Woods

The woods fronting my train station. And also the station itself. Don't the trees seem very Fork-ish? Doesn't it look like Edward will come leaping out of those woods to feed at any moment? I thought so.

A Monday circus

Today was definitely a Monday morning, no question about it. First, I woke up to rain and gray skies. While feeding the cats, I forgot to close the pantry door all the way, which meant Nomad and Moxie managed to get into their bag of kibble and go to town on it. When I came back downstairs half an hour later they were both smacking their lips and looking at me guiltily. By then I was running late so I couldn't give them a proper scolding. After many false starts, I managed to get myself out the door and at the train station, where I found out that my train was going to be a whole hour late due to a disabled circus train blocking the tracks down south somewhere. A circus train, you say? That's right - a circus train. Somehow the idea of a circus train on what was turning out to be a circus of a Monday was poetic irony. But it's not over yet. I then slog back to my car in the worsening rain, race over to the other train station (which is on a different line) hoping that I could catch the last train there, risk life and limb by sprinting up and then down the numerous staircases, and managing to get on board that train in the nick of time, hyperventilating all the while. Needless to say, I was exhausted and ready for a nap by the time I finally made it in to work.

Commuting cartoons

Because I've been in raptures over my daily commute to and from the city - enabling me to come home at the end of the day in a great state of mind - I thought I would pay homage to how much the train has improved my quality of life by sharing some funny cartoons that I found. The first one is especially apropos.

Why I love trains

One of my fondest memories of living in Europe was of all the trains you can take to go places: the Chunnel from Paris to London, the train to Provence, the overnight train to Spain (this one in particular was my favorite, especially when the conductor came in to your compartment to convert the seats into bunk beds, and then the next morning you woke up and looked out the window to find the train chugging along, clinging to the side of a mountain with nothing between you and God but a sheer drop to the bottom. Awesome).

Anyway, I was reminded of how much I love trains because I recently started taking the commuter train to and from work instead of the subway, and I am in love. It is wonderful. My new mode of transport cuts my commute down by almost 45 minutes, there are no tourists or smelly people, and you can see the river and the boats docked on the marina as the train approaches the city, whistles bellowing. It's lovely. I also especially love the moment when you detrain on the platform and look up at the giant train waiting there; it reminds me of the Hogwarts Express and of old 1940s war movies.

And these are why I love trains.