From You, To Me! (Vol. 48)

Happy rainy Friday ladies and gentlemen. I am glad this week is over! Having to work here after spending days on the west coast was no fun at all. Jet lag was serious this time around. I swear I don't remember it being that bad the last time I got back from Cali. Riding the MARC train this week was pretty cool. It's such an easy commute from Rockville to Silver Spring. The train ride is much smoother, and much more quiet as well. Some of the passengers are strange though. Some refuse to wait for the train on the platform. At Rockville, some choose to wait in the stairwells.


While at Silver Spring, some chose to wait on the overhead pedestrian bridge.


The amount of seat hogging that takes place is STAGGERING. And I thought it was bad on metro! I had no problem asking people to move their shit though. I wasn't gonna scour the car for a totally empty seat when there was one right there. Move your damn bag...you know the train is crowded! On my train the other morning, we had a conductor that REALLY loved his job. After everyone boarded, he yelled "all abboooooaarrrrdddd", followed by a resonating "CHOOO-CHOOOO....YEEE HAWWWW". Ok Boss Hog, its 6am...

As you know, I was unable to do "From You, To Me" last week since I was out of town. I have a TON of submissions. In effort of saving time, I will not be commenting on all of the submissions this week...

"Archives Navy Memorial"

I peeped this sign on the broken escalator at archives station. This escalator has been broken for months with a sign that said it would be fixed in sept. One day too my surprised it was running. Quite quietly at that. Still blocked behind the wooden construction zone so nobody could use it. It ran for a whole day then went back to being broken. I guess I wasn't the only one who noticed.

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"E.W.U."
Eating While Ugly

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"Wait!"
She's a violent offender!!!! E.W.U. Taking two seats and taking priority seating! That freaking bean burrito is killing me!!!

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"Seat Hog On the Weekend"
Hi, I rarely ride metro but had to go into the city for some volunteer work on Saturday. My coworker and I read your page on a regular and we LOVE it! On the blue line to Largo, a lady was on her way to the Smithaonian stop. She plopped down with her bag in the aisle seat to make sure no one was able to mess up her ride. Why was she biting her nails? I saw a "light up" guy but wasn't able to get a pic :(

I did get some tunnel action and slow downs after Staduim Armory. My friend who rides the blue daily said it's an everyday thing.


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"Now I Know What These Things Are!"


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"Cones"

Apropos of your photo yesterday, here is the scene at the Brookland/CUA metro. Day three of an invisible water hazard, day four broken escalator (after being down for six months for repair), and month two of broken faregate smartcard readers.


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"I don't know what just"

I don't know what just happened, it's about 9am Tue. and Gallery Pl station is full of smoke. I'm sure we'll hear more later.
Hustle Crow

http://www.wtfmetro.com/2009/10/breaking-news.html
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"Metro Fun"

Hey metroman,

I hope you are able to see this picture of a woman that I had the
pleasure of riding the blue line with on Tuesday afternoon. She is
plucking hairs from her chin! Yes, you read that right. She whipped
out a mirror and you can see the handled tweezers in her hand. Yes,
she saw me taking her picture with my cell phone but I think she
wasn't sure if I did so she continued. BTW, this was at 4:30 in the
afternoon.

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"funny IBM press release"

Washington Metro Uses IBM Software to Keep Mass Transit System Safe and On Time

http://www-304.ibm.com/jct03001c/press/us/en/pressrelease/28580.wss

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"Letter to METRO (10th in a series)"

Metroman,

Hope you enjoyed your week. It seems like the people at WMATA did, since they are up to their old antics.

I could hold back no longer. I wrote these @#*holes another letter on Wednesday. This is just another missive in a long string of communications I’ve had with these jerk offs. Anyone want odds on when the next Metro death will be?

Enjoy the weekend….

Paul H.

Dear WMATA:

While I know you are focused this week on terrifying pedestrians and retraining your stunt [excuse me] bus drivers, I would like to direct your attention to Metrorail for a minute.

Can you please tell these train operators to STOP IT WITH THE EFFING BRAKES ALREADY?!?!?!? Every day I'm on this horrendous transit system, riders are getting jerked around and practically falling over on one another because these operators can't figure out how to modulate the brakes when stopping in a station. It is a disconcerting and dangerous practice. No doubt this will eventually add to the stack of law suits you already have because someone is going to get hurt.

That is all. Have a GREAT rest of the week.

P.H.
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"Major Delays"
Lovely!


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"The Canadian Tuxedo"
Classic...only at Metro Center

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"Metro Bracing to Make Further Cuts"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/08/AR2009100802583.html?referrer=emailarticle
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"Green Line This Weekend"

Sunday Morning



So… Sunday Morning I needed to get to church early for a meeting, I leave out the house to catch the W4 bus to Deanwood station so that I could avoid whatever they were doing on the green line, that would hold up the process of me getting to church on time. The W4 bus “should” have arrived at 10:14am… nope luck there. The W4 had to have been more than 7 minutes early in order for me to have missed it >_< … grrr !!! At the point I have no choice but to get on the dreaded Green Line.

