The Long Commute

I realized fairly quickly that staying in New Jersey for a month may not have been the best idea I've ever had, but on the other hand, I never really claimed to know what I was doing when I moved out here anyway, so I can't exactly blame myself. Plus you live, make a mistake here and there, and then learn from it. And I've learned a lot this month so far... a great deal of that being about the public transportation system in New York.

I'm not saying that staying in New Jersey was a mistake by any means -- the little studio I've resided in for the month has been perfect for me. It's just mainly been an inconvenience. I knew the commute into NYC would be lengthy based on my internet and Google Maps research, but the first time I actually did I was like, OK, so this might be kind of a long month...

I should note that the first time I actually went into the city, I decided, after much deliberation, to drive my car, admittedly because I was too intimidated by the course my New York Subway app plotted out for me. That definitely became a "learn from your mistakes" situation, as I passed through multiple toll booths paying first $2.50, $7.50 and finally $14.00. That's not to mention having to find a parking spot at two different locations, and getting my car stuck in both of those spots (this was the night after a huge snow storm).

Needless to say, the next time I ventured into the city, I left my car parked right where it was and tackled the NJ & NYC subway systems. It's about a five minute walk from where I've been staying to the nearest New Jersey Transit stop, so from there I hop a train that goes to Newark Penn Station, which takes about 20 minutes. From there, I pick up a PATH train, which is the subway that runs from New Jersey to several stops in Manhattan. I'm on the PATH for a good 40-45 minutes, and I usually ride it into the World Trade Center, a location where a commuter can pick up just about any NYC subway line within a few blocks' radius. I also have the option to ride the PATH to New York Penn Station, which is the 34th St. stop and a more central location, depending on where my final destination is on that particular day.

Surprisingly, I caught on to all of this fairly quickly, and didn't have to rely on my app as much as I was expecting. Major success! For someone who has never lived in a big city that depends on public transportation, I felt like somewhat of a badass, especially when people would ask me questions about what trains go where and I could answer them like I actually live here or something. That's not to say I haven't had days when I've just wanted to jump in my car and drive somewhere; not having to wait outside in sub-freezing temps for a train to show up, not putting up with crowds and people's germs, etc. But hey, it's all about making adjustments, and heaven knows there are some major ones to be had here!

Now after I make it to my final subway stop, another thing happens: I walk. A lot. Again, something else to get used to for someone who walked very little in her previous life, basically from parking lots to work, stores, restaurants, and her apartment. Now let me tell you, getting used to the whole traveling-on-foot-thing would be so much easier if the temperature outside wasn't so skin-numbingly cold. I've developed a whole new hatred for winter in just three short weeks, and it's a feeling that will undoubtedly carry over into next year.

Between the bitter, high-speed winds and frostbite threatening to set in on any exposed piece of skin, there is one major hazard in particular that I'd like to address for a moment: ice. This whole entire month, sidewalks everywhere have been covered by thick sheets of ice, and there's just too much square footage in this huge city to really control the situation.

So the first time I slipped and fell on said ice was a Saturday night around 2 a.m. I had met some new friends at a bar that evening, and when I stepped out of the door to start my long trek back, my phone decided to die with 17% of its battery remaining. It's been doing that lately, which is great fun when you step out of a building in New York and have no idea where you actually are. So I started walking, trying to use what little sense of direction I developed so far, and I mean I walked for a really long time, cursing my iPhone every step of the way.

You might be wondering why I didn't just hop in a taxi and have it take me to the World Trade Center where I could pick up my PATH train and be on my way home. Well, the thought had crossed my mind, but I was feeling particularly stubborn and refused to take the easy way out. I've been in the mood to conquer challenges lately, and this just happened to be one I wasn't ready to give up on quite yet.

So I was paused briefly at a street corner to wait for a taxi to drive by, and when I took my next step, my boot slipped on a sheet of ice and I went down into a huge puddle of dirty slush and black city street water. I said "black" there because when I got up and dusted myself off a bit, that was the color of my hand. At least 2 hours from home at that point, I kept telling myself not to freak out because I would make it home. I would be warm again. And I would be able to shed the jeans that were then completely soaked with freezing New York City liquid street dirt. Still too stubborn to get in a taxi though, so I continued on.

My second run-in with icy sidewalks was the other night when I was walking around in Brooklyn. There was really no avoiding the ice on this sidewalk; every square inch was covered, and no matter where my next step was going to be, it could easily have been a bad one. And was it ever. What I thought was ice was actually very thin, so my whole foot, up to my ankle, went into a gigantic puddle. Before I had time to react, so did my other foot, and not paying attention to where I was going next, just desperate to get out of the puddle, I stepped on some solid ice and went down like a baby flamingo trying to walk for the first time -- arms and legs a-flailing. Again, I was about 2 hours from home with soaking wet feet and jeans, already hardening with frost from the cold night air.

So I've had some mishaps this month, to say the least. There are certainly some major inconveniences to living in this city... some I've known about, some I'm learning about, and some that I just can't wait to discover. But I've also survived so far; every single time I've left my little apartment, I've made it back in one piece eventually... sometimes beaten up by the elements a little more than others, but each morning I wake up, take into consideration the lessons I learned in the days before, and try to do it all over again.