Warning: This entry is really long. It was my only method of keeping my sanity on the train ride to NYC.
10:30 AM:
This morning I woke up nauseous I was so nervous. I quickly got ready and packed the couple last minute things I needed, toiletries and such. After a brief stop at my grandma’s house, and a quick stop at the little Diner in Pittsboro for a sausage biscuit, we loaded up the car and headed to Greensboro!
We arrived in Greensboro an hour before my train was scheduled to leave, thinking, “Great! Perfect timing to get everything in order”. As we are unloading bags from the car in a near-empty parking lot, a man came running across the tracks telling us the Amtrak Station was in downtown Greensboro. It turns out Google Maps doesn’t know shit. We jumped in the car heading towards downtown without any idea where to go. Luckily I was able to pull up directions to the street the man said it was on via my phone and we arrived at the Amtrak station at 8:55, 25 minutes prior to my departure. After a brief stop in, and a quick goodbye to my parents, I passed through the doors and headed toward the platform to board my train. After boarding the train and taking my seat, I sat down and exhaled a sigh of relief to finally be on my way to my final destination, New York Penn Station. I found it kind of disturbing no one inspected my checked baggage or carry-on bags. I mean… not even a metal detector. I have to call Jen right now and tell her that, haha!
Then things got interesting. I man and his wife made their way to the back of the train where I was sitting. Across the aisle from my seat was a crusty, obese person (gender unknown) stretched out sleeping with half of their fat ass spilling over into the next seat. The couple had a quick, private conversation and the wife sat beside me and her husband across the aisle sharing a seat with fatty. It was kind of awkward, just like that feeling when you’re flying, sitting on a window seat and a stranger sits down beside you. We greeted one another and got settled. The train started moving and I felt another stint of nausea from my nerves taking over, followed by nausea from the rocking and bumpiness of the train. After a while, my stomach settled and I was good to go. I popped out my laptop to start this blog entry and to watch a DVD (woohoo for outlets in every row!). No sooner did I open MS Word, the car attendant (?) came around asking where everyone was going. When I told Him, “New York”, he said, “New York?! What are you doing all the way back here?” I was like, “Umm, am I supposed to be somewhere else?” and he was like, “Yea, the front car. Now why don’t you trade seats with this gentleman so he can sit with his wife since they are traveling together.” I was pissed! Not only was I in that seat first and all set up with my laptop and other belongings, but I did NOT want to share a seat with half of fatty’s fat ass. I gave him a brief look like, are you f’ing kidding me?! No sooner did the car attendant finish the sentence and the lady beside me jumped right up and was staring at me, waiting for me to get up and move. I grabbed my shit and made my way to the next car back where I now have a seat by myself, no one even across the aisle. Walking between trains was quite an experience carrying a 25 lb duffle bag and bookbag. I was getting banged into the walls and shit. Talk about pissed. I will excuse it still being in the South… I guess… but once I am in the city, no more mister nice guy.
Watching North Carolina pass by out the window is kind of neat. I will be excited to pass through larger cities! I will also get to see three states I have never visited (Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey) with stops in each. We are in Durham now, picking more people up… or maybe dropping people off… I can’t tell. I have my jacket in the seat beside me so it looks like someone is sitting there. Movie time!
3:30 PM:
So… movie time didn’t happen. I decided instead to take a nap. As soon as I started to doze off, I was rudely awaken by Car Nazi (formerly known as car attendant) informing me that when we got in Raleigh I would again have to move to a seat in the car I had just come from because the car I was in was reserved for a group boarding. I angrily packed my stuff up, AGAIN, made my way through the sketchy corridor again, and took an aisle seat beside some girl where the Car Nazi told me to sit. I plopped down and realized I had just sat in an unidentifiable liquid. At that point, I went from pissed to livid. I decided to try to make the most of it and just enjoy this unique journey regardless of the mystery puddle I was sitting in while conjuring up a letter of complaint in my head. A few stops later, an entire row opened up two seats ahead. I quickly jumped at the opportunity to have a row to myself and be by a window where I could plug my laptop into an outlet. Two minutes later, the Car Nazi came by and barked at me for changing seats, AGAIN. I laughed it off, thinking maybe he was being funny. Well, he wasn’t. Granted they are the ones who made me move the two previous times, I felt no guilt, just another paragraph in my letter. I received another seat mate at the next stop, but it has been fine. Except for my journey to the restroom and snack car. I made my way out into the aisle past my neighbor, which is always kind of awkward. I was waiting patiently for the lavatory to open up, while one Car Nazi informed me that there were two, one beside where I was waiting and Car Nazi #2 laughed. Yep, another paragraph in the letter. I continued to the front of the train working my way to the snack car. Where after being informed that the “Fresh Sandwich of the Day” was corned beef, I opted for a cheeseburger and a Pepsi. One minute and $7.50 later, I was taking a seat at a table with my freshly microwaved “cheeseburger” with the chewiest bread I have ever eaten in my life. I was finishing up my can of Pepsi when Car Nazi announced that the snack car was closing and that I needed to return to my seat. I did so and began reading This is New York by E.B. White, an essay written in the 40’s. It reconfirmed all I expect and hope for the city. The diversity, the struggle, the locals, tourist, commuters. The book opens with the following excerpt:
“On any person who desires such queer prizes, New York will bestow the gift of loneliness and the gift of privacy. It is the largeness that accounts for presence within the city’s walls of a considerable section of the population; for the residents of Manhattan are to a large extent strangers who have pulled
up stakes somewhere and come to town, seeking sanctuary, or fulfillment or some greater or lesser grail. The capacity to make such dubious gifts is a mysterious quality of New York. It can destroy an individual, or it can fulfill him, depending on a good deal on luck. No one should come to New York to live unless he is willing to be lucky”
I am willing to be lucky. I feel that anyone moving to New York, whether they are moving for a six-digit salaried job downtown or without a goal or purpose, has to be a realist to some degree, accepting the fact failure is possible. Failure happens every day this city which is home to 8 million people. You gotta have faith, not in a God, or faith that they are entitled to success, but faith in yourself. Maggie sent me a text this morning as I was on my way to the train station in Greensboro, NC that was very encouraging. I feel that by making this life change has made me realize that people believe in me and see my potential, even when I am not sure of myself. I do know this was a good decision. If I were to do it again, I would be on a plane. I have been traveling on this train for seven hours and I am not even in Maryland yet. In fact, we just arrived in Fredricksburg, VA. Unfortunately the two girls directly behind me, who have been doing crossword puzzles together for hours on end, are still onboard.. still talking.. still annoying.
6:20 PM:
It is getting dark and we are just now departing Baltimore, Maryland. Going through DC was awesome! I love that city and entering from the train gave me a whole new perspective. So far it was been the highlight of my trip due to the excitement of being in a familiar place, seeing famous monuments, and a LOT of people disembarked including my seatmate and the annoying girls that were behind me. I’ve been fortunate enough to have a row to myself and it has been awesome. I am surprised there is no Wi-Fi at the various stations. I was expecting there to be something. Baltimore is a cool city; I came really close to moving here just over a year ago. I have only visited once and it was back in middle school, but I remember really enjoying it. Passing through tonight seeing the row houses is pretty cool, it is pretty. The downside is that they have one of the highest violent crime rates in the country and I would probably die. I think the next stop is in Delaware, a state I have never seen before, so that is kind of exciting. I am kind of getting hungry again but weary of leaving my belongings at my seat at night on a less crowded train. On the upside, I haven’t seen my favorite Car Nazi in a while… perhaps they changed shifts in DC.
7:20 PM:
We just pulled up in Wilmington, Delaware! Judging from what I saw looking out the window, it looks like a neat town! I would like to learn more about it and possibly visit sometime! There is a river to the left and everything looks nice and clean. The train station isn’t surrounded by ghetto which has been the case in many of today’s stops.
I had a not so satisfying meal of cheese and crackers for dinner. I couldn’t bear to eat another chewy cheeseburger and wasn’t willing to risk it with the other hot food selections. Luckily, I packed some Girl Scout cookies and peanuts in my carry on. I think I will be digging into that shortly.
I’ve been texting back and forth with Lana off and on all day and she and John are going to be able to meet me at Penn Station when I arrive in NYC! Lana checked online and my train is supposedly running a couple minutes early! I am super stoked! What a relief! The only things I have left to stress about is whether or not the cabbie can get me to the apartment, which shouldn’t be much of an issue considering I even got directions off Google Maps from Penn Station to the apartment. I just hope the Yen’s are there to let me in! I am going to call them when I get to Newark, New Jersey and give them a heads up as to what time I should be arriving. It has been interesting to see all of the different people that have gotten on and off the train throughout the day. I wonder where they came from, where they’re going, and what they’re going to do when they arrive. I wonder if anyone else on my train has been en route to move to a strange new world. I also wonder if there has been anyone I know, or someone who knows someone I know that has been on the train. This week is Spring Break for a lot of schools in NC and there were a lot of college kids using the train as means of transportation to get from their school to their Spring Break destination. I am excited to see the city as we approach! I miss it! The next stop is Philadelphia; I will have to be sure to text Tim when we get there. For now… back to The Breakfast Club.
Sorry about the editing fauxpas MS Word doesnt copy and paste well into Blogger.
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