Planning your ultimate MTA subway ride and exit strategy…
I’m sure many of you New Yorkers (and subway/train riders around the world in general) are like me when about to board the train. One MUST be tactful in choosing their “travel” spot for the duration of their trip.
For example, here are a few things that come into my mind before and after entering the train car, in order of thought process:
- Approximate where the train will stop so you can be right in front of the sliding doors when they open, this way you can be the first to enter and claim your seat and or pole position (please view Figure 1.0 below)
Figure 1.0 - notice how these individuals have placed themselves in anticipation of the train =P
- Upon entry, if there are no seats available, scan quickly for other options. Since I do not like holding on to any hand of those germified poles, I try to lean up against the sliding door (without my backside on the actual door since the warning sticker forbids it) and wedge myself against the seat and the door. HOWEVER, you should always lean up against the door that will rarely open during your trip because you don’t want to always have to move aside to let new passengers in, plus it’s just rude to stand in the way. (please view Figure 2.0)
Figure 2.0 - I actually angle my body in the corner
- If I am unable to secure a spot by the door, I will then reach for one of those vertical poles… with 2 fingers (I figure its more sanitary with less appendages holding on?)
- If I’m stuck reaching for one of the horizontal poles right above the seats, I try to scout who might be getting off at the next stop or two so I can take their seat when they get off. So, does that mean I “profile” who to stand in front of based on attire and perhaps race? Well yea, I’m not gonna lie! Usually that old Asian woman will be getting off at Canal or Grand St… just sayin’. Case in point: I was on the Q train riding from Manhattan to Brooklyn when two non-Asian girls came on. I had my headphones on (however, my iPod had just died, I just put my earphones on as a safety to ignore all the crazy people that try to talk to me on the street and/or train), and I overheard one girl tell the other, “Yo, stay in front of this Asian chick, she’s gonna get off at Canal St.,” to which my head shot up thinking “Oh are they really talking about me right now?!” I politely replied, I’m not getting off until Parkside Ave. and they both looked mortified that I heard them. I couldn’t really be mad at them because, hell, I would have done the SAME thing (I just wouldn’t have been so freakin’ loud about it!)
- Now, I have a pickle to pick (wait, is that the right term? I don’t think it is) with the MTA for those absurdly high poles in the middle of some of these trains. When the train is packed, and someone short like me is trying to hold on for dear life, how do you expect me to reach that high one? Not only that, but tall people don’t even use these! What gives?! (please view Figure 3.0)
Figure 3.0 - I CANNOT reach that, and no one even uses those rails! WTH! #waste
- Exit strategy. The key is getting out of the train where less people are leaving, know where the nearest exit gate is and see if you can exit out through the next door over, chances are, more people will want to exit out the door nearest the subway exit, so you’ll be better off getting out through the next door over and bypassing the traffic =)
Now, if you need something to help guide your ultimate subway riding experience, you can actually download an iPhone app called “Exit Strategy NYC” (which I stumbled upon googling images for this post lmao!). Pretty awesome and on point, but it’s $4.99 – no thanks. **I STAND CORRECTED, MY OLD BOSS SAID IT’S A LIFESAVER. BECAUSE I LISTEN TO HER ALL THE TIME, I WILL GO AHEAD AND PUT MY 2 THUMBS UP BEHIND THIS APP AND WILL INSTALL IT. HOPEFULLY IT WILL SAVE ME TIME WHEN I’M RUNNING LATE FOR AN APPT =)**
Happy riding!
Tried looking at old photos to find some pics of me on a damn train... this was the only one I found! Holy old school!
…via We Are the 99 Percent
Dear friends,
I am lucky enough to have a good job and minimal college debt thanks to scholarships, work study and grants. I just want to say that I understand. I grew up poor and moved upwards of 20 times because of several evictions. At times, I was homeless and other times I lived with friends. During my junior year of high school, I lived in a hotel and on the one year anniversary of the beginning of my stay there, I was accepted into my state’s flagship university. I consider myself lucky since many of my friends struggle. I would like to tell you all that your courage, resolve, and engagement will lift you from the doldums and activism akin to this has helped people like me. I thank you for your passion.
In Solidarity with my brothers and sisters,
99 Percenter
on tumblr vs. twitter…
just a quick post because i was having a convo about this earlier with a friend and i know, i haven’t been updating lately – just a lot going on.
anywho, i prefer twitter over tumblr. i only use tumblr for my work portfolio. i understand the ease of it, but i call tumblr the “lazy blog” because you’re just regurgitating other people’s posts. and you can’t even comment on any of the “notes!” wth?
twitter at least, has your own voice. unless you’re just one of those RT’ers…
that’s it.
the end.
what do you prefer?
on the Manila MOVEment…
ever since my eye-opening homecoming trip to the Philippines last may with the bf, and having full length discussions with my aunt, who’s also my ninang, about the Philippines’ future and tourism, i’ve absorbed a new kind of pride… not just “pinoy pride,” more like… social, or maybe even generational pride. nevertheless, the fact that i see young balikbayans and true pinoys/pinays working together to make a social change in the Philippines, is a movement that i want to be a part of.
now of course this kind of social change has been going on for years and years – i know this because my aunt has worked at the department of tourism for as long as i can remember – a very important leg of Philippine government as tourism makes up a huge chunk of the country’s weatlh.
now, not only did my aunt take the bf and i to some of the best beaches and towns of the Philippines, but she also showed us how much the country has grown the past few years. introducing us to eco-friendly establishments like the el nido resorts in palawan. seeing and experiencing these places and people first-hand, struck a chord in me. the last time i had been to the Philippines prior to this trip, was when i was about 15. back then, poverty was on every street, every corner, EVERYWHERE.
