The commuter lifestyle

9pm, Saturday, January 17, 2009

Courtney: Guess what I miss the least about life in SF? My clock radio issuing gentle hits of the 80s (or, from Thanksgiving onward, Christmas muzak) at 6:15am to rouse me for the trudge down 101. Guess what's entertained me most this week (apart from reading Keith's blogposts)? The commuting idiosyncracies of our new island hosts.

(First, insert applause/back-pats here for my valiant efforts to go local and get a pre-paid commuter pass for the trains AND then actually use it most mornings and evenings this week. When taxis to the office are less than US$5 and I really want to wear high heels and long clothing that protects me from the Arctic temperatures in the generously AC-ed office, it's reeeeeally tempting to skip the warm 10 minute walk to the MRT (subway) and head straight for the taxi stand.)

The commute is probably most notable for what it lacks in comparison to commutes I've experienced in New York, London, and San Francisco.

• No homeless guys!!! Absolutely no need to exercise my SF-honed skills for recognizing the breath-holding radius for avoiding various biological odors.
• No frantic dashes up or down staircases or tunnels in the event that you're JUST ABOUT TO MISS THE TRAIN even though you're still about half a mile away and couldn't really tell anyway. When the trains come every 2 minutes and you're sure to get on, there's really no point rushing. (Oh, and did we mention it's hot?)
• No noise. Seriously. In the stations, on the platforms, in the trains...just the gentle patter of feet.
• Any chaos of any description. People literally stand in orderly lines up and down the length of the train cars. The etiquette is to face the windows in the direction of the station platform (as opposed to the wall of the tunnel). I initially resisted this because it's just weird, but then Friday evening I discovered with some alarm that I had fallen into the pattern unthinkingly. So that's how it happens...wonder what else is going to happen to us that way...

Innovations I wish we could import to the US:

• Cleanliness and air conditioning as far as the eye can see!
• Station attendants who guide us along the platform so the trains will be evenly distributed with passengers.
• Painted lines/arrows on the platforms in front of each set of subway car doors showing where you should allow passengers to exit. People really do line up where they're supposed to!

My type A, super efficient, east coast Virgo self swells with affection for my new home...