Drive v Ride

So I've been going back and forth about riding the Rapid lately. While I don't mind the extra reading time, I am starting to be annoyed with the lack of schedule and continuous tardiness, not to mention the breakdowns. The real icing on the cake for me is the thought that RTA may raise the prices 50 cents by this fall. For what, more long waits and breakdowns? It starts to make the commute via train not make as much sense. If gas prices don't continue rising (who can count on that) the cost comparison is going to pretty much break even and it's certainly faster to drive. It should be interesting to see what happens. I'll keep you posted.

Is it a Full Moon?

Why do the strangest people take public transportation? Last week wrote Cleveland's worst dressed list, I suppose that happens when the heat and humidity cause delirium. However, sandals with anklet nylons (do those really exist??) can not compare to the creatures of this week. Namely, the girl that barked and howled at the Blue Line because she missed it. I've missed my train more times than I care to think about, yes, I throw a mini-tantrum in my head, usually mutter a few choice words under my breath, never have I howled OR barked at the train. I can say that neither method stops the train.

I'm That Girl

So I've sunk to a new level...today, I was that girl...the one with a dress and the too pale legs. Today, it was worth it, it was SO hot. Not that I'm complaining, in Cleveland, hot is better than cold. Other than being 'that girl', being on the rapid was it's usual, slow, late and broken. Yes, I feel as if I waited endlessly this morning to catch the train downtown. Once it finally arrived, it gave us a scare near E. 79th, when it decided to stall, briefly. It worked out though and I was only a little bit late. The way home was a different story...of course I missed the 4:45 train by seconds, yes seconds (the train was pulling out as I was approaching the turnstile....WHY!?!) as if that was not bad enough, there was yet another malfunctioning train ahead of us (good thing I missed the 4:45 I guess) so we crawled at snails pace until they figured something out....let's hope they figured it out permanently, for once.

What's With The Outfit??

So I'm still lazy about blogging, but at least I've been taking public transportation. It's no longer an option not to...with gas nearing 4 bucks a gallon and my endless stop and go commute to the office is costing me about 20 bucks a week, not to mention parking and wear and tear on my vehicle. It's a mere 3.50 to commute round trip on the rapid, saving me about 13 bucks a week after parking, still not counting wear and tear. I no longer feel guilty for purchasing my morning (and afternoon) coffee :) The real treat on the Rapid lately has arrived with the warmer weather. I feel as if I've see it all wardrobe wise, and I'm sure this is just a preview of what the remainder of the summer shall bring. I've seen short skirts, tight skirts, appropriately lengthed skirts with slits so high I have to look away with embarrassment! Not to mention skirts with cold weather jacket?? Really?? I am a firm believer that if it's warm enough to be wearing a skirt and sandals you should NOT be wearing any type of coat. There are a few other head turners that I'm too afraid to mention as they are so outrageously specific I would feel too bad to call anyone out on it...let's see what tomorrow's 80 degrees will bring :)

Back to Basics

So I know I've been lazy about blogging, but it's mostly because I've been lazy about riding the Rapid. First I used the excuse that Public Square was a mess because of the water main break. Then I used the excuse that it takes too long, I rode the Rapid one day last week and it really doesn't take much longer at all. Maybe a few minutes. Monday I filled up tank for 50 bucks, 50 whopping bucks. Four years ago it cost 50 bucks to fill up my father-in-law's gas guzzling SUV. I swore up and down I would ride the Rapid this week because I refuse to pay an additional 50 bucks to fill up my tank again this month. So far it hasn't convinced me to take PT. Today on my way down Chester I was behind a guy, in a suit, on a Vespa, I felt like I was in Italy again!!! Minus the 50,000 other cars on the street. I think it was my sign, I MUST get back into riding the Rapid. If I cut just one tank of gas per month, I'd cover my flight to Nashville by July!! Here's to getting myself together in enough time to catch the Rapid tomorrow!

St. Patty's Nightmare

After yesterday's trip home from work, I decided to avoid the rapid all together today. Mostly because I drank to much celebrating a neighbors new job last night and needed a little extra rest this morning, and a little because yesterday's commute home was full of too many people who drank too much at the parade. Drinking too much seems to be a general theme for St. Pat's. That's a whole new blog. Either way, the drunk crowds pushing and shoving on the rapid platform did not mix well with the hard working (so we can exaggerate) businesswomen and men. It would not have been a pretty site had the drunk girl next to me puked all over my new trousers. For me it was not a reminder of my crazy college days. Even I did not behave the way these crazy animals were behaving. I do have to admit the ride was far more tame than any ride to a Browns game on the rapid. What can I say, we love our Brownies. We just don't have to ride home from work with the crazed fans. Hopefully the empty beer cans and bottles will be cleaned up from under the seats before I board tomorrow.

Off with a bang!

So today started off pretty well from a commuting standpoint. I did not find myself rushing out the door at the last minute as in most days, traffic was light on the way to the station and the rapid even came on time!! 3/4 of the way into the trip however our train had slowed to snails pace. Upon reaching the next STOP, well, stop is exactly what we did. After sitting idle for a handful of minutes on the tracks, the driver announced we would be held up just a few minutes due to traffic up ahead. Traffic, on the rapid? Isn't that the point most of us ride the rapid? To avoid traffic? As we resumed our snails pace, the driver modified her announcement, we'll be moving slowly due to a malfunctioning train up ahead. AGAIN!?! This malfunctioning business has been going on for about 3 weeks now. Considering the Cleveland Regional Transit Authority has huge posters in the windows of its headquarters claiming to be the country's number 1 public transit, one would assume that they'd have this malfunctioning crap under wraps by now. Maybe not. So today I can't decide if it's worse to be held up because your train has malfunctioned, or if it's worse to be held up because the train in front of you has malfunctioned. I bet this doesn't happen in Rome!