Tag Archive: TTC

View from the 506

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Tue. March 11, 2008

After work, after I got on the train before it even made it to the next station the thing slowed down to a halt. A voice came over the announcement system saying that due to an emergency down the line everyone would have to get off the train. When we pulled into St. George a big crowd was waiting to get on, but no one was allowed to enter. The platform only got more crowded as we filed out. Ridiculous. What would be so bad that they’d prevent anyone in a radius of three stations from coming near? If it was a simple illness we’d just be waiting and not be forced off the train. I speculate that it was actually something a little bit bloodier–which is a bit sad, but probable.

I took a southbound train a few stops and decided to take the Carlton 506 streetcar over east, way past the problem station and ending at a station just a bit before where I needed to go anyway. I’ve never been on the 506 before, so I was hoping to take in the scenery. The car was crowded with a heck of a lot of like-minded and stranded people. There was an empty seat near the back next to this really large young woman. I just wanted to sit, so I took the seat…well…half the seat, anyway. I guess I didn’t want to hurt her dignity, so I tried not to grumble or complain or dive for roomier seats. Maybe this was all misguided, but that’s what I did. I just focused on the scenery.

The scenery was certainly interesting. I saw parts of the city which I haven’t seen before. These were my thoughts as I went through.

  • Ooh…fancy buildings.
  • Oh? Cabbagetown?
  • Eh. Riverdale.
  • Oh. Chinatown East.
  • Umm…reminds me of New Jersey.
  • Mm…these houses are old.
  • Hmm…so this is Little India.

I ended up arriving back on the subway line half an hour later than I would have normally. I think there’s possibly some irony that by that time the trains were probably running again. If I had waited around at St. George and waited for trains to run I might have still arrived earlier than I actually did. Oh, isn’t that usually the case? Eh…well, at least I got to know my city a little bit better. Ugh.

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Mother nature is thumbing her nose at us

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Wed. March 5, 2008

Despite the balmy weather we had on Monday, it was only a matter of time before we had another good dumping of snow. Ten to fifteen centimetres later, I’m feeling like mother nature is thumbing her nose at us. Who can argue with her?

As I was getting ready for work, my mother expressed a lot of concerned about me being on the roads in these conditions. “Can’t you work from home?” Well, technically yes, I could have, but I’ve got some documents that I’m working on that are stuck on my hard drive and would be unavailable from home because all I can do is log onto the Unix servers. Of course, I didn’t tell her all that, but I condensed it to something clear and concise without getting into unnecessary technical jargon.

“No.”

Well, that didn’t do anything to ease her mind, so I told her that I’d just take the bus. From the look in her eyes, you would have thought that I was being sent off to die. I almost bought into it, too. I was going to call into work and say, “I can’t come in to the office today because I want to avoid sure death.” Well, hey, this is Canada. I told my mother, “This isn’t the first snow storm I’ve had to commute through.” Seriously.

So yeah, I’ve forgotten what it’s like to take the bus during the morning peak hours. Since I usually drive to the subway station, I’ve usually had to skip the bits involving overcrowding. When the TTC announced that it was increasing service on the 133, I thought, “are you kidding? That’s packed?” Well, by the time the 133 reaches my area is not as crowded but later on the route I was surprised by how many people there were. I guess it was a good thing that service was increased.

I sat down between this school kid and this woman who had a horrid loud gaudy ringtone. I took a moment to think bout how bad it was, but in the process I was hit by a wall of nasty morning breath. Yes, morning breath is a fact of life, but if you have to go out, have some decency and try to freshen up a little bit, you know? Luckily she wasn’t breathing directly at me, but she might as well have been doing so: I’m sure it would’ve been just as potent from a few farther feet away. Every time I heard her ringtone, I surreptitiously took a good breath inward in the hopes that I wouldn’t have to subject myself to her nastiness. Mercifully her conversations were rather short.

I miss driving. Driving to the station shaves half an hour off my commute time. At least, when I move I’ll be sufficiently close enough to the subway that I won’t have to drive–I don’t mind the subway at all. Meanwhile, unless a better route somehow becomes available from my current place, I’m going to keep doing driving in. A slow drive vs. a hygienically challenged woman? Hmm…next time I’m not going to let a little snow stop me.

