connecting*the*dots

This is only the second time I’ve been back to the NJ/NYC area since I moved in September, and it’s the first time I’ve commuted in over three years. Stepping onto the NJTransit Bloomfield Station this morning immediately brought me back to the days of running to the Union Street Station with dripping wet hair and bagel in mouth trying to catch the N&R.

It’s strange how you notice the little things around you when you’re not a part of the scene, such as watching an entire car full of people reading their NYTimes (almost exclusively) by folding the paper into columns. Or how a triple seater gets claimed by two people, with one placing a large bag in the middle signifying “Go ask someone else to move. I need this space.”

No, I don’t miss spending an hour each morning struggling with the rest of humanity for a seat and a two-second head start out the door into Manhattan. But I have to admit, it is nice to be around people again.

UPDATE: Okay, I’m finishing this post at the office I’m working from this week. Let me take back everything I said about being around people. After I got off the train, I walked through at least five different scents of piss. My home office (sans piss smell) is looking good right about now.