Blog Post #1: Daily Odyssey

It was 8 a.m., the earliest I’ve been up in weeks. I locked the first door to my house, sat on the steps leading down to the front door, and tied the laces to my cat Vans. With my playlist on shuffle, the first song that played was Coldrain’s March On, very suiting for the start of my journey (and also correlating with the Coldrain tee shirt I was wearing). I unlocked my phone and saw my reflection: my bags were clearly visible and I could already see into my future as an elderly woman. I locked my phone and descended to the front door of my house. My promenade began, as March On was just about to end. I walked by the same buildings and houses, but there was something new: the sidewalk smelled of rotting garbage. However, as I approached the same house with the sunflowers, the smell disappeared. It was 8:13 when I reached the subway station. As I descended the stairs to the platform, I saw the E train to my left, but there were way too many people inside to even try and cram myself in. Luckily for me, a second E train came shortly after. I entered into the train, held onto the poll with my left hand, and started to regret my decision to eat cereal two days in a row. I was not sure if I was still lactose intolerant or if the milk was expired, but was a burning fire pit in my throat, as well as my eyes. The woman in the navy sundress with green leaves standing to my right was way too close for comfort. She clearly had enough room to move over three inches, but I guess she was too busy talking on her cell. This train felt like it was losing the snail race. So, at 8:25, I looked up: Next Stop: Queens Plaza. Great, the train did not even pass the first stop yet. Then, at 8:29, the train stopped. Amazing. I finally get to Queens Plaza and another woman in a sundress comes in and of course she too decided to stand too close to me. But, instead of standing on my right, she stands to my left. I was sandwiched between two women in sundresses. It was fine, I only had two more stops until I reached Lexington. However, the woman in the red sundress repositions herself behind me and now an old man now occupied the space to my left. I felt his hot breath on my left arm, still holding onto the poll. Should I switch hands? No, I am a New Yorker. I am a warrior. So, by 8:37, I finally made to the 6 train platform at Lexington, surviving the Battle of the E Train Commute.