You wander around on your own little cloud
When you don’t see the why or the wherefore
You walk out on me when we both disagree
‘Cause to reason is not what you care for
Morning Routine – get up, get ready, pick up coffee from coffee cart on Irving/15th and hop over to the subway at Union Square
Get on N (preferred) or R or W (which never comes) or Q (which means I have to transfer) train and head uptown. I always get a seat at 620am
Get off at 49th Street (which is not as disgusting as Union Square). Walk one block to office.
but today was not routine….
Don’t sleep in the subway, darlin’
Don’t stand in the pouring rain
Don’t sleep in the subway, darlin’
The night is long
Yes I woke up in Queens – Queens Plaza. I got my $2 worth.
Walk across subway track and head back to 49th street.
The busiest subways in the US:
| Rank | City | Annual Passengers |
| 1 | New York MTA | 1,600,000,000 |
| 2 | Washington Metro | 350,000,000 |
| 3 | Chicago L | 225,000,000 |
| 4 | Boston T | 175,000,000 |
| 5 | San Francisco BART | 130,000,000 |
| 6 | Philadelphia SEPTA | 100,000,000 |
| 7 | Atlanta MARTA | 90,000,000 |
| 8 | New York PATH | 85,000,000 |
| 9 | LA Metro | 50,000,000 |
| 10 | Miami-Dade Metrorail | 20,000,000 |
includes my 500 rides per year
busiest subways in the world
| Rank | City | Annual Passengers |
| 1 | Tokyo | 3,011,000,000 |
| 2 | Moscow | 2,529,000,000 |
| 3 | Seoul | 1,700,000,000 |
| 4 | New York | 1,600,000,000 |
| 5 | Mexico City | 1,417,000,000 |
| 6 | Paris | 1,410,000,000 |
| 7 | London | 1,010,000,000 |
| 8 | Hong Kong | 867,000,000 |
| 9 | Osaka | 860,000,000 |
| 10 | Sao Paulo | 845,000,000 |
Now I have the ‘don’t sleep in the subway’ song stuck in my head. Crap. I’ll be humming it in my sleep. I’ll get you back one day for that.
By: Diane on December 10, 2008
at 4:15 am
when i was a kid and we would go to the city, riding the subway was one of the most thrilling things in the world to me. and, thanks, diane. now i have the damned song running around in my brain!
By: nonnie9999 on December 10, 2008
at 7:51 am
Sometimes I miss the subways. Not often, though.They were good for reading, and it’s true, they can rock you to sleep like no other form of transportation.
By: Volly on December 10, 2008
at 10:26 am
QP baby!! Wow. That is almost my old commute in reverse. And taking the N,R or Q uptown reminds me of coming up there to meet you for sushi lunches.Speaking of which I have called and emailed Jax but no reply. Have you heard from her?
By: FranIAm on December 10, 2008
at 12:47 pm
Oops!You didn’t wake up across from a naked guy, then decide to go to Coney Island like Seinfeld, did you?
By: Some Guy on December 10, 2008
at 1:06 pm
I grew up near Boston and remember taking the T in to go shopping with my grandmother or to an event (circus, Ice Capades) at the old Boston Garden. Those subways were far dirtier and creepier than the NYC subways I rode in early 2002. The Manhattan subways were nearly spotless, well-lit, they didn’t smell bad, and I never was in fear for my safety. I was actually a little disappointed.
By: Dawn on MDI on December 10, 2008
at 1:16 pm
500 rides a year?You never walk? All those long, flat streets that run north/south and all there is to see, plus the cardio benefit.Buy a pair of Nike and walk, boy!It’s good for your heart.
By: Christopher on December 10, 2008
at 1:17 pm
Awwww… My boss keeps falling asleep on the train and ending up in weird places.When I am in NYC, I take the F from Bergen Street, Brooklyn to West 4th and then walk to Hudson and Houston Streets. The F is usually too packed to get a seat, so sleeping isn’t an option for me.Oh well. I could be home in Ottawa, which just got 30 centimetres/1 ft. of snow just as its public transit went on strike. Moving to NYC permanently is sounding better and better.
By: toujoursdan on December 10, 2008
at 1:29 pm
Falling asleep in the subway is a testament to how laid back you are.When I was in NYC and rode the subway I was hypervigilant as a speed freak after a 48 hour tweak.
By: Karen Zipdrive on December 10, 2008
at 1:43 pm
Hi Cap;The picture of the NYC subways I read on these posts are far different than the ones I saw in the movies, where thugs are waiting to get you and in crowded cars old perverts were grabbing the flesh of women who couldn’t turn around to slap them.
By: Ichabod on December 10, 2008
at 3:35 pm
The Tokyo Subway is crazy. I never travelled there at rush hour, but it was bad enough during the day.
