I wish I had the ability to leave for work this early every day. Unfortunately, that extra hour of sleep is waaay more important. I wish I could get up earlier because the subway is much less crowed in the early AM.

To prove it, I actually got a seat! I am SITTING as I write this morning’s post.

The unexpected consequence of sitting is that people standing around me can see what I am writing. On that note…

Hi lady reading over my shoulder. How are you? What could I possibly be so busy writing? An entry into SUBWAYblogger, and you are the main topic. In case you don’t know, SUBWAYblogger is the hottest new blog in NYC. The blog entries are mostly written from the subway and published wirelessly to the web. That’s why I am so busy writing about you poking your nose into my Blackberry.

She was definately reading as I wrote. As soon as I typed “Hi lady,” she turned her head. I should get a SUBWAYblogger hat or t-shirt so that people know what I am doing. Your thoughts?

Live from the subway, back to you in studio…

It was a soggy evening commute today. The rain started in the late morning and still hasn’t stopped.

The forecasts call for even more rain over the next few days. SUBWAYblogger suggests leaving yourself a little extra time for the morning commute. A couple straight days of rain always causes problems on at least one line. Electric systems tend to short, and we end up with more stalled trains.

One thing that I always see are people who get mad when their are slow downs in service because of rain. Even though your particular line may be problem free doesn’t mean you won’t be inconvienced. A minor problem across town can cause backups on the complete other side of town.

That’s why it is smart to leave your apartment 5 minutes early. Your be shocked how much 5 minutes can help.

Anyway, considder that the free tip of the day! Bring on the insanity in the morning.

Live from the subway, back to you in studio…

There’s been lots of talk over the past few months about the MTA Holiday Specials. Last year, the MTA offered a special MetroCard that gave you multiple extra days of riding if you bought the card during a certain time.

The idea was to encourage mass transit usage during the holiday rush. In some places, I have heard that they are going to do it again. In others, I’ve heard that the special was nixed because of budget issues.

SUBWAYblogger will do some special investigating today and bring you the skinny on holiday travel. We will attempt to have that up before lunch today so check back later.

In general though, the holidays are a bit of a sore spot for most mass transit commuters. The buses, subways, and regional trains are overloaded with out-of -town shoppers that flood 5th Ave.

I should say that it is more than just 5th Ave, but that area is by far the worst. 5th Ave serves as a HQ for holiday shopping. They then head out to other areas after going crazy at Macy’s and Bloomy’s.

Live from the subway, back to you in studio…

There are a lot of subway jobs that have to be the worst jobs ever. One of them must be the guy that scoops the crap off the tracks.

The area between the rails is basically an open-air sewer. Even though it maynot look like it, it must be someone’s job to get in there and clean it once in a while.

After a good rain, you can see a collection of crap down there. Interedtingly, there’s a lot of batteries down there. So many people bring portable CD players, walkmen, etc into the subway. Then, they just chuck their dead batteries into the tracks. I would suspect that the number of trashed batteries will be lower as the popularity of iPods continues to replace CD players.

But yeah, that must be the worst job. You must be spending most of your time fighting off rats!

Another terrible job has to be a token clerk. Have you ever met a token clerk that actually looked happy? That’s because they don’t exist. You have to be a miserable person in order to work in one of those little boxes for 8 or more hours at a time.

Live from the subway, back to you in studio…

First, a message for the kids…

Kids, you know that feeling of excitement when school gets out on Friday. You have the whole weekend to look forward to. Well, adults have that same feeling. Actually, it never goes away after you graduate. Getting off work on Friday feels as good as it did back in grade school.

Anyway, I looks like people are leaving town for the weekend. Maybe it’s the cold. I’m seeing a lot of people around me with suitcases. Folks are off for a little weekend getaway.

On that note, here’s a tip. If your suitcase(s) weigh more than you do, take a cab. First of all, you clearly can’t get that bag up or down the stairs on your own. You’re gonna kill someone.

Second, huge ass bags piss off us regular commuters. So don’t try to take your dumpster size bags onto the subway during rush hours! That’s right up there with the morons who bring baby strollers on the train during the rush.

Lastly, don’t be cheap. If you got a lot of crap with you, just take a cab to save your sanity. Hell, our sanity for that matter. The subway isn’t meant to carry you and every piece of clothing you’ve ever owned on your way to a weekend getaway.

Live from the subway, back to you in studio…

A bit of a chill in the air this morning on my walk to the subway.

SUBWAYblogger loves the cool, crisp air of this time of year. It’s refreshing.

One of the benefits of the coolness is that the platforms cool down. The cool cuts right through the stale air that fills the system. It just makes waiting for the train a little more tollerable, and as a result people are less cranky.

It is funny how this morning’s chill has made a lot of people break out full blown parkas. Some people even have gloves and scarfs! It’s chilly, not freezing.

Old ladies on board act like it is the Arctic tundra out here. If I had on that many layers right now, I would sweat to death as soon as the train doors closed.

Live from the subway, back to you in studio…

(Illustration:  Jon Keegan, Post Card.)