Rat Race

Yesterday I attended a technical conference in Manhattan.  I was lucky enough to get to stay over at the Marriott Marquis on Sunday night; that's where the conference was held.  Service there was primo, and they put out a very nice spread for lunch!  I had taken the Long Island Rail Road on Sunday afternoon, and walked up the dozen or so blocks to the hotel.  The weather was balmy compared to a few days prior -- in the forties! -- and I had a new backpack-style laptop bag which made my load seem lighter.  I very much enjoyed the sessions, and at 5PM on Monday I was ready to head home.

I'd already purchased the round trip portion of the train ticket, so I merely had to walk downtown to Penn Station and find a suitable train.  Oh yeah, and grab a slice of pizza on the way...I used to be a major pizza-holic years ago so this was a trip down memory lane...I am still carb girl in a major way though.  The pedestrian portion of rush hour wasn't all that bad until I reached 36th Street.  Two blocks in elbow to elbow quarters, which I must admit made me nervous since I'm not used to that.  And I was fortunate to find a train that was not traveling the full distance down the line, so I was able to get a seat -- hadn't expected that!

I must say that I continue to have sympathy and respect for those who do this commute day in, day out.  Plus, it's expensive ($9.75 for an on peak ticket for a 45 minute ride) and it's time consuming.  Being closed in among crowds of people is no picnic either, for various reasons.  Whew!