Flail

The woman next to me, who looks like a skinny Judy Dench, is talking emphatically and gesturing like mad. The main problem with this is that she has sharp elbows and they hurt when she jabs me in the ribs. 

I wish she would learn to whisper. Not because of the sound, but because perhaps her elbows would only tickle.

And her coffee smells horrible...  Hehe.

Dirt

There is a younger construction worker sitting next to me. His head is buzzed to a stubble and recovering from a sunburn. He is talking to another guy across the aisle about their site. Most of the conversation involves phrases like, "Sheeeeit, I know," and the word sunuvabitch.

He is wearing a hoodie and heavy cargo pants. Resting on one knee is a spiral notepad. Wonder what this blue collar guy has to say...

"Hey pretty girl, I miss you more each and every day.."

I stopped reading after that. None of my business. But I feel for the kid. I'm sure she will appreciate the letter.

Furniture

Daffy woman sitting across from me thinks I am a footstool. After moving around and avoiding her subtley, I finally made a big production about rotating my hips away and my legs away from hers. 

She seemed to get the hint, but not really.

She is wearing purple scrubs and has a cluster of large roses tattooed across her chest. She is failing to to divine simple space logic here, so I pity anyone who may get a needle in the arm from her someday.

The guy across from me looks like a cross between Jim Parsons and Michael Keaton. It's fascinating.

Better

It smells like sweaty feet and old ink on the train. Loads of people getting on and there is no reason why it's so busy today unless people simply do not want to drive on a Monday. To be completely honest, who can blame them? I don't want to drive any day: especially Mondays.

There is a lady probably about my age hovering over me. I can feel her eyes staring me down as to why I am not offering up my seat. The reason behind that is an easy one: I don't wanna.

That, and spite because she seems to be making a bigger deal out of it than is necessary. 

Delight

People going to work, people heading home, some going to school, and that pretty much sums up everyone on the train this morning. 

The only exciting thing that exists right now is the bookend drunks sleeping sideways at both ends of the train; their necks hanging half off and against the windows, and a paper bag with a bottle in as their seat mate.

They have a decidedly shorter to-do list.

Pause

It would be interesting

if Time, 

the big one with the capital letter, 

moved forward for humans 

at a steady 

perceivable 

rate. 

Picnics and kisses 

And music: 

Tick tick tick. 

Work and taxes

And oil changes:  

Tick tick tick. 

And those few moments, 

those moments that 

you swear last 

forever:

a speech

an interview

dinner with her parents

or with your own.

Tick tick tick.

But that pause 

from your soulmate

after you say, "I love you,"

the huge swelling

inside you 

while you are waiting 

for what seems

like

lifetimes

for them to say

it

back,

and the feeling that

occurs when

they do:

In that moment, 

I am glad I don't know

clocks exist.

Friends

The Divine Secrets of the TriMet Sisterhood?

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Bus Pants?

Fried Green Ticket Fares?

Whatever you want to call it, there seems to be a collective of ladies who ride the train every day. They start as two and each stop seems to add a lady. They are chatting and laughing way too bubbly-like for this time of morning.

Makes me wonder if they are actually going anywhere, or if at a certain point they all get off, have brunch, and then so it in reverse.

Portland Train Brunch Club.

Short

I caught a train at a station much closer to work. I just love the "Park & Ride" ability. Picked up a red line train, which originates only one stop before, which means nearly nobody is on this bad boy.

Who is, you ask? Well some crazy-cat lady in her homemade knit sweater, who took the good seat, is watching her tablet. 

And someone has coffee somewhere. Likely without a lid. It's turning my stomach because the smell is pretty nasty.

There is a sick kid at the far end of the train. Probably two years old, with curly blonde hair and pink cheeks... coughing its brains out. Not into a sleeve or hand either, mind you, just open mouth gurgle-coughing.  Granted the kid is all the way at the other end of the train but... Still makes me paranoid a little.

Invasive

I had a really long rant about a guy here on the train, but decided it was really insensitive and mildly offensive. Maybe he can't help his body's odor problem, but man what I wrote was kinda harsh. 

Even for me.

Don't get me wrong, it's pretty bad. But I will just hold my tongue as well as my nose. I just need to get home and relax. 

Tomorrow is the amazing start of something wonderful.

