As the signal allows, I'm getting online thanks to another semi-local, chertling, while listening to an employee that Alan's talking to and Anthony and several others are listening to. I can't contribute myself (no room for snarky commentary in this case), but it's interesting to hear. Makes me wonder if I'd been deeper into this "mess" sooner if my attention span had held out... Though given how long I've had my casual interest in trains in general compared what seems to be turning into an Internet obsession, my progress to The Gathering could have really gone either way.
10:11 am
Observation and timing reveals to me that his name is Martin. ^^
12:14 pm
Camping in the Bloomington-Normal station now. Current estimate is about 1 hour 20 minutes late. I took a picture of myself wearing my recently acquired fez, and when it goes up I'm probably going to put a description on it saying something around the lines of "Normal is overrated anyway :3" ... Well, if I put it up. I seem to be getting a bit better about not putting any pictures of myself on the Internet ever. I don't know why I'm so picky, though. It's not like I'm getting drunk and doing stupid incriminating stuff that'd get me in trouble at work... Hell, though my last boss was decent and I Facebooked her... my new boss? Not only "no", but "hell no".
At least I've technically eaten. Not any Panera in the area (what, I still have a bunch of gift card money left), but I found a cool bakery called Medici Bakery. I got a blueberry muffin and a can of Diet Rite that I'm still nursing as I type this. Maybe I'll try seeing if there's a... Panera (I'm used to saying "Bread Co." cuz aside from it not going by that name in St. Louis, I can't pronounce Panera worth crap in my opinion) near a Metrolink station when I get in wifi range. I could probably look it up on my phone, but the Google Map comparison to Metrolink stations is a pain on my phone, when I can get it to behave properly at all.
1:48 pm
Granted I haven't had a laptop computer before that could play that Dance Dance Revolution simulator, Stepmania, worth anything before, but I did a little playing... Random songs, main one being Andante. Still need to learn that one‘s lyrics before I go to ARB in a few weeks, though I guess I can stumble through it with a copy of the lyrics... depending on forethought, I could pull them from the iPod or the computer.
8:22 pm
Home now and listening to my show while idling in my usual Sunday night chats. Yes, both of them, and I'm not the only one active in the AU one.
I saw (and, oddly enough, actually remembered that he had been) my sleeper attendant from last May. I said “hi” and he thanked me for riding again, lol.
Aside from the slight bit of annoyance/frustration that seems to come at least to me when a train’s late, it was an ok wait. Lessee… Walked to Medici Bakery with AlanB and a few other people, got a blueberry muffin and a can of Diet Rite soda. Granted, till that day I was specifically there for Steak N Shake, but what I saw walking to and from the station was cool.
After getting back to BNL station, I eventually turned to doing random stuff on my computer to kill time, and when the boarding call came, it turned out being short enough notice that I just grabbed my computer, threw the power cord in my bag, and kept the computer itself under my arm till I got on 303. As much as I was warming up to the idea of having an AU person as a seatmate in general by this point, I’m kind of glad I didn’t have one on 303, because I ended up throwing my computer and my phone on their chargers when I got seated.
Somewhere down the line, I did get random pictures and a “I did it because I could” video from the railfan’s window.
Mostly the ride back to St. Louis was random computer stuff alternating with me listening to the more expert people talk about their experiences and theories about stuff. I did also get a picture or two of the MacArthur Bridge.
We got back to St. Louis at 3:54, 54 minutes late, but it was still pulling back out by 4:15 as the next Missouri River Runner. Not a bad recovery of time by the end in Kansas City either, so I read.
After getting back to St. Louis, some people went their separate ways, but a small group of us remained to have dinner at Union Station. Due to being limited to the credit card at this point, which I seriously anticipated, I got a small order of orange chicken and a tea from Panda Express.
