The Joys of Public Transit

[rusty_armour]

Thanks to Viva and the TTC, I had a blast going to and from work today. This morning, it took about half an hour for my YRT bus to leave the bus platform because striking Viva workers were blocking every single bus leaving Finch Station. These people literally stood blocking the exit, holding up buses for at least two or three minutes at a time. Uh, I know I'm not always the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree, but I don't really understand the point of pissing off transit users when it's your employers you have a gripe with. In any case, thanks to the Viva strike, I was half an hour late for work.

On the commute home, the Don Mills bus was about 15 to 20 minutes late and I ended up transferring at Steeles because the bus was so crowded. However, that was nothing compared to the fun that awaited me on the subway. Between York Mills and Lawrence, we heard an announcement that there would be no service between Lawrence and Bloor and that we would need to take a shuttlebus if we wanted to go further south. As I often walk from Yonge & Lawrence to Yonge & Eglinton as exercise, this was no real hardship for me. I had actually been contemplating getting out at Lawrence to do just that. What I hadn't considered was the crowd of people that would be milling around on the subway platform, not to mention the stream of people that would be walking both ways on Yonge. Most transit users quickly learn that walking is much more appealing than trying to cram into the joke that is the TTC shuttlebus.

Anywaaaay, the sidewalks were a little more crowded than usual with the hundreds of people walking both north and south along Yonge. I overheard one person say that it was just like the Blackout and, yeah, it did remind me a bit of that. Fortunately, it wasn't blazing hot today and the walk was half an hour as opposed to my two hour ordeal of 2003. Of course, I was one of the lucky ones. I'm not sure how far some of the other people were walking...

Well, in the good news department, I have the day off tomorrow. Woo hoo! I'm also happy to announce that pyrateanny has made an AWESOME McKay Whump vid! You really must watch it! Watch it NOW!:

"" (Watch on YouTube)

This will only please a small percentage of my flist, but I'm really hoping that my next LJ entry will be the ninth installment of In the Family Way. I'm planning to write like mad over the next couple of days and finish the rough draft, dammit! With any luck, I might be able to post the ninth installment within the next week...

Comments

[windrose.livejournal.com]

Oooo! More In the Family Way! Yayayayayayayay! I'd send chocolate to encourage you, but it would probably be all melted and nasty by the time it got to Canada.

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

Well, it's enough to know that you're still interested in the story -- not that the thwarted offer of a bribe isn't appreciated! *g*

[pyrateanny.livejournal.com]

Hey, Rusty:

Thanks for posting my vid on your LJ! (And thanks for your Rodney-whump clip suggestions -- that was a great resource for me while I was putting together the vid.)

Your commute yesterday sounds really nasty! You definitely deserve today off!

I hope your writing session today is blissful and productive and that our gorgeous Indian Summer weather holds out long enough so that you can actually do your writing outside in that garden setting you mentioned. I look forward to reading your next installment! (With all its Sheppy goodness! *g*)

Cheers, Pyrate Anny

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

Hey, Rusty:

Thanks for posting my vid on your LJ! (And thanks for your Rodney-whump clip suggestions -- that was a great resource for me while I was putting together the vid.)

Well, I had to post the vid after you did such an awesome job! :-) And I was happy to come up with suggestions for Rodney-whump. Actually, it was kind of fun. *g*

Your commute yesterday sounds really nasty! You definitely deserve today off!

Yeah, the timing of the day off worked out extremely well! Transit nightmares aside, it was kind of a long week at work. I've started training a new editor, a process that has been just a tiny bit hellish. *g*

I hope your writing session today is blissful and productive and that our gorgeous Indian Summer weather holds out long enough so that you can actually do your writing outside in that garden setting you mentioned. I look forward to reading your next installment! (With all its Sheppy goodness! *g*)

Cheers, Pyrate Anny

I'm happy to say that today's writing sessions have been pretty productive so far. I finished the second last scene this morning and the third last scene at Edwards Garden. I might have written more on my nice bench under the shady tree, but the Indian Summer started feeling decidedly like fall so I had to retreat. However, I did a bit more plotting and only have the last scene of the ninth installment to go...with all its Sheppy goodness! ;-)

[njc2007.livejournal.com]

When you mentioned More, More, More, I thought maybe you had taken the subway through Summerhill station. It always sounds like "Rebel Yell" instead of Summerhill when they call it out. I think you deserve a day off.