Rounds

To sum up: 

Homeless guy to my left keeps pulling beer out of his bag and trying to subtley drink it and stuff it back in his bag. He makes such a production about the retrieval, sip and hiding of the bottle that everyone knows he's doing it and nobody cares. And he has bad taste in beer.

Girl to my right is standing, probably 5'2" and 95 lbs. skinny little thing in her yoga/long johns underwear. Leaving nothing to the imagination, but she has a rather large dog with her so she has a wide berth. Cute dog, though, with a pink bow on the collar.

Guy across from me looks like Brian Grant from Trailblazers of yore. Probably 6'10" -ish, his head is almost touching the roof. Tall people are calming to me for some reason.

Guy next to him is a creepy large guy in one of those black cholo shirts with flames on it. He's staring lasers at the dog-girl's crotch. It's pretty creepy. His buddy just nudged him and said to look at something else. Awkward!

Song

The argument of two guys at the platform this morning contained mostly the word, "fuck." I would say they were likely 20 or 21and were fighting about a girl. 

Not over or for, but about. 

All I heard as I walked by was, "I wasn't abusing her. Now that you are how Passion treated Skye you can see I was only defending myself." It was pretty pathetic, and the dialog they were using was like a terrible soap opera.

"You are only pointing the shitty end of the stick at me without hearing my second side of the story."

Oh lord, get me the boxed wine and microwave popcorn.

A train finally showed up and rescued me only to sit me next to an old Native American guy who also happened to be a TSA agent. He was moaning the songs of his people under his breathe for two stops before I remembered I have my headphones. 

Now the calming sounds of my own music are oozing into my head: much better.

Is it Friday yet?

Jeans

Everyone is wearing exceptionally tight jeans today. It's a little strange. I didn't get the memo, so you cannot see my genetalia. 

I am going to go home now and work on some music. I posed a challenge to a friend and need to hold up my end of the bargain. Progressions are already bouncing around in my head.

Not sure how I will get through this coming week, but it had better go quickly. There is a wonderful present on the end of it that had my heart going a million miles per hour. 

Obsession

Most people I know have an obsession. Something they really like that can make it easy to get "thinking of you gifts" for them while you are out and about.

It can be anything really: dragonflies, turtles, lighthouses, skulls, the color green, unicorns, or smiley faces. We all know that people have a defined thing they get pigeoned-holed into. 

I don't see this as a bad thing. What is odd is that I realize that I don't collect anything. I do love the color orange, but I also love blue and black. I seem to have more sweeping themes. For instance, while I know I could buy my neighbor "Scorpions" anything, I like music so there are a lot of bands I like a lot. It feels a little odd to not have that one thing that I simply know everything about and makes me happy. I am grateful to have sweeping likes, but it might be fun to own a lot of one themed item. If only I knew what it was.

This rant brought to you by the girl on the train in the Hello Kitty shoes, yoga pants, shirt, purse, hat and iPhone case.

Haze

I woke up late, dazed and confused with my alarm having gone off for 36 minutes. I didn't get good sleep at all and pretty much woke up swearing. I almost said screw it and went back to sleep, but I should keep my PTO for something more fun.

Everyone on the train looks weird today. Like the casting director for this episode of my life should be fired. Strange list of characters here: buff freckles guy in a white tank top, backpack and dress shoes; an overweight punk rocker who smells like vanilla cookies, and a well-dressed-but-overly-nervous Indian businessman. 

The most odd is this weird heroin chic couple who both look like they collectively rolled out of bed. Rail thin, tattoos, pink and purple sweats and hoodies... Holding on to each other like they are saying goodbye forever. His arm on her lower back is so tightly pulling her in that her willowy frame is folding inward like a bendy straw, and her head is buried in his tiny bird chest. I'm not sure if it's supposed to look like a Calvin Klein commercial, but it does. 

Early

I normally hit the 6:21 train, and while it's a bit busy, seats are readily available. I normally am surprised how busy it is given the time.

Today I could barely stay asleep, I woke up early, didn't hit snooze, and got out of bed way early. I slowly got ready, and caught the 6:08 train instead. 

Blown. Away.

This train is more packed. It's unbelievable this many people get up so early. I mean, doesn't anyone sleep anymore? This is obscene.