I Suck At Subway

Sadly, the highlight of my Monday involved eating. On Monday, my mother and I grabbed a quick bite to eat from Subway. Now, I suck at Subway. I have not eaten at Subway in quite some time.

My parents were down visiting the golden child known as my twenty month old daughter (Briana). As I was ill-prepared to make lunch for the day, I offered to grab takeout. And by ill-prepared, I mean I was lazy. As a parent, there are just days that I want to take a break from things and Monday happened to be one of those days.

Anyway, my mother suggested grabbing food from Subway because she had heard about some promotion for $2 subs. It turns out, Subway is offering 6-inch meatball subs and 6-inch cold cut subs for $2 for the month of December. Always one for a deal, I said "sure, why not?"

Needless to say, I ordered 5 meatball subs. And interestingly enough, they were good. I devoured 3 of the 5 subs. In my defense, I was only planning on eating two. Karen was not hungry, so I ate hers. After all, subs don't reheat well.

It was definitely filling. If Subway keeps the promotion for all of next year, I may partake in the Jared diet. Just kidding.

Naturally in keeping with the food theme, I also decided to continue my devouring ways later that day and eat some gummy candy from
Sugar Plum Chocolates. My friends (Marc and Andrea) recently took a day trip to New York City. Among the things they brought back from their trip was this gummy Outrageous Alphabet by Sugar Plum Chocolates. In case anyone is curious, the gummy letter they got me was an M.

The gummy letter is huge. I think it actually may be bigger than the ginormous gummy bear that my friend (Aimee) gave me awhile back. If it's not bigger, it is just as large. Well, it didn't take me long to polish off the gummy letter. And might I add, I was completely stuffed after eating the gummy letter. Those 200 calories were worth it though.

I Suck At Subway

For the past two days, Karen and I have been eating takeout from the same place. Up until the birth of our daughter (Briana), Karen and I (when it was just the two of us) very rarely ate takeout. Instead, we preferred dining within the restaurant. That seemingly has changed of late, due in part to our feelings that we have very little time now with the fickleness of our baby daughter and her feeding schedule.

So yesterday (and the day before), Karen and I ordered sandwiches from Subway. Now, I suck at Subway. In my apparent quest to look like Jared Fogle, I have begun to eat there daily. Granted, it has only been two straight days of eating takeout from Subway.

If Jared can lose weight from only eating at Subway, then perhaps I should eat there more often because I do need to lose some weight. I have packed on the pounds since Briana was born. Who am I kidding? I was packing on the pounds while Karen was pregnant.

I am just kidding about doing the Subway diet, as evident from my eating a foot and a half long sandwich yesterday. It just happened to be luck and chance (and maybe a bit of laziness) that Karen and I ate at Subway for two straight days. And of course, I would be remiss if I did not thank our friends (Renee and Jeff) for it was Renee and Jeff who gave us a little gift card to Subway in the first place. So we probably would not have even thought about going to Subway were it not for them. Thank you again Renee and Jeff!

I Still Suck At Riding The MBTA

it's always an interesting ride home on the mbta. today was no different. apparently, there was an electrical fire at the downtown crossing station today during the commute home. i met my friend (hot amy) at the platform of park street station. the platform was absolutely full of smoke. this was going to be one of those days where i suck at riding the mbta.

anyway, as we were supposed to meet my other friend (jen), we decided to walk to south station. we figured with the fire and all, the trains would most definitely be delayed. (pictured below is hot amy in front of one of the fire trucks outside downtown crossing.)



well, we met up with jen. with the train delays, however, we decided to have a couple of drinks at clarke's located in south station. yum... apple martinis. the drinks were like shots... they were still good nonetheless. as well, we decided to call my other friend (carlos) who was also just getting out of work. (pictured below is jen as we waited for carlos to arrive at south station.)



anyway, after drinks... we were lucky enough to take the mbta commuter rail (even though the mbta people were not exactly the most friendliest people to deal with). i have never taken the commuter rail, so this was my first time. it was very exciting, especially to be there with my friends. (pictured below is carlos and hot amy.)



for the record... the commuter rail... love it in comparison to the regular subway. the commuter rail is much faster. too bad it was my first and probably last commuter rail ride ever. we arrived at quincy center station in no time... and thanks to hot amy, i got chauffeur service to my car.

needless to say, for what normally would have been an awful train ride home, i had a great time with my friends. i love my friends.

