Oh, I’m so annoyed. I’ve been working really hard to procrastinate less; to calm some of my perfectionist tendencies; to just get the important things done, run the errands I need to run, make the meals I need to make, save the money I need to save … really discipline myself to take care of myself and, in some ways, relieve stress. And yet, there again comes the NYC Subway to remind me that I will never not be crazy because I insist on staying in this city, where one thing can set off a chain reaction to ruin … everything.
It’s no surprise to me that in the Straphangers Campaign annual subway line report card, the C train — upon which I mostly rely — rated basically at the bottom. But still, I’ve become used to it and it’s schedule … to a degree. This morning, however, I had an important 9:45 AM appointment. Generally, if I’m at my stop in Brooklyn by 9:15, I’ll make it fine. The ride on the train itself is usually only about 20-25 minutes.
But this morning, when I arrived at the Clinton-Washington stop at 9:10 AM, the platform was already more crowded than usual — along with swelteringly hot and humid. At 9:20, the light finally appeared way down the tunnel, and by 9:25, I was on the train. But then … an announcement came over the loudspeaker. Due to a stalled F Train at Second Avenue, F trains were being diverted to the A/C line between Jay St and W. 4th, causing “extensive delays.”
I get delays. I get train traffic. I’ve lived in New York for going on 11 years. But I really can’t fathom who in traffic control fucked up so extensively that it took an hour and five minutes of me on the train before I was able to exit at W. 4th? By the time I arrived at 10:30, I had not only missed my appointment, but I was 45 minutes late in even being able to notify the person because I had been stuck underground. Sure, I got to listen to two full 30 minute episodes/podcasts of KCRW’s The Treatment, including a really great one with Sunshine director Danny Boyle, but I would have preferred making it through only one.
This has thrown me into a crappy mood, and the superstitious part of me does not think it bodes well to this weekend’s weather report getting any better. In fact, should myself and the rest of the prospective McCarren Park Pool audiences this weekend be truly concerned about lightning strikes??
Out of Focus 