On the way in to work yesterday, I happened to be sitting in the frontmost car. We were stopped for a long while, just as we were entering Millennium Station. In fact, we were stopped so long… I decided to amble over to the front window, just to take a peek at the station.
Spotted this small little switch/box, on the side of the Metra train that arrives across from our platform each morning. There’s a predictable cadence to the trains that show up before ours (an express whooshes by, the South Shore stops, and this guy pulls up across the way).
Unless you’re familiar with the piece, the video probably just seems like a lot of gibberish. And I guess it is, mostly. But I like trying to listen for the overlap, and like imagining the robotic voices are actually performing for us.
Most days, I tend to be worried about getting to work on time. But after the talk, I hung back a little and opted to wait until others got off the train. I was fighting muscle memory in some aspects, but it also felt like the right thing to do.
One thing I have yet to see in person: the use of actual fire on the tracks. Sadly, standing around inside Millennium Station, today was not that day.
Spotted this while on my way in to work. I was actually standing in the vestibule, waiting to pull into Millennium Station, when I spotted this Dunkin’ Donuts cup sitting perfectly in the door.
This morning, we broke out our new Metra passes for the month… and Liz noticed that the design for December looked like a train barreling through a series of explosions.
On my way in to work this morning, I saw this at my Metra stop. I immediately muttered to myself “That’s not right.”
Spotted these marks on the Metra tracks near 55/56/57, and wondered what they were for. My best guess is that they indicate some area for repair, but I’m really not certain.
When it was still up, I wondered how many other people saw it – and how many still stopped to read it. Now that it’s gone, I wonder if anyone else in Chicago notices it’s missing. Or if it’s just me.
I’m assuming that, at some point in time, someone decided to plug in a hotplate and began cooking up some bacon and eggs. And maybe the resulting grease splashing around caused some burns?
I started thinking again about fixes and problems, and how in some situations we get better at our workarounds… while still not addressing the root cause of our problems.
Liz and I spotted this, at our Metra stop this morning. We were trying to figure out the direction of travel, and what might have prompted someone to traverse the tracks with all that snow on the ground.
After a few days of unseasonably warm temperatures, today was cold and windy. A lot of the windows at my neighborhood Metra had ice and condensation – giving the whole entryway a kind of diffused look.
Also while standing there, I remembered Alicia Frantz and her way of listening to the world. Listening to the voices around me, I also noticed the sounds of the door to the waiting area – opening and closing. I heard the sound of people walking by, their arms brushing against their coats, the footsteps on the floor.