I Still Suck At Riding The MBTA

considering today was my first day back to work after my vacation, i must say that i have had a pretty good day. i got to have lunch with my friend (hot amy). and i got to take the mbta subway train home with hot amy and my friends (aimee and carlos).

now, i still suck at riding the mbta. today, when i arrived at the subway platform at park street station, i noticed hot amy and aimee talking to each other. in fact, i almost walked into hot amy from behind before i realized it was her (damn those sunglasses. perhaps i really should consider not wearing them down on the subway platform. for anyone curious, i wear my sunglasses at night... so i can... so i can...)

anyway, even though i almost walked into hot amy, neither her nor aimee noticed that it was me. naturally, i concocted a plan. had i been younger, i would have tickled hot amy or aimee from behind (just below their rib cage). (i used to do this when i was younger and my fellow victim would squirm, laugh, and scream.) well, seeing as how we were on a crowded subway platform, i figured tickling would not be the best course of action.

so, i did the next best thing... i walked until i was a couple of feet behind both hot amy and aimee, pulled out my cell phone, and called them. i attempted calling hot amy first, but she did not answer her phone. so, i called aimee instead. when aimee answered her phone, she had asked where i was... to which i laughed and replied that i was two feet behind her. i don't know if they found my plan as humorous as i did, but i sure got a kick out of it.

needless to say, we got to ride the subway train home together. carlos actually joined us as well. i did not notice him (because of my sunglasses apparently) but he got on our subway car just in time before the doors closed. he was apparently chatting with some mysterious blonde who also made the car with us. (perhaps he was trying to make a certain someone jealous. just kidding. it wouldn't work anyway because she was old and not too hot... i've seen hotter.) there was actually something familiar with that mysterious blonde. i'm not sure where i have seen her before, but i have a feeling she works in the same building as my current company.

anyway, it was a fun train ride home. we got to hang out, laugh, and be silly. i even got to play the role of the weird guy on the train who sings as i sang a few lines of a tune that could be heard through someone's headphones. it's the silly things that make my day.

(pictured below is aimee and hot amy on the train. aimee is the one with the hand in front of her face.)





after the train ride home, i even got chauffeuring service to my parents' house... and all i had to do was carry a projector... no lint cleaning. what a bargain! anyway, i had a good day today. if only all my days at work could be like that.

I Still Suck At Riding The MBTA

yesterday, the clouds just poured. unfortunately, i didn't have an umbrella with me. an umbrella is one of those things that i hate to carry with me because most of the time it is just dead weight. (i didn't like to carry books in high school either because those were just dead weight too.)

well, i could have used the umbrella yesterday. as i made my way to the subway station without an umbrella after work, i got a little wet. so needless to say, i was not looking forward to my train ride home with water already dripping off my head. yep, i still suck at riding the mbta.

anyway, as i waited for the subway train to arrive... my friend (hot amy) came. it was a pleasant surprise. i almost didn't notice her because of my sunglasses (which by the way makes a dark day look even darker.)

needless to say, meeting up with hot amy made my train ride more enjoyable. of course, she's probably now getting tired of me because it was the fourth straight day i've seen her. i know... men, eat your heart out... don't be too jealous. lucky for me, i exude awesomeness. (as mentioned in regards to being mr. walsh's favorite... second to his son-in-law, ed, of course.) just kidding.

what made the ride home more enjoyable was the fact that we actually saw one of hot amy's students (mary kate) from simmons. naturally, me... being an instigator, i started talking about how the students these days... in particular a student named erica... were awful. yep, it was fun. it pays to suck at chauffeuring. luckily, i don't think mary kate was paying any attention to me. she is interning at the south shore ymca and was on her way there.

anyway, the ride home was definitely nice. plus, i got front door chauffeuring service from hot amy because i didn't want to get wet. so all in all... it was a good train ride back to quincy.