I arrive at the glorious Anacostia Metro Station where they had 4 metro employees dawning the fashionable lime green reflector vest, standing around chillin’ (insert image of guy posing with his b-boy stance here). I hear a train coming so I make a mad dash down the escalator, and hop on the train. I listen to the announcer inform the passengers that the last stop for this train is NAVY YARD!!!! The doors where still open so I run off the train, then notice there is a lil old man rocking one of the fashionable lime green reflector vest stand on the platform holding some of these beauties (please see attachment). So I ask the man how I am supposed to get to the Orange line, he then informs me I should have stayed on the train I got off of and taken that to Navy Yard to catch a shuttle bus the Le’fant plaza. WHY DIDN’T ANYONE SAY THAT (“anyone” meaning the metro employees/jokers that were standing upstairs chillin’)!!!! So the next trains wait time was 12 minutes >_< … grrr !!!!

So I am sitting there in disbelief … and just when I think thing couldn’t get worst… I begin coughing, when the familiar smell of my mother takes over me… CIGARETTE!!!!!! There was a bamma smoking a cigarette on the platform! I turned and mean mug him, and he was like “oh my bad”… then he attempts to hold a conversation with me… OH GREAT!!!!! I proceed to put my ear buds in my ear in hopes he would get the hint.. no such luck… he sits down next to me. I then started doing fast math in my head I concluded there was no way I was going to make it to the meeting on time. So while my newfound crazy friend was still talking to me I threw the towel in Metro vs. Tiffany … and METRO won.

I head back upstairs emotionally drained at this point, and ask one of the lime green reflector vest wearing (and at this point good for nothing) metro employees if I there was anyway I would/could be reimbursed for deciding not get on the train due to I had no idea what was going on. Then he ask me why I was “looking so sad” I then vented my frustrations with the bus, train, their (meaning him and his goons) lack of informing customers before swiping their fare cards about the whole shuttle bus non-sense, and the crazy man that made me his friend down stairs. The Metro employee asks me wear I was heading, I told him church, and then he says “well have some faith in the metro system”. I was blown away, a wave of anger took over me and I felt the steam shoot out of my ears! I walked away and went back down stairs. By the time I made it back down stairs the train had just arrived. I get on the train and go to Navy Yard. I just went over my friend’s house.

Sunday Evening (yup a glutton for punishment) I ended up at Gallery Place/ Chinatown I see 5 shuttle buses across the street, down the street, and not labeled (of course)! I spot a lime green reflector vest coming my way, and I ask him which bus is going to Anacostia, and he informs me it (the one down the street). I look down at the three bus down the street, and before I could ask which one, he was already walking off!!! So I run down the street, and ask one of the drivers and she informs me it’s the very last one at the end of the block (of course it would be the one farthest away…sigh), so I continue to run down the street, and I come upon 3 green reflector vest wear good for nothing metro employees standing there eating m-effing McDonalds, and shooting the breeze. I excuse myself and ask them if this was indeed the correct shuttle bus to Anacostia. Then one of them says “who told you to come to this bus” I tell him one of the drivers from up the block, he then say “well then, what are you asking us for.” WTF!!!!! I then kindly explain to him since the “brilliant” company he works for was smart enough not to put the destinations on the buses, or even a sign on the buses tell us were they were going, I didn’t seem the harm in asking, since Metro “never” makes mistakes. He stood there looking pretty offened, while eating his French fries.

~Fin~

That_Tiffany
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"What every metro rider needs..."

A hiking stick! Bet it comes in handy for beating the people that aren't walking up the left side!"
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"Message From Your Friend"
Hi, Metro_Man

Your friend That_Tiffany thought you might be interested in this article. http://www.wusa9.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=92344&catid=187&provider=email
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"Glenmont Glamour!"
Didn't Whoodini rap about this at some point?

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"Twins"
Nothing says tourist like matching rain jackets!!

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"OMG!"
Mr. Desmond Dekker Sr. enjoying one of the periodicals located under his seat...

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"2 car train appears again!"
caught this time going towards vienna

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"Photo on Metro"

This was somewhere between Brookland CUA and Fort Totten. I could hear this lady OVER my music and she was definitely cackling like she was in her living room. This is just one more reason I'm not excited for cell phone expansion through the metro system. Some of us know how to use it, others of us not so much. If you note, you can see her bag in the other seat. The train wasn't crowded... anymore... but she was on the train when I got on at Union Station and it was crowded. Seat hogs. Ugh.

As an aside, though, have you ever had anyone e-mail you because they recognized themselves in a picture?

Yeah...the cell phone service is definitely gonna come with it's share of cons. An no, I havent had anyone email me in regards to their picture being posted...yet!


*whew* What a load of mail that was!! Thanks for all of the submissions ladies and gentlemen. I look forward to these emails every week. You guys keep me laughing...and I hope to do the same for you.

If you have a funny story, picture, or video to share feel free to email it to me! metroman[at]wtfmetro[dot]com!

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Stay tuned for some bonus posts today!!