I say “Excuse Me.” But my eyes say “F*ck off B*tch.”

This morning I get to the train station and the train is only 10 minutes late. This is great compared to the previous days this week. I happily get on the train and head in towards North Station. It was only 8 degrees out but the sun was shining. It was still chilly though.

Once I am at North Station, I am notified that there is a severe delay due to a disabled train. I see that the display board says a train to Forest Hills is coming in 5 minutes. The train after that will be there in 20. So, since I am one of the first on the platform, I have a pretty good shot.

The T pulls in and lots of people get off.  I am truly surprised at the amount of people getting off. We all try to pile in after there is room for us.

An older woman blurts out “ If you haven’t already been on the train, you have no business trying to get on.”

The girl behind me says calmly to her “That’s an interesting way to look at it. Generally when people get off, it allows for people to get on but what do I know.”

The doors close and I am on my merry sardine packed way.

The doors open and close at Haymarket and then we get to State. I am on the opposite side of the train so I need to pass this old irritated lady to get off. Another girl and I say “Excuse me.”  To get by her. She starts screaming at us “2 Stops! Why the hell didn’t you just walk? WHY?”

We were so baffled by her harshness. Everyone kinda just looks at us like “Did she really say that?”  It is below freezing out, windy and had we walked it would have been a mile (uphill both ways! Duh!). We were both bundled up but COME ON! On Tuesday when we had a fiasco and I actually had to walk in 5 degrees, I couldn’t feel my hands and feet when I got to the office…and I was bundled up to the hilt that day. PLUS… oh… we PAID to use the T so um… we will use it.

The girl walking out with me turns to the old lady and says  “Because it’s below freezing out! That’s why!” I chimed in behind her “SERIOUSLY!!” We said “Excuse me.” One more time as she was still in our way. However, this time, I said “Excuse me.” But my eyes said “F*ck off B*tch!” and carried on our merry little way to work.

Happy Friday everyone!

MBTA FAIL! CITY IS PRETTY MUCH CRIPPLED!

I can’t feel my fingers or toes! It wasn’t because I wasn’t bundled up well. I had on wool pants with silk lining, two pair of ski socks on, a heat tech tube top from Uniqlo, a long sleeve shirt, a suit jacket, my knee length EMS down jacket, a cute winter headband, my hood up, gloves and two scarves. So Why? Might you ask can I not feel my fingers and toes. I will tell you why as I sit here and type trying to warm up with my hot cocoa and peaches and cream oatmeal!

This morning when I woke up, I check the weather. It is FIVE degrees! I got MBTA updates stating early trains were running behind. Since I didn’t get any more updates, I assume my train is on time. I leave my house at 7:35am and walk to the train station that is 2 blocks from my house. I get there for the 7:41am train. I wait. My feet start to feel cold but I push through it and sip my coffee. After a little while, I check the message board. NOTHING. I check my apps. NOTHING. Continue drinking my coffee.

I finally run out of coffee and notice lots of people pacing around. Great idea. I’ll do the same to keep my toes warm. By now it is 8:25am and no sign of the train. I look up at the platform and see a swarm of people leaving. They scream that the 8:25am train was canceled! However, if the 7:41am and 7:57am train weren’t canceled, does this mean they are on their way?

I stay put figuring that they must be! All of a sudden I hear “Toot toot tooooooot” coming down the tracks! We all start jumping for joy! Finally! It’s here!!!

The train is approaching fast! Very fast. It’s not slowing down! Not one bit. I realize this is the express train that usually comes before the 7:41am train. I turn my back as I think a breeze/wind tunnel is about to ensue. Once it passes, I look at everyone else…the ones who didn’t turn their backs are sprayed head to toe in fresh powder. I realize that my backside probably looks just like their front side but that’s better than a face full of snow.

The guy next to me says that he is going to give up hope in 10 minutes. I agree with him. I look to my other side and the girl next to me is crying…tears literally freezing to her face!

