Is there anything on this earth more annoying than a loud group of Puerto Rican girls? I think not.

There’s a group of them at the other end of my train that are so loud, and so abnoxious that I I’m seriously thinking about getting in their faces.

By the way, the fact that I mention that they are Puerto Rican is not at all a racist or ignorant comment. It is a fact. A group of the same size only white girls or black girls would be no where near as loud.

They stand around and scream, laugh, and carry on in their broken spanglish. The people they are talking to are right in front of them, yet the entire train needs to hear them. I don’t know why, but I it is just the kind of thing that makes you blood boil.
Live from the subway, back to you in studio…

I think the rediculous atmosphere in the subway system this morning had an interesting impact on tonight’s commute. There’s actually no one on board this afternoon.

We were packed into the subway cars this morning, and now there are open seats this afternoon? I think many people said “screw this” when planning their trip home. Consquently, there are fewer than normal aboard. Hopefully it carries over to the morning.

Not only was it croweded this morning, but people were just nasty. As a result of the abnormal crowds, people were getting pissed. Lots of shoving and bitching about the lack of room. I look forward to the day someone asks why it is so important that I have arm room to type on my Blackberry 🙂

Live from the subway, back to you in studio…

I’m not even sure this headline is a real thought or phrase…let’s just go with it.

As suspected, the subway is an absolute shit show this morning. Waaaaay to many people trying to board at each station. There’s also way to many that clearly do not know “the rules.” The jump in front of people, stand in OUR waiting spots, etc. Clearly they are people the cab it or drive to work every day. Now that the east side is closed, they are SOL so they join us on the subway.

How exactly do you shut down the FDR anyway? Do people down there just tock up on supplies for days ahead of time?

Right now, my Blackberry is basically in the ear of the guy in front of me. His head is about 8 inches from my face. My man ain’t no little guy either. So we are cozy to say the least.

It makes typing out complete sentences a little tricky. For the most part, I’ve only got use of one hand. I’d be “throwin’ bows” in this guy’s face if I brought up both arms.

At least this party only happens once a year!

Live from the subway, back to you in studio…

In the interest of full disclosure, I must admit that I used to be a fairly regular Metro North rider before living in The City. So I am by no means a Metro North rookie. However, it has been a while since I’ve been aboard. A long while actually.

First, I have to say, the Mertro North trains gross me out more than the subway trains. Yeah, the seats have padding, but you can see how dirty and grimy they are. I am on one of the older trains with the red and blue seats. I don’t think these trains are ever cleaned. There is no possible way that these seats have ever seen even a damp rag let alone a good scrubbing.

I’ve seen the new trains on the Harlem line. They look nice. They are pretty much brand spankin new. The seats are big (and sanitary) looking. There’s also a few double-decker trains it looks like.

On the plus side, I do enjoy facing forward. Only on the B, D, and a couple other subway lines can you catch a train with a few forward facing seats. It helps with the motion sickness.

I am shocked how many people are on this train. It is almost as crowded as an inbound train. I jus assumed that everyone came INTO the city in the morning. Apparently though, there are people that live in the city but work in places like Stamford. That sounds completely backwards to me. Who would pay the extra money to live in the city when you work in CT? Why not just live in CT too. Then catch the train to the city when you feel the need for some “culture.”

I is nice and quiet too. Probably because most of the people are sleeping. The train runs pretty silently, and not a sole is talking. I have to admit that it is kinda nice. I guess if you put padded seats like this on the subway, everyone would fall alseep. Nobody would make it to work on time.

Live from the subway, back to you in studio…

Today, SUBWAYblogger will travel by surface rail [insert shock and aww]. That’s right. In addition to today’s regular subway posting, we are hitting the rails of Metro North.

A business trip requires that we head north to visit clients in area know as “Connecticut.” No friends, that is not a neighborhood in Queens. It is in fact a whole other state…not the missing 6th boro.

Consequently, SUBWAYblogger is headed into subway routes not normally charted in this blog. This is because we must travel to Grand Central Station to catch our train. I know, many of you were unaware that there were “other trains” at Grand Central. In fact, it is more than just a transfer point to catch the 6 train. If you go up the mystery escalator, you will find even more trains, however, these are of the “above ground” nature.

I am now on the S train headed cross town for Grand Central Terminal. I will post again when the Metro North train hits daylight.

Wish me luck.

Live from the subway, back to you in studio…

So how often do you think a subway car is actually cleaned? I just touched a pole and could litterally feel the grease on it. I will look up the statistics on subway cleaning when I return to base camp. I’ll put an update here.

So anyway, the cars are dirty. There’s no other way to put it. Just gross. Generally, I try to NEVER touch the hand rails. You can SEE the hand juice on some of them. If you dare, run you finger down one of the poles. You can write your name in it!

I would imagine that the inside of the cars could easily handle a powerwasher. All you would need is to have a crew come in and spray the thing down from top to bottom, and its done. A couple of guys could wash an entire train out in under 20 minutes.

In the summer, you could just pull the train into your average tunnel, and leave all the doors open. The insane heat of the tunnel will dry it out in minutes. The whole process would leave a train out of service for 2 hours max.

Why am I not in charge of these things? Live from the subway, back to you in studio…