5:15 Train

As I mentioned before, my new commute is driving me nuts. The trains are generally way over-crowded and this is something I’m not used to. I’m spoiled. I like having a bench to myself. I like being able to sit next to the window and snooze when I feel like it. I don’t like sitting next to a window seat sitter because I know at some point I’ll have to get up for them and let them out. I also don’t like standing, which luckily hasn’t happened to me yet except for the day I let my sis sit down.

Today was another 5:15pm commute train – packed and people standing and just plain annoying. I always sit in the handicap seat now because again, I don’t like having to get up for someone. Once I sit my tired and lazy butt down, I don’t want to get up again unless it’s to get off the train. So I sat down in the handicap seat that was closest to the actual row of seats (basically perpendicular to each other). There was a high turn around of riders tonight, so people were constantly sitting down and then getting off.

The guy in the window seat on the perpendicular bench to me got off after about 4 stops. The guy sitting next to him moved to the window seat. Then a lady sat down next to him. The benches on the other side went through the same cycle, and at some point everyone had their own bench except me. The perpendicular bench became empty around Hayward. I was ecstatic that I could finally sit next to the window and snooze. It was about time….

I put my book on the window seat to claim my spot. I got up. I noticed the lady directly opposite my handicap bench (who was the only one sitting on the bench) moving. I quickly moved to the perpendicular bench and sat down in the window seat.

The lady that was across from me also got up and sat down next to me.

My first thought was: What the hey? You had your own bench to yourself! Why would you move from a bench that you had to yourself to sit next to another person who obviously wanted to sit by themselves? If she hadn’t of moved, then me, the lady that was sitting next to me and her would have all been sitting on our own bench, doing our own thing, and having our own grand time. But this lady for some reason I’ll never understand sits next to me.

I’m assuming she wanted to sit in the window seat and was being passive aggressive, with an “I’ll show you, you darn BART rider!” attitude and wanted to ruin my good time alone.

So, not being shy, I immediately got up and moved right back to the bench I was sitting on. Turns out that the lady originally next to me got off at that stop, and so I had the bench to myself. I almost moved to the annoying lady’s bench to really show her. Take that, you stupid lady!

In the end, I’m not sure who won this little bench battle considering I lost my window seat and she got it. And I ended up sitting in the same spot I was sitting in the begin with. Hmm....