Just as 10 minutes go by and it is now almost 9am, a train creeps into the station. We are finally on and we creep into Boston.

I get to Boston almost warmed up. Still have a chill. I am looking forward to hopping on the T and getting to work. As I am exiting North Station to head to the Orange line, I hear a woman scream “Orange and Green lines are down! No shuttles either!” I blurt out “Are you f*cking kidding me!?” I hear this statement right after I touched the lucky shamrock plaque that says “Touch for good luck!” How can this be happening? I mean… I touched the f*cking plaque!

I had a Redbox, I needed to return so I head into the T station anyways. PS. Boyhood. Super depressing. Don’t watch it! I get down there and people are complaining saying they have been waiting for 40 minutes for the T. I head back up to the street and consider a cab. No cabs to be found. Uber decides to charges 4 times the rates. I guess I am walking! Yup…one mile to my office in slush and half cleared sidewalks. I walk as fast as I can. After all, it is 5 degrees out! 5! However, what blows my mind is the people taking their sweet a*s time walking. I hastily asked the slow walkers to MOVE by politely…err…ok not politely, more like angrily saying “EXCUSE ME!” I mean really it’s FIVE degrees and you are walking at the pace of a f*cking snail. REALLY!? And it wasn’t just one person doing this…there were quite a few.

Finally…FINALLY! I am inside. With hot cocoa and peaches and cream oatmeal trying to warm up. However, I am not warming up. I am chilled to the bone. I may have to resort to the office Scotch stash!

Good luck getting home everyone!

Garth Brooks

I just played an awesome game I like to call "Dodge the Garth Brooks Fans"! I have nothing against them but I feel like they are more doe eyed than the Bruins and Celtics fans! That's OK though...it was fun...really....i don't mind almost missing my train!

That is all.....

Get Your Junk Out of My Hand!

This morning it was freezing out! I decided to take the T instead of walk to the office…at 16 degrees without even counting the wind chill, I figured that was the best bet. I waited for the T. One train had come and gone and I had been waiting for a bit so when the next train came, I made sure I got on.

I boarded the train and put my bags between my legs while still holding the handles. A man decided to wedge himself on to the train and thrust his junk into my half open hand that was holding my bags handles. This, my friends is shockingly not the first time it happened but it got awkward once I realized I couldn’t move my hand anywhere else and he seemed to be enjoying the fact that his old man balls landed in the palm of my hand. GEEZ! What a delightful Tuesday morning! OY VEY Buddy!

Once we got to Haymarket, I was able to get off the train away from this creep and get back on in a spot that wasn’t remotely close to him. Although, once I got to State Street, he was blocking the door and couldn’t seem to get out of my way until the person behind me pushed me into him…thankfully into his back and not his junk again!

He moved out of the way and I escaped and was on my way to the office. Maybe I should have just sucked it up and walked. HMM!!

My Custom Fur Hat!

My day was made today. I got off the train at North Station and was walking to the T. This woman in front of me turned around to hold the door for me and as I said “Thank you.” And walked through it, her eyes grew big and fixated on my hat.

“I just love your hat!” she said.

“Thanks!” I said as we walked toward the T.

“Where did you find something like that? It’s exquisite!” she asked.

“I had it custom made because it matched my hair perfectly! The guy is out of western Mass I think.”

Now, let me tell you about this hat. My friend and I went to an art show and saw this guy who made these beautiful hats, vests, jackets. When we were in his booth we saw this beautiful fur that was the same color as my hair! This is rare for me!! I didn’t like the suede the fur was paired with so he offered to custom make one just for me. It cost a pretty penny but it was beyond worth it! I have worn this hat twice in the cold weather. It is soo unbelievably warm that I wear it when it’s absolutely freezing out and I have gotten so many compliments on it in just the two times I have worn it.

“What is his name?” She asks.

