LIRR Nightmares
It started off as a regular morning -- well, a regular morning after a four-day weekend. ┬аYour typical grogginess, difficulty waking up to an alarm, general irritation. ┬а
All normal.
I left my apartment on time and not rushing for once (give me credit for this) and saw a text from my mother around 7:50am.
тАЬIs your train on time?тАЭ
(I believe they call this foreshadowing)
I get ready with the news on every morning and didnтАЩt hear anything about LIRR delays, so I wondered why she was asking that. ┬аI also wasnтАЩt at the train yet since I take the 8:03 every morning so I didnтАЩt know. ┬аBut I thought nothing of it.
I got on my train and quickly heard that they were experiencing some delays (WHAT ELSE IS NEW) and would be making local stops. ┬аEh, I can live with that. ┬аThatтАЩs all fine.
But then, all hell broke loose. ┬аInstead of just telling you what happened in my own words, I can also show you in series of photos. ┬аAlternative title to this post: ┬аALLISON HAS A MENTAL BREAKDOWN.
BUCKLE UP.
First, the alerts. ┬а The Long Island Railroad isnтАЩt great at saying,┬атАЬhey, there are going to be delays later; you might want to plan accordingly!тАЭ but they ARE great at saying,┬атАЬuh, yeah, there are delays now. ┬аbut you probably know that already.тАЭ
It wasnтАЩt awful, though. ┬аSure, I was late, but nothing out of the ordinary. ┬аI figured all the extra stops were causing the 20 minute delay (which I can live with! ┬аIтАЩm easygoing and patient! ┬аVery go with the flow!)┬а
But then... we stopped. ┬аThere was no more movement. ┬аI looked at my calendar to see what meetings I had today at work, and the first call was at 10:30. ┬аPhew, IтАЩll probably make that, right?
(Foreshadowing again)
I email my team and tell them IтАЩm going to be late and decided to just try and be patient (something I suck at), throw on some music and deal. ┬аI also felt like I should document the delay because IтАЩm an over-sharer and have this weird thing where I think people care about what IтАЩm experiencing:
I now started to get antsy. ┬аMy butt hurt from sitting for so long. ┬аPeople were starting to lose their patience and tempers. ┬аI felt bad for those who were stuck standing in the aisles, but also was secretly glad it wasnтАЩt me. ┬аI felt the train walls closing in on me and suddenly felt... panicky. ┬аThe man next to me -- who at this point hadnтАЩt said a peep -- decided to call every single person in his phoneтАЩs address book. ┬аLUCKY ME.
I look at my phone battery: 38%. ┬аI should probably not use my iPhone anymore, but what am I supposed to do during this stressful situation?! ┬аI HAVE TO CONTINUE TWEETING HATEFUL THINGS AT THE LONG ISLAND RAILROAD TWITTER HANDLE!
topical.
┬аnot the most mature, but... *shrugs*
I *also* needed to keep concerned friends and family posted on my whereabouts:
of course I gotta keep Sue in the loop.
ItтАЩs now 10:30. ┬аIтАЩm hot, IтАЩm full of rage. ┬аIтАЩm annoyed.
IтАЩm late for my client call.
I think about all the times the trains have been messed up in 2017 and I get annoyed. ┬аI THEN remember that I pay $300 a month for this godforsaken piss-poor service, and I start to see red. ┬аBreeeeeeeeeeathe, Allison, just breathe.
I hear the conductor make an announcement on the loudspeaker, so I take my headphone out to hear it. ┬аOnly, I canтАЩt hear it, no one can -- the volume is too low and his voice is muffled. ┬аTHE SPEAKERS DONтАЩT WORK; WHY WOULD THEY???! ┬аPeople on my train laugh; ┬аthe kind of laugh that happens when youтАЩve lost your mind. ┬аBecause we have.
Now, the worst happens... I lose cell phone service. ┬аNo more Instagram stories, tweets and texts. ┬аThis is it, I think, this is my home now. ┬аI live here. ┬аIтАЩm never getting out.
11:00 am.
Just as I begin to accept my fate that I somehow died and am now living my personal hell, we pull into Penn Station. ┬аThree hours of commuting. ┬аTwo hours longer than normal. ┬аI stand up and just see a bunch of faces: disgruntled, defeated. ┬аWeтАЩve been through battle together. ┬аAnd now our (work) days were only just beginning.
I made it into work at 11:20ish; a bruised and battered commuter, and as soon as I turned the corner into my desk area, I saw about ten concerned faces look up at me. ┬аI make a VERY SERIOUS announcement. ┬а
тАЬI need ten minutes before I can talk to anyone.тАЭ
And whatddya know, they listened. ┬а
So, not the greatest start to my day, but I survived. ┬аAnd to those who followed along on my little nightmare journey this morning, youтАЩre the real MVPs. ┬аThat couldnтАЩt have been easy to witness.
So, tell me: any fellow commuters out there? ┬аGot any nightmare stories for me?






















