I am not a morning person. Never have been, and, at this point, have pretty much concluded that I never will be. If it were up to me, I would never speak before 11am. It takes every ounce of emotional strength I have to say, “Thank you” to the man at the subway who hands me the newspaper and to the conductor on the train.
I set multiple alarms, not because I’m afraid they won’t go off, but because I know I’ll sleep through them. It happens. Missed all four of them just a few weeks ago. I try to give myself extra time in the morning to get going, but nothing seems to motivate me to get out the door. I tell myself that if I leave by 7:40 I can have a leisurely stroll to the subway, yet somehow wind up leaving later than that and race-walking up the street.
This morning I got a late start. I snoozed a few times (which is pretty typical), didn’t hurry too much while getting ready, and got out the door one minute later than I was really comfortable with. I missed the subway by 4 seconds. No exaggeration: the doors had just closed as I got to the platform. Not that big of a deal: this time of day they come every 2-3 minutes. Two minutes pass. Three minutes pass. I check the time on my cell phone. Five minutes pass. More math in my head. Eight minutes after I missed the subway, another one pulls in, and as the train carries me uptown, I calculate the odds of me making my train to Connecticut. They aren’t good. Sure enough, I emerge from the subway, and run around the corner just in time to see my train pulling away.
I wait half an hour for the next train and realize that in addition to strolling into work unusually late, I have another problem. I will miss the last shuttle from the train station to my office. So, when I arrive, I look high and low, and eventually find a taxi (but not before finding an ATM so I can pay for said taxi).
And now I wonder, will the pain of this morning get me out the door any sooner tomorrow? Probably not.
*$20.50 is the cost of the taxi ride, plus the fees for the non-affiliated ATM.
3 comments:
I wish you luck with your future morning endeavors. These kind of mornings can happen to any of us, regardless of our snoozing habits -- because trains and subways and buses can always be late, even if we are on time :)
Sounds like WST- Wallin standard time. Just ask any Bleggi you know ;)
Thanks K, you're too kind. I'm tempted to blame that darned late subway, but I also know that if I was 5 seconds earlier, I could have prevented this whole mess.
Courtney, I usually can get away with my own version of WST, it's just those stupid train schedules adding the extra layer of complication.
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