You

Bostonians, I humbly present you with a scenario.

You find a (mercifully) empty two-person seat and proceed to take the spot next to the window because you're not the kind of jerk who sits on the aisle seat trying to keep people from sitting next to you. Very considerate of you, certainly. But then at the next stop, or maybe even the same one you got on at, a crowd of people come barreling down the aisle of the car. No problem, you didn't expect to have a two-seater all to yourself during morning rush hour, right? But then this big business(wo)man comes strutting down the aisle in a huge coat juggling a briefcase, the entire New York Times, and a Blackberry. Oh no, you think. I'm going to get squished up against the window by this very large person carrying many, many things. And of course, they sit next to you, and you are indeed squished against the window due to simple mass displacement. Then the person immediately tries to spread out all their shit so they can read the paper, write notes, and tap away on their Blackberry at the same time. Completely forgetting that there's another human being sitting next to them who, you know, maybe wants to read her book but can't without pressing her arms to her sides and holding the book straight up in front of her face, forced to turn pages with her nose.

Bostonians, does this happen to you every time you're on the T? Because it sure as hell happens to me. Every. Damn. Time.

And so I say to you, Governor Patrick, that you better use the money you raise from your new 19-cent gas tax raise (not to mention some of the $2 billion MA is getting from the Federal government) to FIX THE FRICKIN' T! Pay off the $30 million in debt that you saddled them with from the Big Dig, and then use the rest of the money to:

- Replace all the trains on the Green Line that are now over 20 years old (which is all of them)
- Buy additional trains for the Green, Red, and Orange lines so there's not such a shortage during rush hours
- Hire additional operators and traffic coordination personnel
- Expand service to 24 hours a day
- Purchase some tracking hardware/software that will accurately tell you where your buses and trains are so you know if you should adjust the schedules

Maybe then, with all these improvements, the T will actually run on time, trains wouldn't have to go Express so erratically, and everything will stop breaking down everytime the temperature drops 5 degrees. Thank you, Mr. Governor.

And considering all the money that's floating around the federal government these days, maybe they can save a portion of it to hire people who are, you know, competent as Homeland Security officers.

I submit the following video as evidence in support of my argument:

Homeland Security Thwarts Foreign Sandwich Threat

Watch it. You won't be disappointed. Or...maybe you will?

----------------

I'm now 24 years old, which feels like an odd thing to say. I think, once you hit 21, every subsequent birthday just sounds stranger. I mean, I'm getting older, but it's no longer a big deal because I'm an "adult." And it's just the expected thing for adults to get older without any accompanying fanfare. Man. Sometimes I miss being a kid. (But not most of the time).

And thanks to everyone who left a note on my Wall on Facebook on my birthday! I'm far too lazy to respond individually, so I'll just stick with a shout out on my blog that no one reads. ;o)

I'm learning a new routine in hip hop! We finished the routine for "Krazy" by Pitbull, which is great because I don't think my right hand could have tolerated any further bruising from rolling over it on the floor. It's an awesome dance, though, and I will happily perform it for anyone who asks. But I need a hardwood floor to dance on, because the moves don't work on carpet. The new dance is for the song "You" by Q-Tip, which has an entirely different vibe from "Krazy." The moves are more complicated, but the song is slower so it's not too big a deal. I really like it so far!

This weekend will (hopefully) provide me time to catch up on Lost, the episodes of which I've fallen woefully behind on. But now I'm only 3 episodes behind, counting last night's, so things are slightly better. Nobody spoil it for me!

Read
Indian Killer by Sherman Alexie
Infernal Devices by Philip Reeve

Seen
Coraline
The Big Bang Theory - Season One