I rode Metrolink back to Civic Center with AlanB and the rest of the people that hadn’t already left Union Station, and called the cab to come get me at 6:18 pm, according to my phone. I don’t know why I didn’t save the phone call just a couple more minutes till I was at Gateway Station, but I managed to finish the call in time to wave and say good-bye to the gang still on the train.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=292674&id=560309743&l=1b90fc53e7
10:11 am
Observation and timing reveals to me that his name is Martin. ^^
12:14 pm
Camping in the Bloomington-Normal station now. Current estimate is about 1 hour 20 minutes late. I took a picture of myself wearing my recently acquired fez, and when it goes up I'm probably going to put a description on it saying something around the lines of "Normal is overrated anyway :3" ... Well, if I put it up. I seem to be getting a bit better about not putting any pictures of myself on the Internet ever. I don't know why I'm so picky, though. It's not like I'm getting drunk and doing stupid incriminating stuff that'd get me in trouble at work... Hell, though my last boss was decent and I Facebooked her... my new boss? Not only "no", but "hell no".
At least I've technically eaten. Not any Panera in the area (what, I still have a bunch of gift card money left), but I found a cool bakery called Medici Bakery. I got a blueberry muffin and a can of Diet Rite that I'm still nursing as I type this. Maybe I'll try seeing if there's a... Panera (I'm used to saying "Bread Co." cuz aside from it not going by that name in St. Louis, I can't pronounce Panera worth crap in my opinion) near a Metrolink station when I get in wifi range. I could probably look it up on my phone, but the Google Map comparison to Metrolink stations is a pain on my phone, when I can get it to behave properly at all.
1:48 pm
Granted I haven't had a laptop computer before that could play that Dance Dance Revolution simulator, Stepmania, worth anything before, but I did a little playing... Random songs, main one being Andante. Still need to learn that one‘s lyrics before I go to ARB in a few weeks, though I guess I can stumble through it with a copy of the lyrics... depending on forethought, I could pull them from the iPod or the computer.
8:22 pm
Home now and listening to my show while idling in my usual Sunday night chats. Yes, both of them, and I'm not the only one active in the AU one.
I saw (and, oddly enough, actually remembered that he had been) my sleeper attendant from last May. I said “hi” and he thanked me for riding again, lol.
Aside from the slight bit of annoyance/frustration that seems to come at least to me when a train’s late, it was an ok wait. Lessee… Walked to Medici Bakery with AlanB and a few other people, got a blueberry muffin and a can of Diet Rite soda. Granted, till that day I was specifically there for Steak N Shake, but what I saw walking to and from the station was cool.
After getting back to BNL station, I eventually turned to doing random stuff on my computer to kill time, and when the boarding call came, it turned out being short enough notice that I just grabbed my computer, threw the power cord in my bag, and kept the computer itself under my arm till I got on 303. As much as I was warming up to the idea of having an AU person as a seatmate in general by this point, I’m kind of glad I didn’t have one on 303, because I ended up throwing my computer and my phone on their chargers when I got seated.
Somewhere down the line, I did get random pictures and a “I did it because I could” video from the railfan’s window.
Mostly the ride back to St. Louis was random computer stuff alternating with me listening to the more expert people talk about their experiences and theories about stuff. I did also get a picture or two of the MacArthur Bridge.We got back to St. Louis at 3:54, 54 minutes late, but it was still pulling back out by 4:15 as the next Missouri River Runner. Not a bad recovery of time by the end in Kansas City either, so I read.
After getting back to St. Louis, some people went their separate ways, but a small group of us remained to have dinner at Union Station. Due to being limited to the credit card at this point, which I seriously anticipated, I got a small order of orange chicken and a tea from Panda Express.
I rode Metrolink back to Civic Center with AlanB and the rest of the people that hadn’t already left Union Station, and called the cab to come get me at 6:18 pm, according to my phone. I don’t know why I didn’t save the phone call just a couple more minutes till I was at Gateway Station, but I managed to finish the call in time to wave and say good-bye to the gang still on the train.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=292674&id=560309743&l=1b90fc53e7