there is still poverty, and yes, the Philippines is still considered a 3rd world country. however, there has been an escalation in social and economical activism – you can see it everywhere. the streets are cleaner, new housing developments, even MORE malls. i don’t believe i even encountered children knocking on our car window begging for money. i was very shocked – in a good way.
not only has the Philippines grown economically, but they are no longer a nation that is “behind the times.”
you see, growing up my friends and i would make fun of “fobs” (fresh off the boat folks). we, being 1st or 2nd generation filipino-americans, saw ourselves apart from our fellow pilipinos living in our homeland.
to us, the Philippines was the home of our PARENTS, our GRANDPARENTS, not us. it was a land so different than what we know.
we were americans, they were fobs.
our parents watched tv patrol and tfc. all we saw and understood was crime, death, corruption in the Philippines. never did i recall filipinos glorifying the accomplishments they received in, say, advertisement, fashion, or culinary arts. hell, even anthony bourdain’s Philippine adventure was a let down – did you guys watch this episode?! the guy they chose was a total misrepresentation of us! BLAH!
this is why tourism in the Philippines has suffered for so long! filipinos have struggled with their identity, forfeiting all the majestic glory of their islands, and focusing their efforts on the destruction of their own people.
WE are the reason we are too scared to visit our homeland! “be careful, you might get kidnapped!”
this NEEDS to change. it HAS to change.
some of the people leading the way to “healing manila,” are people like sarah and banj, my aunt, rosario, teresa, nante, vicky, and so many others.
THEY ARE THE FUTURE OF THE PHILIPPINES.
they are slowly breaking through the mold we’ve created for ourselves. they are making us PROUD to call ourselves filipino.
so thank all of you, wherever you live, for promoting our homeland in a positive light – “Together, we can Heal Manila.”
PS. Round 2 of #ManilaMinds is had a discussion at co[LAB] about tourism –CLICK HERE
Arriane also gives a great recap HERE.
…on being skinny fat
for those of you who always thought i was a skinny girl (ahem JAYNE lol)… here’s proof to show you how skinny fat i really am!
the trick for me is, knowing how to hide the belly =P
anyway, i got my results from the fitness assessment we’re all forced to do before joining our work gym and check this shit out – GAH! i REALLY need to see a nutritionist – this is NO BUENO!
BELOW AVERAGE?!
its also probably because i haven’t been riding my bike as much =(
on eating, praying, loving…
a long time ago, one of my best friends from back home in the bay, lent me the book: eat, pray, love. i tried tried tried TRIED to get through the first few chapters, but to no avail.
i was impatient. i didn’t want to read about some middle aged woman going through a divorce from a man who still loved her, nor did i want to read about her packing up and leaving to live in rome to enjoy life and food, travel to india to find self through meditation, and finally bali to find love.
i got all the way up to the end of her rome stint and that’s when i found out that julia roberts was going to star in the movie version – to which i put the book down and waited.
waited i did. the movie came and went and only now did i finally watch it because it was available on netflix’s instant watch menu. (and if you follow me on twitter, than you may be thinking, damn – i watch a lot of netflix on the weekends since i pretty much watched russell brand nyc stand up show and wwe’s top 50 superstars.. both very much worth my time).
as i watched, i couldn’t help but feel depressed. the same kind of feeling i felt as i started reading the book. i couldn’t figure out why i felt this way over a movie/book that is meant to nurture one’s heart and open one’s mind…
that’s when i decided to write a blog post about to help me try to figure it out.
i apologize in advance if my words will go neither here nor there at some points – cupcake wars is on tv and i’m fighting HARD to concentrate on this post.
so, let me begin by saying that part of the reason (and now, my cat is threatening my keyboard as she finds a comfortable spot on my lap), why i feel so bitter about this movie is because of jealousy and maybe a tinge of regret.
when i was younger, i always told myself that i would move abroad and indulge myself in life – in as many cultures as i could get my hands on. before i turned 22, i had already been to over at least 20 countries – in and around asia and all over eastern and western europe. i wouldn’t care what job i had as long as i was happy experiencing new things; bearing witness to people living the same lives – just in a different way; and of course, tasting, smelling, hearing the new life i would have made for myself away from the bay area.
on the lack of celebrity style…
i came across this blurb from ny mag’s the cut:
Daphne Guinness:
I really don’t understand the idea of a celebrity stylist. Is it a real job? I know there’s unemployment, but frankly the railways need to be fixed too. Elizabeth Taylor was never told what to wear or paid to carry a certain handbag. I was sort of out of the world for 15 years when I was married. And now that I’m back in it, there are all these new things. The power of the stylist is an entirely new concept to me.
now, while the majority of my friends are stylists to the stars, and rightfully so, i think the daphne has a point. however, i’m going to take another route to her comment and focus more on the fact that i truly believe that most celebrities, the majority of them, have NO style.
if you look at some actors/actresses when they were “nobody’s,” most, if not all of them were, plain and simple – probably wearing gap and abercrombie.
once these celebrities start raking in the cash, they’re now able to BUY style. maybe not their own style, but a style that was, in fact, given to them – perhaps even morphing their personalities to fit this new image (take what’s her name, taylor momsen for example).
celebrities like elizabeth taylor, sienna miller (i know i know, some of you hate her, but i love her), or even zoe kravitz – they don’t need a stylist because well, they have ownership of their outward appearance and you know that it comes natural to them… what they wear doesn’t define who they are.
i could go on and on and on, but i’ve already forgotten the rest of what i wanted to say, so i leave this as an open forum for you to share your comments lol.
OH! you can also read my rant about “fashionistas vs stylistas” (looks like i have a tendency to let my thoughts trail off bahahahhahaha! oops)
the adventures of yoshi 
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