Rant of the Day

I am aggravated with the MTA today. I forgot my MetroCard, which gets me on the subway to my office after taking the LIRR.

When you don't have a MetroCard, you have to pay $1.00 for the privilege of owning a new one.  Is the $1.00 a lot of money? Of course not. But we pay a lot of money for transit services as it is. This dollar for a new card, with no value on it, is a slap. A "screw you, we can charge whatever we feel, and you can't do anything about it" charge. 

End of rant. I will now get on with my day. Thanks for listening. And hold on to your MetroCard when it's empty. Don't give them any more of your money than is necessary. 

Ok I feel better now.

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How Many Ways Can I Be Late?

Every day, I try to catch the 7:29 express.  Why?  It's a great train.  It originates from my station, and the doors open 15 minutes before departure time.  This means no standing on the platform waiting for the train in bad weather.  As a train commuter, these things matter, and a lot of things will conspire to go wrong in the morning and make me miss my train.  Let's look at a few.

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Unusual Things Brought On The Train, Part III

In recent posts, I've commented on the interesting things people bring on the train.  I saw a man carrying a bag of extension cords, and a woman with a puppy.  There were the large stuffed animals I won at a company holiday party.  Then, a fellow train observer pointed out that a man in the UK tried to bring his horse on the train.  I'm still amazed by that one.

On May 19^th, the New York Times published an article about the Long Island Rail Road Lost and Found.  People bring interesting things on the train, but what they forget and leave behind can be even more interesting!  Of course, there are the garden variety backpacks, jewelry, and phones.  There's hats, gloves, and umbrellas.  None of these surprise me.  Let’s look at the more unusual ones.

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Unusual Things Brought On The Train, Part II

Recently, I blogged about strange things I've seen on the train.  Well, a Twitter follower alerted me to this 26 second gem of a news clip.  A man tried to bring his pony on the train.  A pony trumps extension cords, large stuffed animals, and puppies any day of the week.  Why did he try to bring his pony on the train?  Who knows.  I suppose even ponies have to get from Point A to Point B.

Watch the video.  It's worth the 26 seconds.

This is why I blog.  The material never fails to present itself.

Happy commuting, and may you encounter uncommon sense.

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Someone once told me that if a street performer made you stop and watch, you owe him a buck. I like to think there's an analogous rule on the Internet. If you read this post and it made you smile, would you give the blog a Facebook "Like?" It's here on the page, you'll find it at the bottom of the screen.

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TheTrainInVain Has a New Domain!

I got the domain!  From now on, you can come to the site by accessing http://www.thetraininvain.com  or http://thetraininvain.com.

While I've got your attention, could I ask you to think of one friend who might be interested in the blog, and send that person a quick note to let them know about it?  I'm trying to get creative to expand awareness.

Thanks for your support!  Happy Commuting.

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Slept Past My Stop. A Lesson Learned

Oftentimes, I poke fun at amateur commuters.  I realize, though, that any professional was once a newbie.  I'm going to share a story about a rookie commuting mistake I made when I first moved to the suburbs after many years of city life.

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Unusual Things Brought On The Train

Most of my blog posts have been about the interesting things people do on the train.  This is the first in a series of however many I come up with, exploring the strange things people bring on the train.  I'm pleased to include a story about myself in this category. 

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Interesting Characters of the Fourth Quarter

Friends, we’ve come to the final quarter of the year for our Long Island Rail Road pin-up calendar of interesting characters.  What a year it is shaping up to be!  In previous posts, I presented the interesting train characters of the first nine months. Now, I'm going to share the final three characters of the year.

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Bus Trials And Tribulations

Today's TheTrainInVain blog post comes from my friend Jill.  Jill and I both grew up in Rockland County, where the best way to get to midtown Manhattan is by bus.  Jill is raising her family there, and she shares a story of how a novice commuter learned the unwritten rules of bus etiquette.

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