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Pedestrian games

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Wed. February 27, 2008

I took a walk at lunch today. As I was wandering without purpose, I suddenly started thinking about little games people can play as they’re walking down the street. Since I work downtown where all the clubs are I can play the game “bird seed or barf.” To play the game, if up ahead you see a flock of pigeons feverishly going at something, you make a guess as to whether it’s bird seed or if it’s puke. You might be surprised!

Of course, once you see what the pigeons were making a fuss about, the game effectively ends. So yeah, it’s not really a game that has longevity. Then again, if it’s vomit, you can play “guess what that guy ate.” Tortellini? Rice? Chili? Well, no…there was obviously something of a cream sauce…

On the trains/streetcar, you can participate in “name that smell.” It can be interesting.

Oatmeal?
Homeless guy?
Cumin and onions?
Lavender?
Hand lotion?
Chinese BBQ pork?
Shampoo?
Subway tunnel air?

I think it’s not so much important that you really try to find out what the source is, but rather that you’re training your mind/olfactory system to hone in on particulars. It keeps the mind sharp!

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Onslaught of profanity

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Thu. January 3, 2008

This morning on my way in to work, the streetcar line was ridiculously long so I decided to just take another train south until I got to Queen St. It was an uncomfortable ride down–not because the train was crowded. Instead, I was being assaulted: not physically, but from an onslaught of profanity. Two seats over, this young guy met a friend of his on the train whom he hadn’t seen since before Christmas. He proceeded to greet him loudly using dual F-bombs liberally. Nothing I haven’t heard before, but this time it was especially loud. The were talking about not having seen each other since their respective jail times, how they had court dates coming up and how they were fond of smoking crack. I didn’t want to make eye contact, and neither did anyone else in the area; however, you couldn’t help but be dragged kicking and screaming into their world. Mercifully, my stop came soon enough and I got out.

I don’t think I’m particularly sensitive to cursing. I’ve noticed that I swear with greater frequency in comparison to others in my circle of friends. I think there’s a saying out there that says that resorting to curse words just shows a lack of vocabulary. I think there’s some truth to that when it comes to some people. Sometimes though, there just aren’t any other words that pack quite the punch when you need it. As an interjection, they’re pretty useful. Thing is, there’s a time and a place for them.

(As a side note, Merriam-Webster mentions “ejaculation” as a cross-reference for the word interjection. I’m amused by that more than I should be.)

I’ve written that I like to step back into my own little world while I’m on the subway. I’m sure most people are like that. I don’t mind it when people have conversations, but when people do it loudly they’re forcing it on everyone around them. There’s no way to escape it! When someone includes curse words all over the loud conversation, I’d liken it to wildly swinging a nerf bat on a crowded train–it won’t kill anybody, but it has impact and it damn irritating. I don’t want to sound like a nag, but there are unspoken rules on how to act, right? Ugh.

I suppose though that people like those two aren’t really concerned with society, right? I mean, they seemed to be throwing the idea of prison sentences and hard drugs around like it was a part of everyday life. It’s maddening and disheartening at the same time. Interestingly, when one of them got off the train, he had the presence of mind to say “excuse me” to get by some people on the way out. It’s not that I didn’t think he was capable of being polite…but it didn’t fit the profile of the guy I’d already built in my head. It’s an interesting contrast. To tell you the truth, it kind of bothers me that I profiled them so quickly. I guess though it’s only human to make these kinds of snap-judgements. Still, As they spoke, it only confirmed what I had already judged.

Just another day on the commute.

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Random thoughts on a hazy morning

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Fri. September 7, 2007

Just some random stuff this morning.

For a short period a few weeks ago, that stairwell linking the drop-off area and the mezzanine was smelling clean (ETA: At Warden Station…). It was nice. Nowadays, it’s back to stinking of stale urine. How bad is it when not smelling urine is a rarity? Is that what the New York City subway is like?

The city has a weird vibe going on right now. There’s the TIFF going on. Yesterday, in the alleyway beside my building, a bunch of black cars were parked there. Spotlights were set up along the side, shining up the walls. The area was fenced off with a metal barrier. I figured that some sort of film-related get together would be occurring at the nightclub downstairs. It’s pretty interesting to be working in the so-called entertainment district. I sort of want to take the long way home one day and pass by the Chum Building at Queen & John–there’s bound to be something going on there, no? Then I’d go up to Yorkville to see if I could spot anyone just walking down the street. Thing is, I don’t think I care enough to take an hour walking detour. Maybe if I had company.

