What A Way to Start the Day
This morning I forced myself to get up early enough to make the 7:45 train. I no longer can walk comfortably to the train in the morning, or home in the evenings, and if I wait for a later one like the 8:11, I will not be able to get a parking spot at the Prospect Park station.
So I pull into the parking lot, and literally the person who pulled in right before me gets the last spot in the lot. This is a bit weird because there usually is at least a couple left when I get there at this time. So my options are gone and besides, the train appears to be early and is pulling up as I'm deciding what I should do. God knows I can't park on the street in Prospect Park without a pass but can pay $5,500 a year in taxes to live there. Well, my Mom does but you get my point.
I figured I would drive home and walk to the station to catch the 8:11. I did have like 25 minutes, so I wouldn't have to rush. I pulled in the driveway and then thought of driving to the Ridley station instead. I left the house again and went to Dunkin' Donuts for my 1/2 regular, 1/2 decaf coffee and headed to the Ridley station. Got a spot, put money in the meter (which jipped me a quarter which is the equivalent of 2 hours) and went to wait for the train.
The train comes a few minutes later and I board and sit down. A new conductor, or whatever she is called - ticket taker or whatever comes and asks me if I have a ticket. Well, I have a monthly pass for Zone 2. Evidently Ridley Park is Zone 3, so I need to pay an additional $2.50 to ride the F'ing train from Ridley to Prospect. In case you don't know this - it is about one to one and a half miles between the two stops. I explain to the woman that I tried to park in Prospect and that there were no spots so I drove to Ridley, I'm pregnant, etc... She ignorantly tells me that I owe her $2.50. THANKS! That's what I get.
The messed up thing is that the other conductor who used to work this line and time, and just about every conductor I have ever dealt with, does not check the tickets until after the Darby stop. There is just not enough time to check everyones tickets between stops because they are so close together. So if this new woman had not checked immediately, I would have been fine. Plus, I have done this before - gotten on in Ridley and used the Zone 2 pass - and not had a problem what-so-ever.
I was furious! I'm exhausted. I missed the original train. Got jipped a quarter at the meter. And now I have to pay an additional two fucking fifty to ride the train BACK TO THE STATION THAT I MISSED THE FIRST ONE FROM! I wanted to grab that woman and punch her in the face. I sat there clenching my fists for the rest of the ride and cried until about Darby.