A Tale of Two Buses, or What's a Transpass Anyway?

SEPTA: SouthEastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority. According to wikipedia, it is the 7th-largest rapid transit system in the US by ridership. SEPTA operates the city's buses, subways, trolleys on tracks, regional rail (sort of a Amtrak lite), etc. Us AmeriCorps volunteers are given a monthly transpass which allows us unlimited access to the buses, subways and trolleys. Over half of my group (probably 3/4) use theirs to get to work in the morning on a regular basis. I'm currently in a state of off-and-on use, mainly because I have to take 3 different buses just to get to my site. Or a 15-20 minute drive. As the weather warms, I may be more willing to stand on street corners in unsavory parts of town, waiting for the bus. But I've had enough bad bus moments (falling into the lap of an unfortunate 4th-grader, getting sexually harassed by a drunk sipping his 40, etc.) that I will probably battle with the whole "I got up half an hour earlier for this?" question every morning. The bus, however, is not my main issue. I actually have much worse luck with the subways.

The subway system consists of only two lines, the Broad Street Line (orange line) and the Market-Frankford line (the blue line or the El). You New Yorkers and Washingtonians may scoff at this lack of criss-crossing colors, letters, and numbers, but the sheer volume of buses in this town more than makes up for it. I am a once-weekly subway user, particularly when I have taken a single bus from my place to Center City and then need to reach my office, a short walk from a far North stop on the Orange Line. But every single time that I step underground, bad luck strikes. I have just missed the train and the next one is late. The Broad-Ridge Spur comes before the regular. The Local arrives before the Express. Last week brought a tragic event that totally shut the subway down and forced a mass exodus to the surface, where we all waited for shuttle buses that never came. As hundreds of people crowded the intersection of Broad St. and Girard, our complaining (and pushing and shoving onto the few shuttles that did eventually appear) brought us together. Today I helped a client to the hospital by carrying her enormous stroller up several flights of stairs, because all subway stations don't have elevators and are thus not handicapped-accessible. WTF?

Public transportation in this city is certainly different than Washington DC (and NYC if I remember; I'll give an update when I visit there this weekend). Litter exists. There is an unscrubbable layer of grime on all surfaces. People publicly comment on the racial and economic class divisions between who takes the subways vs. regional rail. Accidents happen (actual collisions, not just small children using the bathroom). But hey, it all gets me to where I need to go with the swipe of a card. Though it did take me 4 months to learn how to exit the trolley.

my kids say the darndest things, installment #1

"Miss Hilary, how many times a day do you say the word 'sex'?"

"So the Eagles don't like T.O. now?"

(during a roleplay, a girl pretending to be a male asking a girl on a date): "I was wondering if on Friday, January 16th, you would like to see the movie Notorious with me".

Me: "You produce testosterone in your testicles, J....that's how you can grow that moustache."
J: "Oh you noticed that, huh?"

Major Philly-related postings in the coming week. Plus I put new photos up. Also, finally taking a brief trip to NYC in 2.3 weeks. I'm ahead on my hours, so our program director urged me to take a vacation. Not a problem.

avoiding the fax machine

I accidentally left the Mural Arts Program off my checklist, which is ludicrous because I have a book about it (thanks, Dad) and see them all the time. I'll be sure to go on one of the walking tours and maybe one of the trolley tours when the weather gets nicer. I also need to go to the Philadelphia Zoo, though one of my Friday classes was interrupted by the Zoo on Wheels program. My 8th graders got to learn about tropical rainforest animals instead of STI's. As for the rest of my to do list, I have since been to Chinatown twice (for late-night karaoke and Malaysian food, respectively) and purchased a book on Philadelphia beer by Joe Sixpack. If any of my loyal readers are planning a trip up here, Beer Week is March 6-15. Just something to think about.

Both of my jobs are going pretty well; I received a February-induced kick in the pants that should combat those winter doldrums. Or maybe it was the Girl Scout cookies. I've been here for 5 months now, so there are less than 6 to go in my AmeriCorps program. Hopefully I'll know and choose where I'm going next (or if I'll stay here) by sometime in June, so I'm not making crazy last-minute decisions about my life and living situation like I did last year.

Also, I need to take more photographs. The only ones I have of late are from New Year's in DC, and happy hour last week in Philly's oldest pub. Not exactly picasa-worthy.

lunchtime musings

I am disappointed to report that all of the fast food drive-thrus on Broad St. going North from Girard to Olney are McDonald's or Dunkin Donuts. OK, and one Checkers. What's a girl to do when she wants something from Wendy's but doesn't want to leave her vehicle? So now I'm sitting in the office, it's 1:17PM and there is no Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger in sight.

