I've worked in the city now for almost 8 years and I went to school down there for about 6 - so that is about 14 years of commuting via train. Trains run on schedules. The schedules dictate what train to catch to make it in/out of the city to make it on time to class/work/home on time. If I miss the train, I am late. Simple as that.
In my current position, I have 17 minutes to leave my desk, say bye to boss, wait/take elevator, get out of building, and walk the 11 minutes to Grand Central and then walk through the crowds to get to the train. I cut it close. For the first few months I had shin splints and sometimes now I am sweating by the time I get on the train. Sometimes it doesn't matter if I miss it, I mean, sure, there is another one 30 minutes later...but sometimes I plan things for as soon as I get off the train at my home destination. Same is true for the morning commute, my train gets in 20 minutes before I get to work, plenty of time....but the train is late a lot in the winter and even in the summer.
I hate being late. It doesn't suit me. My blood pressure rises, I get anxious.
When I was talking to a friend, who drives to work, they mentioned they were running late that day. I couldn't help but thinking....I don't have that luxury Let's say they left 5 or 10 minutes late...maybe they make that time up, maybe they are only a little late. But if I am late, I would be about 30 minutes late or longer.
So when you are running a few minutes late, just think of me and know that there are people out there that if they run late - it is much more difficult to sneak into work or reschedule appointments when we are on a tight time table set by someone else.
Don't get me wrong, I like commuting enough...I read a lot on the train, I don't have to worry about falling asleep at the wheel - it is 'easy'. And since I am such a schedule freak - it is quite perfect for me.
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