Today I started commuting on MARTA to work. It’s a combination of “because I can” and “because gas is so fucking expensive” with a little “traffic in atlanta is FUCKED and it is DOUBLE FUCKED once school starts” thrown in for good measure.
Riding the train is a WONDERFUL place to people watch. It’s a constant sociology experiment.
And on that note, let me say: crunchy hippie yuppies of atlanta? FUCK YOU. where are you? You are not riding the MARTA. I’ll bet you are sitting in traffic, ALONE AND NOT CARPOOLING in your hybrids. You think you are doing good, but you are not. You are contributing to the HUGE TRAFFIC PROBLEM. Bunch of hypocrites. I know MARTA doesn’t go everywhere, but it does go a lot of places. On the train it was me, 4 other white folk (nervous looking white folk - pussies) and everyone else was black. I’m not going to say that the only people who care that much about the environment are crunchy white folks, but you know…well…yeah. It’s probably true. The loudest, most annoying ones seem to be, anyway. (HEY, ESC IS A TOTAL RACIST! LET’S FLAME HER! Please don’t. These are just my own personal experiences, and I’m trying to make a point here.)
And that point is:
HYPOCRITICAL OVERPAID ANNOYING HIPPIE WHITE FOLK! RIDE MARTA TO WORK! IT IS NOT AT ALL SCARY!
Case in point, I was standing for part of my morning commute when a seat opened up next to a young man sporting corn rows, baggy clothes, and a sour expression. No one made a MOVE to grab that seat. And HELL YES I did. A seat! SCORE! As long as the person next to me isn’t overly dirty or have visible weeping sores, I will sit next to ANYONE. Because that dude? Was not a thug. Thugs do not ride MARTA at 7:30am. Thugs are SLEEPING at 7:30am. That dude was going to work. And I got a seat and was able to read my book in peace. (Hey, FINALLY finished Making Money by Terry Pratchett. Awesome! I think Moist is slowly becoming my new favorite character.)
Anyway, except for the fact that I lost my work badge somewhere on the free shuttle from the MARTA station to the office complex, my commute to and from work was without incident. And aside from the mile and a half drive to the MARTA station and back, I will hardly be using any gas. Sweet! More money for yarn and good food! MADE OF WIN!
Long years ago when I worked downtown, I rode MARTA regularly. I even rode it during the Olympics, when you were packed shoulder-to-shoulder with folks from all over.
I never had a problem, unless you count the time I was on crutches and folks sitting didn’t offer me a seat. I got a lot of reading done, and I actually got to spin on a drop spindle a few times.
Nuthin’ wrong with MARTA.
And you have a free shuttle from the station to the office? That’s SWEET.
I rode MARTA once, it was nauseating, but then, I don’t like being sideways on a ride. Otherwise uneventful and saved money!
One of our ER docs did cornrows in his hair. Man did that throw some people off, and really did liven the place up. Who expects their doc to walk in with CORNROWS. We loved it. It was sad when he cut them off…
Once upon a time, in a land far, far away . . . actually, it was Atlanta, circa 1998, and I tried my best not to go anywhere MARTA didn’t. I LOVED Marta during my year of living in Atlanta. I would give just about anything if we had mass transportation as reliable as MARTA here (central NC - we SUCK on public transportation AND traffic). I say go on with your bad, MARTA-riding, self! And you sit in those seats girl - - let the chicken butts stand if they want (ignorant asses hehe!)
kc
Ah yes…………………boy do I miss that wonderful, relaxing Atlanta traffic!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!
It takes us about 2 weeks to go through a 1/2 tank of gas now! I love it!
Hey, your mug is in the kiln now - we probably won’t be able to open it until tomorrow morning though - they both look cool though!
You’re smarta because you ride MARTA! Hooray! (Joke stolen from an ATL friend) I would point and laugh at the people stuck in traffic as I fly by in my train. Or I’d be asleep.
Hooray for chicken and chicken stock!