I love the McKay Whump. I think my favourite is when he was shot by the arrow (actually, the aftermath is the funny part). The final whump from Shep is the perfect way to end the clip.

Yay!!!! More In the Family Way. Yup, I'm in that small percentage of your flist. *doing backflips* (not really, I'm too out of shape for that)

[pyrateanny.livejournal.com]

Love Summerhill Station, and its giant liquor store! (Pimm's ahoy!)

Love Billy Idol too! [Oh bugger, now I'll have to do a "Rebel Yell" vid. *g*]

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

When you mentioned More, More, More, I thought maybe you had taken the subway through Summerhill station. It always sounds like "Rebel Yell" instead of Summerhill when they call it out. I think you deserve a day off.

I never noticed that! I'll have to listen carefully the next time I'm travelling southbound! Unfortunately, I wouldn't have been able to go that far south yesterday even if I'd wanted to. Summerhill was one of the stations that was shut down. I'm still trying to understand why it was necessary to stop service between Bloor and Lawrence when the problem was apparently fallen wires at Eglinton Station.

I love the McKay Whump. I think my favourite is when he was shot by the arrow (actually, the aftermath is the funny part). The final whump from Shep is the perfect way to end the clip.

Yes, the arrow in the ass is a classic, not to mention McKay's morphine high afterwards. Like you, I also thought that final whump from Sheppard was the perfect way to end the vid.

Yay!!!! More In the Family Way. Yup, I'm in that small percentage of your flist. *doing backflips* (not really, I'm too out of shape for that)

I'd do cartwheels and backflips, but I've never been in good enough shape for that. *g* I appreciate your continued interest in the WIP that never seems to end. I really hope you'll enjoy the latest installment when it's posted. :-)

[anitamaid.livejournal.com]

Hm, no those names didn't really mean anything to me, but, how irritating public transport is, both in Canada and here :(

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

Trust me. The less you know about Viva and the TTC, the better! *g* I'm sorry that public transit is equally annoying in Norway as it is in Canada. I guess it's pretty much the same story worldwide.

[anitamaid.livejournal.com]

LOL yes, I guess it is!
Have you seen my travel report ? ;)

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

No, I haven't, but I'm kind of behind with my flist. I'll go take a look now -- unless this is something you've posted on Facebook. I'll be heading there next. Looking forward to reading your travel report wherever it's posted. :-)

[bakerybard.livejournal.com]

I got caught in the TTC thing too... I was walking up to Bloor to get the subway from there 'cause it was so nice out, and noticing the rather large crowd waiting for a bus on Yonge, decided to just keep walking. I left work just after 4:30, and even then the crowds of people at each subway station all the way up to Eglinton were getting ridiculous. Apparently it only got worse as the evening wore on. They should have had workers out telling people alternate routes, like they do in London when tube lines are down for construction. Silly TTC.

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

I was afraid you had probably gotten caught up in it too, though at least you're used to walking so that made me feel a little bit better. It's funny because I was also considering walking because it was such a nice day and then I was given no choice but to walk. *g*

It really is ridiculous how awful the TTC is at handling situations like this. They probably could have cut down some of the crowds if they did have workers telling people about alternate routes they could take. Hell, any attempt by the TTC to communicate properly with its customers would have helped. However, as usual, it was complete and utter chaos.

I'm glad you got home okay and survived all the crowds on Yonge Street. I had it really easy in comparison.