![\"work_subway\"](\"http:\/\/providentiallife.files.wordpress.com\/2009\/05\/work_subway.jpg\" "\\"work_subway\\"")
<\/p>\nLast night, on my ride home, Jeff called to say that he had to be somewhere east of LA at 7:30 am. The same time I have to be at work. Which meant…I had to take the Metro to work. I looked for options out of it, but in the end, this was the only option.<\/p>\n
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So I woke up at 5:10 am. I got up. I showered. Jeff offered to drive me to the train station at 5:55 am. I arrived at 5:58 am. That’s right, folks. In the 5 o’clock hour, I was at the Metro station.<\/p>\n
I walked down the escalators, bought my ticket (I always buy my ticket, even though no one checks your ticket and there are no turnstiles. I like to be honest, and I believe that if no one pays, the system will never get better. So I pay.) I walked to the platform, impressed at my alertness, sipping my coffee, ready to pull my book out…book out…BOOK. I had forgotten, in my haste, to grab my BOOK! And this is terrible news, because I finished a book yesterday, leaving a wide open space for me to pick up where I left off in The Red Tent<\/em> so I could attempt to finish the book club books on time.<\/p>\n No dice. And then, I remembered that I could listen to my Bridge of Sighs<\/em> book on tape. And then I remembered it wasn’t on my iPod anymore.<\/p>\n But then I thought it’d be OK. I could people watch.<\/p>\n So I did!<\/p>\n And let me tell you, it made me feel like I was on the subway in Beijing again. That was the last subway system that I was familiar with, and it reminds me of the Beijing. There are tons of people on the LA trains that are not “white people.” In Boston, it feels like there are Irish, Italian, and a slew of college students around. In China, everyone was Chinese. Here, people are white, Hispanic, black, etc. I feel like it’s more diverse here than any place I have lived, and a good place to see that is on the subway.<\/p>\n As I rode to work, I had lots of time to take in my surroundings. I took some pictures of the scenery, because most of the Gold line is above ground (the second line I ride.) I also rode the Pasadena ARTS bus for the first time! (Pasadena Area Rapid Transit System.) It was wonderful, because the bus arrived promptly, which meant I walked into work at 7:25, just in time to see Liz’s dog!<\/p>\n All in all, not a big deal at all. A little sleepy, but I have an iced coffee here. Tomorrow I will remember a book.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Last night, on my ride home, Jeff called to say that he had to be somewhere east of LA at 7:30 am. The same time I have to be at work. Which meant…I had to take the Metro to work. … Continue reading