When it rains, it....



Becomes really amazing to watch this city SHUT DOWN. New York must be the only metropolitan city that cannot handle water falling from the sky. Rain, drizzle, snow, hail, sleet, fog, mist: it all means the same thing--people FREAK as if acid or pepper spray will fall down and scar them for life. It's just water, people! Calm yourselves!!! This is not an excuse to run and hide and fuck up all schedules! Alas, kiddies, it always does.



This morning was a hoot: I get up extra early, I make my exit with time to spare, there's drizzle. No biggie. Well, bus drivers aren't showing up (although the MTA will tell you their service schedules are punctual and spotless--I'd love to know what they're smoking), and to make matters worse, I am stuck on the crosstown bus on the EAST side, not the west like I need. We are stuck in the tunnel for 45 minutes. I see a bit of light, so I call in. 25 minutes later, the driver has turned on East Houston and we proceed to go through Ave A, 1st Ave, and then 23rd street. It is now 9:25 am. Oh joyous wonder. Why can't I call in sick like the bus drivers do? Damn my sense of responsibility. Turns out it was roadwork plus an accident where a car or a van flipped over. Nice. Check your treads if it's raining! Or just act like a bus driver and stay home. Is there an announcement? Are there radios playing shadow traffic reports? Of course not. We just bite our lower lips while steam comes out of our ears and guess as to how we'll lie to our bosses this time.



I thoroughly enjoy the fact that traffic is a goddamn nightmare starting at 6 am. How do I know this? I get up to skate freestyles, which lately, I've been missing. Why? More bus drivers quit, and there's no 5:34 am bus anymore, like I need. Car service is $35, greedy bastards they are, so forget that. The traffic is in full blitz starting at 6 am. It's unbelievable. Still, those days are the only ones when I have a snowball's chance in hell of getting to work on time. And that's when I walk out my door at 5:45 am! Rain or shine! Maybe I should just pretend I'm skating everyday. That way I have 3 hours to battle the commuter bullshit that raises my blood pressure with frenzied accuracy.



Or, maybe the corporate assholes that made up this fantasy of 10 million people traveling in the same direction at the same time can give it up? It doesn't work. Toronto has "rolling" hours for jobs to reduce the flow of traffic, why can't we have that here? Some people at 9 am, some at 9:30, some at 10, some at 10:30. Those loveable Canucks keep it rolling until 11 am, it's safer, less stressful, and easier on the highways, not to mention its inhabitants. Why can't we do that????!!!!!



Because it makes sense.



I forgot. Stupidity and stress is the way it's always been done. Ooops, my bad. I'll shut up now.