A mile and a half? Why not bike? Atlanta’s weather is mild enough that you could do it almost year round, it’s healthy, and you’ll save even more money on gasoline.
In any event, you rock with your mass transit self. I, living in the outskirts of the motor city, do not have such luxuries. Still, my motor scooter gets 104.3 miles to the gallon, and I am going to pick up a nice 40 mile to the gallon stick Chevy Aveo for the winter, if I feel like it.
Sounds like riding the MARTA is safer than riding the bus in the other big Wisconsin city I lived in.
I quit using the bus system there when a man from a group that had 2 keepers with them started going off on me because I wouldn’t take him to a Braves game (Many moons ago the Braves were in Milwaukee, but I bet you knew that ESC). He had fists ready to go when his watchers finally grabbed him and moved him back away from me.
Not a pretty ride, and the last time I rode the bus. I got my drivers’ license shortly after that and anywhere I couldn’t walk, I drove.
Love that we are self-righteous commuters together. Wish that we were actually closer geographically.
“A mile and a half? Why not bike? Atlanta’s weather is mild enough that you could do it almost year round”
hahaha..ahahahahahahaaa…HAHAAAHAHAHAAAAA!!!
First of all by “mild” do you mean “sweltering hot beyond all belief for 9 months out of the year?” Because that what it is here. I would be DRENCHED WITH SWEAT before I even got out of my condo complex. I don’t think my office would appreciate a stinky damp ESC. Also, there are no biking lanes here, and most of my ride would be on a somewhat major roadway. Where people drive fast. VERY fast. And AIM FOR BIKE RIDERS.
3rdly it’s very hilly here. I know you midwest people have it flat and easy out there, but here in the east? There are hills. The ones in atlanta don’t come close to the ones I grew up with in PA, but there are a couple of good ones between here and MARTA. Add that to the weather, and my first point becomes even more pointy.
Preach on, ESC! Since February I’ve been working from home 3-4 days per week and taking MARTA from the Doraville station the other 1-2 days to my job at the DeathStar. I LOVE MARTA! It takes me 20 minutes to drive the 10 miles to the station. I park in a private, company-owned parking deck and either knit or read for my 30 minutes on the train. Beats the hell out of the hour and 20 minute commute I used to have. And there is no way in hell that I’d ride a bike in ATL. That’s a death wish!
They aim for bikers? Jesus.
Don’t believe everything you hear about “southern hospitality.”
Hey, I am a mass-transit commuter, don’t forget me! (And occasionally I even bike to work, but between the thunderstorms and the heat this time of year, I’m not even thinking about it.) I love that I live in a city where I do not need to own a car, now that gas is at $4.29/gal. (I think it went down to that, it was higher.) We are full of WIN!
Heck try to find someone in the ATL from the ATL.
I enjoyed going to training classes in ATL but we always stayed close enough to the Purple Oracle building that we could drive to there parking garage straight. It still took 15 minutes to go 3 miles.
My hubby and I are actually both from Atlanta - we even went to the same high school (though it was 22 years apart!!). There aren’t too many of us “natives” around. But, we recently moved north of Atlanta because we were tired of people trying to mow down bikers!
I agree - it is NOT safe to ride bikes on the streets of Atlanta. AT ALL. Plus, ESC is right - you would be a sweltering puddle of sweat by the time you reached your destination. It’s friggin humid as hell here right now.
We don’t have anything like that here, but we do have the bus. And I live on a bus route and it’s sad really to see a huge freaking bus with the capability of carrying at least 30 people go buy every half hour with no more then 3 people at a time. Yet the number of cars that go down our street at insane speeds is crazy.
I can’t honestly tell you when the last time I took the bus was, I was probably 15?
I would want to run out and buy a Vespa after that!
We have the busses and rail system (re:boondoggle) that runs downtown, but we are out on the coast/sticks, so no service for us.
I’m amazed at how many of my fellow Texans cannot seem to get away from their Texas sized trucks!
Knit Witch really you just proved my point you left ATL. Granted not that far away but still out of the ATL.