The whole having two jobs thing is wearing me down a bit, but it also presents new opportunities for eating and drinking in Manayunk. I will have probably been to every bar and restaurant on Main St. by the spring, which is nothing to sneeze at. And now that I have cash on hand, I can aim for my other culinary goals, such as eating every kind of cheese at DiBruno Brothers, or visiting Capogiro Gelato weekly.

an obvious immigrant

As I hurriedly approached my snow-covered car this morning, hot cup of Wawa coffee in hand, I noticed a message written in the snow on my passenger side rear window. "Go home." Then I turned my attention to the conspicuous absence of my Phillies National League Championship Series bumper sticker. Nice. This comes two weeks after discovering that my back bumper was puked on while parked on the next street over.

I get it. My Virginia license plates stick out like a sore thumb in this all-Philly neighborhood I live in. But really, shouldn't you save the aggression for an Arizona Cardinals fan, or someone with a Mets/Giants/etc. bumper sticker? I was watching the Eagles game last night, rooting for them just like the rest of you. Don't let my lack of a Pennsylvania license plate distract you from that fact.

Philly checklist

very Philadelphia-specific things I have done in my 4 months here:
- eaten multiple cheesesteaks
- gone to a Phillies game, and tailgated in the parking lot between Citizens Bank Park and Lincoln Financial Field ("The Linc"
- taken a trolley in West Philly without knowing how to exit
- eaten at a restaurant by one of Philly's celebrity chefs (Morimoto, Vetri, Garces, Perrier, etc.)
- thrown a penny on Ben Franklin's grave (if it lands heads up, you'll have a good marriage/life/what have you)
- correlated my beers to the amount of Eagles plays in a game
- gotten a parking ticket (ok, 2); the TV show Parking Wars is based in Philadelphia
- become a more aggressive but quicker-with-reactions driver (ride with me and you'll understand)
- run up the "Rocky" steps to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. I've also walked up them slowly with my parents.
- heard the phrase "youse guys" used in all seriousness
- eaten water ice, used Cheez Whiz as a condiment, started putting Old Bay on my french fries, soft pretzels with mustard, my weight in Tastykakes and more
- battled rush hour traffic (both ways) on I-76 aka the Schuylkill
- been in City Hall (the world's largest municipal building); Mayor Nutter said hi to me
-shown people how disappointingly small the LOVE statue is

things on my Philadelphia list I still need to accomplish:
- more time in Fairmount park
- Mutter Museum (I need to devote an entire day here)
- weekend trip to the shore (the Jersey Shore and its beaches)
- eating at a Stephen Starr restaurant (they're everywhere in Center City, how have I avoided these?)
- Italian market on a Saturday
- attend a Flyers game
- try beers from all of the surrounding breweries
- take a road trip to Amish country (though they do staff my local farmer's market)
- spend enough time in Chinatown, buying interesting stuff
- watch the bike race in Manayunk or crew showdowns on the Schuylkill River
- go to the City Hall observation deck, or any of the other skyline buildings for that matter

It's a work in progress to say the least. Please add to the list or come visit and I'll make an effort to explain and show everything.

winter "break"

I am currently about to enter the second week of my office being closed (the university is saving money by impairing productivity, it seems) in what can only be viewed as a work-from-home holiday bonanza. After my last post, I only had to make it through another week of teaching classes and only at 2 of the schools. I also managed to battle a cold that struck that weekend and lasted several days. Speaking of cold, Philadelphia's temperatures dipped below freezing on several days and nights. There was snow, ice, and the inability to open my car door for several hours one morning. I think the wind chill factor is what really made it difficult to leave the house. I enjoyed 65-degree temperatures when I went back to Virginia for Christmas, and today was unseasonably warm enough up here to warrant a run. We'll see how the rest of the winter treats me in the Northeast.

The first week of January will mark 4 months since I moved to Philadelphia, which is pretty impressive. I'm not getting lost all the time (hopefully my Christmas gift Garmin will take care of the rest). I know to wear leggings under my pants, multiple layers on top, and to never forget a scarf and my earmuffs when going outside. I'm still not good at driving in snow, but maybe I'll figure it out.

The Eagles won tonight, which means that they secured a spot in the playoffs. They'll be playing the Vikings next week, and needless to say, we're all excited around here. I am not able to further comment on the situation until next week, but I'll probably have a weird dream about McNabb, Jackson, Dawkins, Westbrook and company. I'm still going to try and make it to a Flyers game later on in the season once I make some money from being a server that doesn't go directly to our house's gas bill. But if nothing else, we'll always have this year's Phillies.

Philly food review: I finally tried a cheesesteak from one of the 'big 3' (Pat's, Geno's, Jim's) when a friend came to visit. We went to Jim's on an evening chock full of snow and rain. I was pleasantly surprised by the taste and texture of my cheesesteak with onions and peppers and white American cheese. The price was less fun. I enjoyed getting American cheese more than provolone (have yet to try Whiz) because it provided a sharper flavor to stand up to the bread and steak. The grilled peppers and onions added to the texture and moisture content pretty nicely. I would definitely recommend splitting a cheesesteak with a friend, as I could only eat one half.