I Still Suck At Riding The MBTA

yesterday, was an awful train ride home. if it weren't for the fact that i was with my friends (hot amy, jen and carlos), the ride would have been worse.

anyway, i still suck at riding the mbta. probably more appropriate is the fact that the mbta just plain old sucks, but that's a topic for another day. yesterday, hot amy asked to meet at the platform at park street station. naturally, i said sure.

so, i was standing on the platform of the train station (with my sunglasses on of course) waiting for hot amy. carlos soon met me. the two of us watched as one of the subway trains pulled into the station. the train's destination was ashmont (which was not our train) and it just sat there at the platform... forever.

soon after, hot amy came and met the both of us. the ashmont train was still on the platform. the announcement that there was a "disabled" train came. so, we waited... and waited.

with the delay, hot amy contacted jen to see if we could meet up with her. jen normally gets on the very first car of the train at downtown crossing station. we headed down the crowded platform of park street to where the first train would be. shortly thereafter, we simply decided to just meet jen at downtown crossing station. so, we walked down the concourse from park street to downtown crossing. (it's a good thing none of us followed hot amy because i don't know where we would have ended up if we did.)

anyway, when we arrived at downtown crossing... the platform was packed. people were standing shoulder to shoulder. it was awful. it's a good thing none of us are claustrophobic (well, maybe jen is). as we made our way down toward jen, the ashmont train finally pulled into downtown crossing. apparently, we managed to beat the disabled train... all without breaking a sweat (which is probably good for hot amy).

needless to say, eventually hot amy, jen, carlos and i got to take the train home together. it was actually the second time i have ever taken the train home with jen. i previously met her for a train ride home once as we were meeting for some event at wollaston wine and liquors... some booze event of course. actually, i take that back, i may have met jen some other times too. (it's rough when you get old... the first thing to go is your memory... and i forget what the second thing is... just kidding.)

anyway, we finally got back to quincy at 6:45pm (which is about 45 minutes past what we normally get back at). it was frustrating. stupid mbta!

I Still Suck At Riding The MBTA

as i was leaving work today, my friend (aimee) called and asked if i would be taking the mbta subway home. naturally we met up at park street station for the ride home because that seems to be the local hot spot for taking the mbta subway home.

now, i still suck at riding the mbta, but today was actually a pretty good ride. my friend (carlos) was with me when i met aimee on the subway platform. generally, (or at least what seems to have been the growing norm) carlos and i meet my other friend (hot amy) on the platform of park street station to ride home on the mbta. so in essence, today carlos and i traded hot amy for aimee.

anyway, it was fun riding with aimee. as it turns out, her significant other (jim) now has some free time, so she was thinking about having him babysit their kids while she goes out and paints the town red. jim resigned from his position. (for you readers... all eight or so of you... if you know of any company looking for a tall strong good looking man, please feel free to contact jim.)

regardless, it was a fun quick ride home. as it also turns out, when carlos and i exited the subway train at wollaston station (our normal stop), we ran into my other friend (jen). my friends and i have always tried to coordinate a ride home with jen. little did i know, today could have been one of those days.

anyway, jen recently had a hair cut and said it was too short. personally, i think it looks very good. but what do i know? jen also has lost some weight since i last saw her too. we didn't get to speak much because mrs. leary (my mother-in-law) was picking jen up at wollaston station. my mother-in-law lives a few houses down from jen and her brother (bill). needless to say, mrs. leary has been giving jen rides to the train station in the morning.

all right, so maybe i was lying just then. mrs. leary was not picking jen up... although it would have been funny if she were. aside from that little white lie, i had a pretty good train ride home.