I couldn’t remember but he put his tag in my hat so I took the hat off and read it too her. She grabbed a scrap paper from her purse and a pen and wrote down all of his info. She was so excited to look him up and get one down herself.

I just love when fine craftsmanship is recognized! It certainly is a one of a kind piece and he got the recognition he deserved!

Happy New Year Everyone!!

Parking Ticket

This has absolutely nothing to do with the train but here is an entertaining delightful neighbor story for you! For those of you that are my Facebook friends…I took matters into my own hands after the parking ticket which was clearly my last straw!

Friday, I wake up to the sound of rain. I thought “Oh wow! It is pouring outside but it seems peaceful.” I close my eyes and then realize “Oh sh*t! That isn’t rain! It is in the condo!” I leap from my bed and see in my bathroom a waterfall coming from my ceiling fan and on to my floor. I frantically grab a bowl from the kitchen and hope that I can contain it. I then grab my cell phone to call the girls upstairs. They ignore my call. I text them. I don’t hear anything. I knock on the door…NOTHING! I hear them making noise up there so I know they are up.

After the water stops, I hear a knock on my door. I answer it and say “Oh! You must have gotten my message.” She is shocked and says she didn’t. I tell her my bathroom is flooded. She takes a look. Doesn’t offer to clean it up and says “Oh, we took a bath together and then I flushed the toilet.” Um, yes…they took a bath together at 6am! She apologized and I said “Is it flooding up there? Do you think the bath over flowed? Anything?” She claims nothing is wrong. Goes upstairs. I’d like to point out that she didn’t offer to help clean it up or see if a plumber could come out and see if it is a pipe internally. Just says “I came down to see if you could move your car so we can get the oil tank out of the basement.”

“I can’t park on the street. I don’t have my resident permit yet.” I tell her. Actually, it was on my to do list for that day because I took the day off to get things done that I normally couldn’t get done because I was at work. She tells me that she called the town and they said it was OK and to just park in front of the house.

I move my vehicle. When I get back inside I go to use the bathroom and I hit the light switch. The electricity in the bathroom fizzles and crackles and fades in and out. I immediately shut the light off. This is not only a plumbing issue; it’s an electrical issue too! I call upstairs because this is a problem from them! They again ignore my call, text and knock! I move my vehicle back to my parking space that blocks the basement. I figure they will have to talk to me if they can’t get what they need done!

Knock on the door finally happens! I tell them that this is a bigger issue than we thought. I state that a plumber needs to be out and an electrician too. I agree to move my car if she makes the call.

After I move my vehicle, I run down to my laundry room to start washing my bathroom mat and towels that got all yucky. When I go in, I realize that someone has broken into it! I look around and notice a drainage tube piped in to my basin. I am fuming at this point! I felt so violated.  I follow the tube and it is connected to their new furnace.

I tell her what happened and she says she had no idea but the plumber would be out at some point today. I wait around the house on my day off and all of my errands take a back burner including my permit!

I get another knock, they are leaving but left their door open so if the plumber needs to go upstairs, he can. While I am waiting for the plumber, I needed to hop in the shower because I was going to a party later on. I ask a friend if I am able to take a shower if I don’t turn the lights on. I get the OK and shower with a flash light and candle. GOOD TIMES!

A few hours later the plumber hasn’t come but the neighbors get home. They head upstairs. A little while later, the plumber gets there. It happens to be the plumber that installed the furnace. He goes in to my bathroom and says it is certainly not anything to do with my bathroom and then checks out the lights and gives me the OK to turn them back on. He then needed to go upstairs. He calls the neighbors, I call them, he knocks, he rings the doorbell…no answer! NOTHING! While we are waiting I take him to the basement and ask about the tube in my laundry room.

“OH ya! Nick opened that up to drain into the basin.” He says.

“Oh Nick did! Does Nick know he was breaking in to my space? That lock on the door didn’t give it away that that is not common space?”

