Life's Melons

The day started off wrong; I woke up at 10:30am instead of the 7:00am I set my alarm for. I felt even more sick than the night before. Five voicemail messages. "Something must be wrong with the computers at the office" I think to myself. A call a few seconds later confirms this. No one has the key to get into the server room (my office) so Thea can't even attempt to reboot the server. My brother stops by a few minutes later and I run out in my pajama's to give him the key; the bright sun already pushing towards a new record high temperature for today. I jump in the shower and rush to get ready. I cram down my bowl of oatmeal and protein shake.

Before hopping on the 12:15 train, I stop by the office to finish making sure all the computers are working. It's 11:45 when I arrive, and I leave at 12:05, ten minutes to drive to the train station, find a parking spot and hop on the train. I make it with 2 minutes to spare.

On the subway into work, I saw someone forget a brand new bottle of Gatorade on the seat. The day at Aerva went well. I finished a lot of what I was hoping to finish.

One of my consulting clients called me the other day to setup an appointment for me to come over and move files from her old computer, to her new laptop. I told her I'd give her a call when I get out of work in Boston today and setup an appointment for later that evening. By 6:00pm, I decided I was going to stay at work later and catch the 7:30pm train home. So I called her and told her we'd need to reschedule for next Monday.

The next time I looked at the clock, it was 7:00pm. Damn, that doesn't give me enough time to unplug my computer, pack my stuff, take the subway, and make to the train. No problem, I'll take the 8:30pm train.

I was rushing to finish programming a feature before I left, so I could have a working example to show David. I was packed and ready to leave at 8:00pm. I decided to explain to David how to use the feature I just finished. By 8:05pm I left the building. The subway train from Downtown Crossing to North Station has been extra slow every single time this week. The day before yesterday I missed the train because it took 20 minutes just to arrive. Today, I missed my 8:30pm train by 2 minutes. Oh well, I'll have to wait for the 9:40pm train. So I took a few pictures:

I made sure I was watching the monitors 15 minutes before the train was due to leave. The last time I took pictures while waiting for the train, I almost missed it! So there I was, standing underneath the monitors waiting for the announcement of which track the train was boarding on. It was 9:30pm, 10 minutes before the train was due to leave. Suddenly, the screen updated. "9:30 PM - Lowell - Track 6". The second I saw that, I started walking to track 6, and boarded. The thought had crossed my mind that something was off. "It was supposed to leave at 9:40, not 9:30... Oh well, it said Track 6, and I'm walking onto the train stationed at Track 6." Then I noticed something else: the train was FULL. "How the hell was that possible? I was the first person to see the screen update!" Before I even had time to turn around, or sit down, the train started to move. "Great". A few minutes later when the conductor asked for my ticket, I asked him if this was the Lowell train. Nope, it was the Pittsburg train! DAMNIT. The conductor told me to get off at the next stop and take the next Inbound train back to North Station. He didn't stamp my ticket, so I'd still be able to use it on the way back. AS I was getting off, he looked up the next train that was leaving Chelsea: 11:45pm! The last train to leave North Station for Lowell was 11:55pm, so I wouldn't even make it. He recommended I call a cab and get a ride back to North Station to catch the 10:40 train to Lowell.

The scenery looked different on the ride to Chelsea, more lights. The people on the train looked different too. It's odd how I can recognize a change in the destination just by the passengers on board. When the Chelsea stop arrives, I get off. Not what I was expecting. It's not even a train station, just a intersection with train tracks going through it. Not many street lights either. I call 411 on my phone and ask for any Taxi cab company in Chelsea, MA. The operator connects me to one, and I tell him I need a cab at the Chelsea train stop, on the corner of Sixth and RT1. Usually I make it a habit to remember numbers when I call 411, so as to not have to call 411 for that number again. This time however, I tell myself I won't be needing that number again so whats the point. If only I knew how much I'd regret that decision. While waiting, I noticed someone forgot a full bottle of beer on the bench, still in the black bag. A few minutes later a cab pulls up and off I go, back to North Station.

The ride there was nice; a whole different perspective of Boston for me. I drove over the bridge I'd always looked at from a distance when driving into Boston. I was coming towards Boston from the West, a direction I'd never faced Boston at night. Wow, a $4.50 toll charge. I arrive at North Station and pay and tip the cab driver. It costs me $20 all together, leaving me with $4 in my pocket. "I'd better not make anymore expensive mistakes like that", I say to myself.

As I walk into the train station, I tell myself things couldn't possibly get any worse. I'm just happy to be back at North Station. Then I reach down for my phone. It's gone! The cab! It must have fallen off when I got out of the cab! AaahhhH! I rush back outside, highly doubting the cab is still there. Nope, he's long gone. "I know! I'll use the pay phone to call the cab company and tell him to radio the cab driver to tell him I forgot my phone in the car. I tipped him, so he'll come back!" I have two quarters in my pocket. I figured I'd use one to call 411 and the other to call the cab company. The 411 operator picks up, and I ask for the cab company on Washington St, as that was the only detail I remembered. She tells me there's over 30 cab companies on Washington St. AAaaahhh! Hoping fate will be on my side, I tell her to give me a random one. I call, and it's the wrong one. IF ONLY I KEPT TO MY HABIT OF REMEMBERING THE NUMBER I GET FROM 411!!!

I accept that my phone is gone. Now the problem is going to be preventing anyone else from using it to call out of the country, or even worse, expensive numbers that cost an arm and a leg per minute! I wait in line at the McDonalds for 5 minutes to get 4 quarters. Finally when it's my turn, the cashier tells me he needs to ring up the next person in line first, because he can't open the register manually. So I wait. Finally I have another 4 quarters. "Hmm, whats the number for Nextel? Usually I just dial 611 from my Nextel phone... 1800NEXTEL?" I try that, but its wrong. The phone spits out my quarter. "Thank god, not another costly mistake.". Then I remember that I still have my Blackberry with me. I take it out of my bag and get the number for Nextel. I call them up, and whatta-ya-know: they're CLOSED. !?!?!? I figure there must be a 24/7 line for reporting lost/stolen phones. A few seconds later I hear an option for lost/stolen phones. "I'm sorry, customer service is currently closed. Please call back during normal business hours." AaaarrggghhhhH!

So with all this free time, I decided to write about today's unusual events on my laptop. Today's commute took a wonderful 3 1/2 hours, and cost me a grand total of $187 (including the lost phone I now have to replace). Oh, it doesn't help that my nose is stuffy, my head is pounding, and my throat feels like I'm swallowing razors. But as I sat down on the bench and took out my laptop to start writing this post, while waiting for the 10:40 train, I took a deep breath and realized: Life is Good. 🙂

P.S.: DJT, I think I've felt a hint of what it's like to be you, and I don't like it!