Transit Strike

So it's finally happened. All the talking smack has finally materialized into honest to God action - transit workers walked off the job at 3 a.m. - and New York City is left with extremely limited options on how to get around. Here's what I did this morning to get to work:

7:00 a.m. - leave Maspeth. Dad drives Matt and I over to the Woodside station for the Long Island Rail Road - which is separate from the MTA and still running.

7:15 a.m. - we arrive at Woodside and disembark from Dad's car. He says he might just spend the day operating as a livery cab. He says he'll make a fortune. He's right - he would.

7:16 a.m. - Matt and I are directed by LIRR officials to go to the back of the line to buy tickets and board the trains.

7:18 a.m. - We are still walking, trying to find the end of the line. We have already walked one full block and gone around the corner.

7:20 a.m. - We reach the end of the line, about a quarter of the way up the other street. Matt and I shake our heads, shrug, and try to pass the time with stories and life happenings.

8:00 a.m. - Still on line. Now we've gotten around the corner, but we still have most of the block to get through. We're starting to get cold.

8:15 a.m. - I can't feel my legs. Having run out of regular things to talk about, and the cold is starting to make us a little crazy, Matt and I start acting silly. We're making fun of these Mexican tortilla trucks that keep parking nearby. We keep saying "Oaxaca". Don't ask us why.

8:40 a.m. - We finally reach the ticket window and purchase tickets. We are allowed up on the platform.

8:45 a.m. - A train arrives. We move on - thank God there's room and we are excited to be out of the cold. I actually get a seat.

9:05 a.m. - We disembark from the train. Penn Station is flooded with people - and it takes us about ten minutes to slowly make our way out of the station.

9:15 a.m. - I bid Matt good-bye and good luck. He heads uptown, I head east.

9:20 a.m. - 5th Avenue and Madison Avenue are closed to all traffic but emergency vehicles so that these guys have a way to actually get to emergencies. Everything else is pretty gridlocked.

9:25 a.m. - I arrive at my office. My doorman is telling someone that he slept there last night.

Day one - approaching the halfway point. Now let's see how the commute home goes!!!