“Umm…wellllll….” He has no idea what to say.

“Did he get permission to go in there because he didn’t get it from me?”

“Ummm….” The guy has no idea what to say!

“Regardless, what is done is done but I am not happy about this! I keep things in here that I don’t want in common space. If there is a lock and you don’t have permission to go in there…Don’t go in there! It’s as simple as that!”

He feels awful and I know he didn’t do it but his company did. He goes back upstairs to try and see if the neighbors will let him in. They don’t and he leaves! AND I am left with no solution and wasted my day at home waiting for a plumber that couldn’t do sh*t for me.

I get ready for a party and try to forget my ridiculous day. I am happy and cute and head to my car. As I am on my way, I see a police car leave and a ticket on my windshield.

I LOSE IT!!! That was the last straw my friends! Bullsh*t she asked the town if I could park out front! I follow the officer to the station. I NEVER do this! I NEVER ask for favors! I walk into the station in tears! Explain my horrible day and show him my phone with my outlook reminder to get my permit today but since I waited for the plumber all day, I couldn’t.

He is kinda irritated at first. Then he totally sees how upset I am…or he thought I was crazy and wanted me to leave. Either way, I didn’t care. He looks up my driving record. He tells me he “will take care of” the ticket. Then he gets a resident parking permit for me. Fills out everything and slides it under the glass to me. I didn’t have my checkbook but I had cash. I asked what I owed him for the permit. “You’ve had a rough day. Don’t worry about it!”

AHH! Finally a break! I left there and was on my way to the party.

PS It’s Monday and still no solution to my plumbing problem. It hasn’t leaked so I am hoping it was just overflow from two people taking a bath together! Let’s hope that’s all that is!

I Carried a Shower Curtain Rod on the Train

So, yesterday I went to TJ Maxx in Downtown Crossing to see if I could find some Christmas gifts for some people I am stumped on. I round the corning and see this perfect shower curtain rod that I NEED! It’s the rounded one that gives me extra space AND it BOLTS into the wall! Let me tell you why it needs to bolt into the wall…

When I first moved in to my condo, the guy who lived there before me offered to take me to dinner. I accepted and he gave me pointers on the house, the quirks of the house and the down low on the neighbors! He also showed me around town to help me familiarize myself with key places like Starbucks and Whole Foods! VERY IMPORTANT to know!

During his “down low” on the neighbors he informed me that I was in a safe neighborhood except…he stops! EXCEPT for the HOME INVASION that happened NEXT DOOR! He believes it was an isolated incident. However, having moved in to a new place and I hadn’t yet installed my house alarm, it concerned me.

That night I went to bed. At about 2am I hear this HUGE bang! I grab my pepper spray, phone and keys. I read somewhere that if you don’t have a home alarm, keep your keys near you so if anything happens, you can press panic and some alarm will sound and hopefully spoof the intruder. Also, if I got the dog and myself out of the house, I could speed off in my bare feet and pajamas!  I sat in my bed looking at my big huge dog curled up next to me. I look at her and whisper “Now would be a good time to start barking!” She does nothing. “Go get ‘em! Ahhhh….Attack!” I whisper to her. Again. She stays put.

I creep in the hall way and realize, this awesome house build in 1910 didn’t have a hall way light installed. I do the next best thing and flip the switch in the bathroom with pepper spray aimed and ready. I glance in the bathroom and what do you know? Oh, the shower curtain rod fell down! Crisis averted! No home invasion here!

So, yesterday, I bring my lovely prized shower curtain rod on the train. It’s huge! I probably smacked a few people in the head with it as I walked by. I tried soo soo hard not to but it was inevitable! I just barely made the train and it was standing room only. So, guess who got to stand on the commuter rail with her prized shower curtain rod? ME! It felt like everyone was looking at me. Wondering…why on earth would you bring that thing on the train! Well…now we know! And if I smacked you in the head with it as I walked by… super sorry!!

That is all!