Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Some Mornings Just Aren't Good

Sunday morning was not a good one.  It started out okay.  I woke up.  I got dressed.  I collected my notes for my tour.  It all started going downhill when I needed to leave the house.  Sure I knew that the train schedule was different on Sundays, but I had no idea it was non-existent until 8am (and I had somewhere to be at 7:45.

Here's the story:

6:54am - Check Nextbus for an update on the next train.  No results are shown.

6:55am - Decide that MUNI must not be running, so check BART. Those trains don't start running until 8am.

6:55:30am - Determine that I have to drive downtown and park for the day.  Search my brain for any ideas on a good place to park outside of garage where I won't get a ticket.

6:56am - Leave house.  While walking outside, I hear the sound of an old train--the one from Cleveland to be exact.  Walk over to the MUNI stop and board train.

7:01am - The train turns off of the street onto 17th.  Knowing that I don't want to do this, I get off the train and run down to the underground station.

7:08am - Stop in at my local diner to to chat with my very hungover friends and change some money.

7:12am - See the regular train go by and determine that I should leave.

7:15am - Walk outside to the underground station to find that it is closed.  Look up and notice the train is stopped a block and a half away, so begin running.

7:16am - While running, homeless people camped out by the church start yelling at me, calling me a c***. 

7:17am - I get to the train and the driver is outside.  Apparently he's not in a good mood because, in a very rude tone, he says "Tunnel is closed.  You can't get on."  Admittedly, I was a bit confused and distracted by the homeless people calling me a stupid c***, so I asked him to repeat himself.  "Tunnel is closed.  Won't open until 8.  You wait."  Uhhh...no waiting here.  I explained that I needed to be somewhere by 7:45.  "Not on train."  Needless to say, he was very helpful, and the homeless people really made me feel good about myself as they relentlessly called me a c*** and regaled each other with a blow by blow of how I, the stupid c***, ran like a c***, then, still as a c***, couldn't get on the train, so I, the stupid c*** couldn't go anywhere because I am a stupid c***.

7:22am - Feeling the crush of time, since I hadn't eaten any breakfast and really needed to get something in my system, I start to panic.  I see the Cleveland train pass by on Market Street.

7:23am - I start walking over to the first bus/train stop.  Nothing there.

7:24am - I spot a taxi and try to flag it down.

7:25am - The taxi turns onto Market, making me believe it's all over.  Then, the taxi driver waves me over.  I run through traffic, just to find that he has a passenger.

7:26am - The driver rolls down the window and apologizes.  I tell him to turn off his light and return to the sidewalk.

7:28am - I plant myself at the next bus/train stop.  No taxis.  No buses.

7:31am - A bus comes by.  I board.

7:36am - The bus passes the old Cleveland train.

7:41am - I arrive.  Since I have 4 whole minutes, I go to Noah's Bagels for a little breakfast.

7:42am - I order from a very angry girl.

7:44am - The angry girl takes my money. I misheard her when she mumbled the price, so I only put down $2.  Upon her return, she looks at my money and says, "Uhh...It's $2.29".  Easily fixed. I hand her another dollar.  She completes the transaction and throws my change at me.

7:46am - I just want my damn bagel.  I see it sitting over on the counter.  Another worker who was busy standing around staring at nothing finally gives it to me.

7:47am - I arrive at the Ferry Building and see my tour group.  I stand to the side and eat my bagel.

7:48am - I introduce myself.  Things improved from there.

Some mornings really blow.

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