By: The Imaginary Reviewer on December 10, 2008
at 4:02 pm
ichabod, all those thuggy pervs have been taken care of via dcap’s legendary kung-fu.
By: Randal Graves on December 10, 2008
at 4:11 pm
Too bad NY doesn’t hire people to shove more passengers into the subways like you see in Tokyo. That would just make your morning commute, wouldn’t it?
By: SkylersDad on December 10, 2008
at 4:22 pm
Man, no wonder New Yorkers are a breed apart! I think ONE subway ride would freak me out!
By: okjimm on December 10, 2008
at 5:33 pm
oh that is funny…i used to take the G to queensplaza, then the N, R, or the BDFQ (before they switched them all around) to the times square area (I used to work on 46th St – still do, but now I telecommute from AZ), and I over shot my stop more than once…thanks for the memory!!
By: SSP on December 10, 2008
at 6:40 pm
Blogger SkylersDad said… Too bad NY doesn’t hire people to shove more passengers into the subways like you see in Tokyo. That would just make your morning commute, wouldn’t it?Why hire when there are so many volunteers? I would like the MTA to hire staff to shove the people out of the way who stand in the doors and block them so that others can’t get in or out. Then they can take on the dreaded “stroller people” who take up half the car during rushhour. Finally they could use cattle prods on the people who hold the doors open so that their slow friends can get in.
By: toujoursdan on December 10, 2008
at 6:51 pm
Diane – good, because it is stuck in my head as well LOLNonnie – it can be a thrill, until you smell a homeless person LOLVolly – I wont miss them when I leave NYFIA – you mean you didn’t take a cab on that company of yours!Some guy – I have been to coney island on the subway – and what naked guys and girls you see are nothing like SeinfeldDawn – clean I don’t know about LOL, but riding them never bothers me LOLChristopher – I do walk a lot — even to work. I rarely take mass transit when I go out at night – I can easily walk to union sq, east village, soho, tribeca etc.Tou – no seats? You mean you are nice and give your seat to the elderly – sometimes I see people that don’tKz – I am so used to it, doesn’t phase me, except when they skip stopsIch – the movies love to romanticize the subwaysImaginary – Tokyo is worse than NY, I can only imagineRandal – everybody was kung fu fightingSkyler – they don’t have to hire, people do it on their ownOk – no it wouldn’t – I would take you to McSOrleys and after a few pops let you loose at the Astor Place subway stopSsp – I would love to telecommute from like TahitiTou – oh the ones that don’t let you on or off – or the ones you touch and sneer when you invade their space
By: Distributorcap on December 10, 2008
at 11:46 pm
toujoursdan: I used to work at Hudson and Houston. Loved it because I could walk to work, but then they moved my office a few months ago and now I have to take the subway to work. I wonder if your destination is my former office? DCap: Have you noticed cut backs with the MTA? I definitely see a cut back in the mornings.
By: pissed in NYC on December 11, 2008
at 3:18 am
love this post..have not been to NYC in soooo long….would love to live somewhere where there is MAss transit that really works…sigh…don’t sleep in the subway dahlin”….don’t walk in the pourin’ rain…..sigh…yup totally stuck in my head…
By: enigma4ever on December 11, 2008
at 4:49 am
love this post..have not been to NYC in soooo long….would love to live somewhere where there is MAss transit that really works…sigh…don’t sleep in the subway dahlin”….don’t walk in the pourin’ rain…..sigh…yup totally stuck in my head…
By: enigma4ever on December 11, 2008
at 4:49 am
toujoursdan: I used to work at Hudson and Houston. Loved it because I could walk to work, but then they moved my office a few months ago and now I have to take the subway to work. I wonder if your destination is my former office?DCap: Have you noticed cut backs with the MTA? I definitely see a cut back in the mornings.December 10, 2008 10:18 PMMaybe. I am in the Saatchi and Saatchi (sp?) building. It’s a nice walk but wish there were more amenities here, i.e. a pharmacy and grocery store.
By: toujoursdan on December 11, 2008
at 2:11 pm
Yes, that song is now stuck in my head too. LOL about falling asleep and waking up in Queens. When I was in my teens I remember once my father (who took a bus home from the city every night from work) fell asleep on the bus and woke up about two towns farther over on the route. My mom had to go pick him up.
By: Mauigirl on December 11, 2008
at 2:46 pm
I used Bahston’s transit system for five years. I loved it..except for the time this small child tried to pick pocket my purse. I have also used the subways in DC, San Fran and Hell-A. Beantown’s was the best for service by far of the four I have used.
By: Dusty on December 11, 2008
at 7:08 pm
Oh shoot… I’m sorry I missed this… but it’s probably not as bad as you missing your stop.
By: Spartacus on December 14, 2008
at 3:13 am