I was two hours late to work this morning. I had already planned to arrive in the office a half-hour later than usual (still technically “early” based on my official hours), but someone had a different plan in mind for me. The bus, through detours, got me to the station just in time to catch the 8:33 express train. The station was packed; I had never seen it as crowded as it was this morning. It turns out that no trains had been running for the last hour. When the next train finally arrived at around 8:50, it was the delayed 7:48 train, one I might normally take if it doesn’t look crowded.
Not knowing when the Amtrak Clocker train would show up, I took the NJ Transit train that arrived. It took more than an hour to get to the first stop, and by the time I reached my destination it was 10:30.
I don’t like the fact that I have to rely on mass transportation to get around. I guess this is one thing I’ve taken away from people who used to say to me things like, “All things that happen to you are your fault; you are the only one who controls your life.” Thus, even when I’m late due to train problems, it’s my fault for not having my own transportation–or for having a job that requires stepping outside of my place of living.
Yeah, but that’s ridiculous. Some people DO have their own transportation, but still commute via mass transit, and those people were late, also.