Today was a bit different, as I got in earlier than normal… and snagged a spot on one of the lower levels (I usually park higher up in the garage). On walking to the car, I was surprised to see a small crowd on the other side of the parking lot windows.
The big day is here! We’ve got the Ford kids for another Day in Chicago, with a lot of big plans this time around.
We had a blast last year (and in all honesty probably tried to pack too much in). This year, we didn’t quite learn our lesson, as we also had a pretty busy day in mind.
As I was making my way to the Metra stop downtown, during the last two stops I realized that I was completely alone on the bus. There were definitely fewer people out and about today, and this added to the slightly “out of the ordinary” feeling I had today.
On my way to work, I stopped at Wabash and Randolph and caught some CTA workers painting the El tracks overhead. At first glance, all I caught was the crane in the middle of the street… but after a few moments, I realized the entire structure was in a state of flux: half painted, half unpainted.
This morning, on our way to work, Liz and I ran into a delay on the Blue Line. Normally, these aren’t any big deal (delays happen all the time, and the lines usually pick up fairly quickly). But today was different. In addition to the platform being packed, both the North and South-bound trains were sitting at the Logan Square stop… and both trains looked to be completely devoid of power.
Not sure when I first spotted these, but I’m now seeing a lot of cameras mounted on the ceilings on the CTA. At least, that’s my guess as to what these guys are. Maybe they also provide info as to how densely packed each car is, to help determine when to run trains as “express” trains.
Sitting down on the inbound Blue Line train this morning, I looked up and happened to see this guy. Just a regular dude, taking the CTA in to his day job. Just a regular dude, covered head to toe in silver paint.
Spotted this “Underage Drinking” ad on the CTA yesterday, on my way in to work. I had to stare at it a good while to make sure the whole thing wasn’t a joke. The longer I looked at it, the funnier it got.
Monotony plays its tricks on the senses, and I found myself on the CTA Blue Line an older version of that kid, a little immune to the world going by. On seeing these large windows, it made me remember what it was like to be enamored with the world, and reminded me I should pay a little more attention on my daily commute.
As we were heading up, I spotted this guy across the way wearing my red Millenium Falcon t-shirt. It’s kind of odd seeing someone else with the same clothes that you have, and the fact that this shirt is bright red with a huge Star Wars blueprint on it… well, it kind of sticks out.
Walking home from work, I spotted a pair of lonely shoes in the tunnel near the Jackson Blue/Red stop. It seemed such an unusual spot to encounter such a thing – and I immediately began to wonder whether they were intentionally thrown away, or somehow forgotten.
I learned his name was Alex, and that he was a student. He told me the device was something he made for his “Real-Time Systems Class.” It was something that allowed him to manipulate audio and video. He mentioned a few more technical things, which I didn’t quite remember.
I noticed the top of the box had a picture of an old Sega… and so I asked if the insides were made from an old console.
Well, I’ve only go half the story for you on this. I was walking to the Jackson Blue Line stop, on my way home… and I spotted this guy near the middle of the platform.
Not only was he holding up a cardboard sign, he also had messages printed out on both his jacket and his backpack. On the back of his jacket, I believe the text was: “Jesus says I have the keys of death.” I don’t remember what his backpack said.
I can’t help but imagine that someone hit a certain frustration point, and decided to just up and trash the stroller right there and then. There was no folding up, no trying to fit it inside…
While I was going over older blog posts over the weekend, trying to do a bit of cleanup… I came across a mention of the Blue Line Artist I encountered with Chris, last July.