I Still Suck At Riding The MBTA

i still suck at riding the mbta.

yesterday, however, was a pretty fun commute home even though the weather was pretty dreary. there have been a couple of times now where the stars will align and a bunch of us will ride the subway train home together. the bunch usually includes karen, hot amy, carlos, and myself. yesterday happened to be one of those days.

in addition, yesterday we were treated with the presence of another one of my friends (aimee) for the commute home. apparently, aimee had gotten on the subway at an earlier station. the four of us just happened to choose the same subway car that she was in. in fact, none of us even realized that she was sitting on the train... that is... until aimee hit me in the leg. (normally, aimee's reach would be about my leg height anyway because aimee is short... just kidding. pictured below is aimee on the subway train.)



as it turns out, aimee had been engrossed in the metro newspaper and did not even realize we were on the train until i had laughed. yes, i have a distinct laugh... some people would even possibly call it a high pitched giggle.

anyway, the five of us rode the train home together. before, there were four of us... today there were five... some day, there will be an entire subway car full of people i know! that would be fun...

I Still Suck At Riding The MBTA

i still suck at riding the mbta.

i must admit, however, that yesterday was actually a pretty good commute home from work.

yesterday, my friend (hot amy) asked if i wanted to take the mbta home with her. she works in town for the commonwealth of massachusetts. the building that she works in is right around the corner from where i work. so naturally, i agreed.

later that day, karen asked to meet me at the mbta train platform at park street station after work. she was working a little late at her job at the hospital and thought it would be nice to commute home together. so naturally, i agreed with that too.

as i was getting ready to leave work, i got an instant message from my other friend (jen) who works for a travel company. she heard that hot amy, karen, and i were going to be taking the mbta home together and said she'd try to meet up with us as well.

anyway, when i arrived at the station, i was quite surprised to find hot amy as the only person standing there on the mbta platform. (she is generally tardy for things.) soon, an announcement came that the train all of us would be taking (the braintree destination train) was approaching the station. i was a little concerned because there was no sign of karen.

as the braintree train arrived, karen bolted down the stairs and was able to meet us. in addition, my friend and coworker (carlos) was there! thus, all four of us were able to take the mbta home together. unfortunately, jen could not join us as she was delayed by her bus. (stupid bus!).

needless to say, it was fun commute home. having everyone there also made the commuting time go by very quickly. if only every commute were like that...

I Still Suck At Riding The MBTA

i still suck at riding the mbta... particularly in the morning.

during my morning commute, i usually go through the whole routine of standing in the same location (unless of course it is already occupied by someone else), waiting for the subway train to arrive. when the train, arrives, i usually go in and find a space where i can simply stand for the duration of my commute into town for work. (yes, i frequently stand... germ issues which were alluded to in my other post)

anyway, i think i must be a flatulence magnet. today, i made the bad decision to stand near someone who was apparently flatulent. now, i can't be certain who the culprit is. all i know is that as i was approaching south station, i got a whiff of something not so pleasant... which is really a bad way to start the morning off.

i sometimes wonder why people would pass gas in a crowded train. do they get a thrill out of it? can't they just wait until they get to work to use the bathroom? i find it very rude and very annoying. i'm sure they don't want to smell their own flatulence, so why would they think other people would want to?

sadly, this occurrence is fairly typical of my morning commute... hence the flatulence magnet comment. the funny thing is, the flatulent culprit is usually not the same person as i randomly stand places on the subway train. perhaps i should take a later train...

I Suck At Riding The MBTA

normally, i suck at riding the mbta. the subway trains are usually packed. in the morning, the people on the subway are either tired, scary, or just plain annoying. whenever i am on the train, i usually think of how germy the subway train must be, which is why i try to avoid holding onto the poles for as long as i can.

today, however, begins february vacation week for a lot of kids. i love february vacation week, not because i have kids (at least to my knowledge). february vacation week generally means that there will be less people commuting with me on the mbta! kids are generally not taking the subway because they are on vacation; and parents are generally not taking the subway because their kids are on vacation. less people... less crowded... less germs... makes me happy. (thankfully as well, i don't have the constitution of hot amy who is always sick).