Also in town is Björk for the Virgin Festival down on the islands. Maaan. Why didn’t I get tickets? That show is going to be awesome. :sad: I guess I should really plan to see her next time she comes around (if she does). I want to see her live.

Edited to add the location of the odour: not at home or the office, thank GOD.

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Seating for pastries

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Fri. August 10, 2007

On a crowded train, an empty seat is not the place to put your breakfast pastry. I don’t care if you’re holding a newspaper and coffee.

That’s just not right.

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Sweaty train ride

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Wed. August 8, 2007

Whoo. This past afternoon seemed more brutal than usual. It may not have been the hottest one out there, but the heat in the station seemed more stifling than I’ve noticed over the past weeks. As I waited for the train, I noticed people on both platforms wiping sweat off their brows, fanning themselves with folded sheets of paper or newspapers, and looking mildly dishevelled from the heat. I thought I’d get some relief when I got on the subway car, but I had the misfortune of ending up on one that wasn’t air conditioned. At least, it seemed like it wasn’t–I sure didn’t feel any relief. That, coupled with the fact that the train was more packed than usual made for a rather miserable ride. I had my eyes closed for most of the ride as I usually do, but I couldn’t full-on nap because every minute I was wiping dripping sweat from my face. At one point, this woman sat next to me and started fanning herself. Some of the breeze was hitting me, and I was thankful. When she stopped, I was sort of mentally willing her to just continue fanning herself so I could benefit.

When I got to my station, I stepped off the train expecting the humidity to be rotten, but seeing as how Warden is open air, the temperature there was so much cooler. I looked around and saw the relief on people’s faces when they got off that thing. Seriously, it’s no wonder there have been a number of heat-related incidents on the TTC as of late.

It made me think of my short time in Tokyo. Out on the streets around Akihabara, there are always lots of people giving away advertising freebies. Some of them gave away these plastic fans that were covered in advertisements for electronics. Despite becoming a walking advertisement, the fans were just so damn useful in keeping cool that I really didn’t care if I used them. Here in Toronto, I kind of wish there were some free fans given away on hot days like this. Maybe I should walk around Chinatown a little bit one of these days, buy a small manly fan and stuff it in my bag. That way I could just whip it out when I get all sweaty on a hot car. Though…you don’t really see that on the trains, do you? Trendsetter?

Uh…maybe I’d rather just sweat it out.

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Pantsless

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Sun. June 17, 2007

I had one of those detailed dreams last night. Unfortunately, I’ve already forgotten most of the details. There was a full story to the whole thing, but now all I’ve got are some seemingly randomly linked scenes in my head, so I’ll list ‘em out. Maybe they’ll make sense as a cohesive whole.

Or not.

  • It started out in the late afternoon. The sky was overcast. I had parked my car in a large parking lot.
  • At some point, the dream turned to early evening. The streetlights were on. I remember the contrast between the dark blue tinged skies and the orange glow of the lights.
  • I remember running through the streets of Toronto. There were people walking around, minding their own business. I don’t know what I was looking for, however I spotted two women in their 20s waiting outside the entrance to a subway station. One had dark hair, fair skin, and was had an athletic build. The other was caribbean (in the dream I figured she was from Barbados), the latte skin and soft facial features. She was wearing an orange spring jacket.
  • The name of the subway stations was posted above the entrance. The font wasn’t in the characteristic Quadrat Toronto Subway font though (I love that font). It was…Helvetica, and made of embossed metallic letters. The entrance was seemingly part of a red brick housing complex. The name of the station was “Glenclose.” See, this fact amuses me the most about this dream because I was probably thinking about the actual station Glencairn. Instead, all I got was Glenn Close.
  • Across the street from the entrance with the name was a set of stairs. I went to run up the stairs. The steps were quite small, so I tried to run up multiple steps with every stride. By the top those, I was out of breath. I struggled to get up the last steps.
  • I think the stairs led back to the parking lot. I walked to the car and found that I didn’t have my wallet. Why didn’t I have my wallet? My pants were missing. I was wearing striped boxers. I remember distinctly that I was despairing at having lost my jeans because they were newly purchased from the Gap (what a waste of money!)
  • I remember wanting to go back ad retrace my steps, but thought that it was already dark and that there was no way I’d find them again.
  • I couldn’t drive either because I didn’t want to drive without my license.

At this point I woke up feeling frustrated. It was about 4:30 am.

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