July 12, 2013 – My week started out with my “lack of memory” causing a big scheduling snafu in our 2013 plans; specifically a well thought out doubleheader with UCF and USF. My nieces bat mitzfah falls on the same Saturday as our USF game in Tampa. It’s not like the date her party hadn’t been carved in stone since 2009 or anything. What an F up!!! So now we are breaking up a clear opportunity for a doubleheader in the future to see a Thursday night UCF game in Orlando, and then running back to NYC on Friday. Miserable!!! So since I am really pissed off at this, I thought I would take out some of my anger on other people in New York in an effort to make me feel better:
Let’s start with the dog walkers. See, I’m not the one who is very concerned with the poop on the street that dog owners leave behind. Yes, it is gross, and yes, they really should clean it up, but I am looking for it and thus will rarely or never step in in (knock of wood). What really bothers me is the stupidity of these owners who let their dogs pee up against the buildings. Don’t they realize the sidewalk slopes to the stress for rain run off? Now your dog piss is running down the sidewalk, people are walking in it, I am walking in it, walking into my office, my car, my home….disgusting. Pee on the curb.
Tourists…listen, I get you don’t know how to walk on city streets, especially NYC (and I will blog later about “how to walk in NYC”) but really, ALL the buildings are tall. Take a picture of any of them. BIG, yes very BIG. And while you are at it, step aside. Don’t stop short while walking n the middle of the sidewalk to take that “perfect picture”!!! The building is SO FREAKING BIG that if you step 3 feet left or 3 feet right, the picture will come out EXACTLY THE SAME. Just some free advice there from this rocket scientist.
And while we are on the subject of walking, just some obvious common courtesy items. First, when walking, I think the rules of the driving road should be followed to the point that you walk to the right of someone coming at you. There should be no uncomfortable stop and guessing. Second, the escalator, while fun that it allows you to not have to walk down stairs, doesn’t mean others wont be taking advantage of double speed and walking down them. Sooooooo move your ass to the right if you are just going to stand, and make sure you do it in single file, so that the people on schedules can get down those or up those stairs quickly.
Starbucks….ok, this kills me. You order your drink and everyone needs to do two things; stand as close to a packed counter waiting for their drink (even though the barristers call out all the names anyway) and two, even if they don’t hear their name, but it is something close (you know, like Al is close in sound to Veronica), they need to touch every drink. Get your grubby, dirty little hands off my drink and wait for your name to be called. Yes, Veronica said this morning, and I quote “That looks like my drink but doesn’t have my name on it, it says Al”. God, how do you get thru the day?
Lets talk about the Long Island Railroad, one of the most expensive and I believe one of the only electric train systems in the country of this size. My train I take to the city has probably been on the LIRR schedule for over 30 years. give or take 10 (irrelevant, it is still such a long time). that’s just my ONE regular train I take in the AM, the 730AM express. The train has 2 pick up stops, followed by the destination. 30 years of data, and still they don’t provide enough seats for everyone to sit? Who does the math on train car allotment? They should be fired. ITs the same people on that train for years, it doesn’t change. Yet, I stand if I cant guess where the train doors will open on the platform.
And this weather in NYC so far this summer. The humidity, what the heck???
And Ray Lewis…….it still kills me (no pun intended) that he completely got off in Atlanta, and these other bozos didn’t.
I did smile about the suspensions that were announced coming in baseball after the AllStar break…….so I guess the week wasn’t a total loss…..
Happy weekend. 50 days and counting!!!!!!!
Great vent Al, especially about walking on the sidewalk and escalator.
How long have you been taking the damn railroad? You should know which trains have seats and which don’t. I repeatedly get to the platform to take the 5:58am but wait for the 6:13 because i know it has lots of seats and no one will sit in the middle. Know thy railroad, people are creatures of habit.
Also, unless a train is short or the conductor is drunk, the doors are in the same spot…WHERE EVERYONE IS STANDING!
You want to go there with the LIRR? My 7:32 express train from Baldwin has probably been running for 20 years. Even if it is just 10 years, these creatures of habit are already on the train. Some sit, some stand, there are no seats. Even the people who stand, sometimes opt to stand when there is a seat because the creature of habit who normally sits hasn’t gotten on the train yet. I call them stupid, but that’s another blog. My issue here is the train has had too few seats for at least the last 4 years I have been taking it….and clearly I am not the one throwing the balance off. Would it kill them to add one or two more cars?
I don’t have the flexibility you do with waiting, as I take the train with someone who will not wait. I guess you could argue I could let that person get on the train, and I could wait, but that comes with its own list of issues not to be discussed in this blog either.
The train does not stop in the same place everyday. That is physically impossible, and you know it!! You try stopping that train in the same place…cant happen. With that said, 12 inches long or short makes a difference, being the doors are barely 4 feet wide openings….and since most people on Long Island are overweight (me excluded), it causes problems. Now it could be town specific being I live in the 3rd worst school district in the state..perhaps LIRR platform ediquette isn’t discussed in schools (but then again, what is?).
Most importantly to my rebuttal is that you defended BEIBER AND THE LIRR in the same week, and if there was a trail today for something, you’d be found guilty of something.
First, I do not believe I support Bieber ever for anything.
Second, I am not defending the rail road. Only responding to your rant. Your underlying point is valid. In fact the LIRR makes a show of counting riders but they have not revised their schedule since the 10930’s so the schedule isbased on population demographics that don’t exist anymore and refuse to do anything about it. But we both know that this is not going to change in our lifetime. So adapt.