—I didn’t look back at him or anything.

I know that’s kind of harsh, but after four years of horror stories of men trying to pick me up, I’ve developed a harsh demeanor towards these things. There was the time I tore up a man’s card in front of his face; the time I said I didn’t need any friends to one man; etc. etc. etc.

All of this to ask the question… Do you think it is okay to try to pick someone up at the metro? Would you try it? How would you respond to someone who tried to pick you up?

The Metro Commute from Hell

Monday is the worse possible day of the week, and it was on a Monday that DC metro pushed me to physical and mental limits. As soon as I arrived at my home station (Waterfront-SEU), there were delays because of “a sick customer”. I’m not really buying the sick customer story. I’ve been riding metro for almost four years and never experienced a train that had a sick customer. There were trains that stopped working all of a sudden…

The delay was at L’Enfant Plaza and the trains at Waterfront would share a single track. No one on the platform got that but me and a few other people-that our train would be arriving on the other platform.

To make matters worse, a green line train went back to Waterfront to unload. Hundreds of us stood on the platform, so I tried to strategically place myself so I’d be close to the door when the train arrived. All of this while hearing a woman complain and say, “I’m going home then! I’m going home!”

I got on the train and things ran as usual. There was the crowded train, the people standing at the door that weren’t getting off the train any time soon, the tourists standing in the middle of the platform trying to figure out which side to get off on, etc. And my personal favorite: there was the crowded platform at Gallery Place Chinatown on the Shady Grove platform. (I’m going to do another blog a posting about this travesty.)

When I got to my destination, Dupont Circle, things got a lot worse. The escalator going up was broken, and we all had to walk up (unless we decided to take the elevator that may or may not be out.) I decided to take the stairs to get a workout. I ended up knocking a lady over that was carrying a lot of bags and stopped abruptly while the rest of us were still walking. I was pushed to my physical limits. Breathing hard and sweating, shaky legs and pulsing, I arrived at work safely - barely.

Lessons Learned: (1) Be sure that you have multiple routes to get to your destination. (I have the luxury of living near three metro stations—four metro lines.) (2) Exercise to build up your endurance and stamina because metro will make you walk. If it’s not the broken escalator, it could be that the train at the only station you can use isn’t working and you have to walk to another station.