And the transit gods smiled down

There are lots of things involved when moving. There's the packing and the organizing and the throwing away of old junk that you really just don't need. (that part actually is almost cathartic..) But then there's the hauling and the dragging and invariably, when it's my turn to do all this, it rains.

However, on the upside, once you've managed to accomplish all of these very ambitious activities, you find yourself in a new place, with a fresh start full of endless possibilities!

I'm still working on organizing the actual house portion of this moving business, however, not everything is as labor intensive as all that. The change in commute is pretty much an automatic switch; in order to get home, I have to go a different way.

One nice thing about living in the city is that public transportation is readily available, though some options are better than others. For example, the buses around here are almost unusable. Sooooo unreliable and so incredibly s l o w. However, the trains are GREAT!

Previously, I was living just north of the city and I took the express train to and from work. It was pretty nice. The train was, without question, the quickest way there and back again.. however, it still took about 40mins to get downtown and if you factor in wait time, you're looking at almost an entire hour just to go one way. But the express had its upsides.. it is elevated the entire way and the view can be quite nice.
Also, when the train went express, it wouldn't stop for nearly 15mins. I am one of those who is blessed with the ability to sleep pretty much on command, and through pretty much anything, so those 15mins were perfect for using as a naptime. It was pretty great :) So, each day (if i got a seat) I would get a quick power nap going to and from work.
Maybe not the most glamorous pastime, but it was a pretty sweet arrangement.

With the move and the new commute, comes a new train line. There are some drawbacks to riding on this line regularly. One hears rumors of this particular line: It has "slow-zones" ... sometimes it is unpredictable ... it runs underground for about half of the trip ... sometimes it gets really packed ...
Ugh.

However, my commute that was once an hour in length has now been significantly reduced. Where once I would leave work at 4:57 and get home at 5:55pm (on a good day) today I left the office at 4:57 and was at the train stop by work at 5:01. I stepped off the stairs descending into the station and directly onto a waiting train and was immediately whisked away. We arrived at the stop by home at 5:13 and I was in the door by 5:19.

Bring on the crowds. Bring on the intensely raucous echoes as the train passes through the darkness of the underground tunnels: My commute is only 20 mins door to door.

I am a happy happy commuter.