Thursday night train adventure
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Ive been going into the city on Thursday evenings to meet up with a friend or two. Its been really nice and relaxing and looks to become a weekly visit.
Getting into the city itself is the part thats not relaxing. I could catch a train in without too much hassle, they go half hourly so If I leave work at the regular time I can get home, get changed, walk to the station and ride in with time to spare.
Ont he other hand, If I leave work later, which I often do, by the time I get home the next train would get me in there really late. Or If I have other errands to run, I would drive and do them on the way.
When you drive into the city the biggest problem is parking. On a weeknight the parking stations will charge you over $14 for anything longer than an hour and the price continues to rise the longer your there. I just cannot afford that. Thats 3 dinners worth of money! Street parking is $4 per hour until a certain time but there is NEVER any street parks available. I have easily spent 15 - 30 minutes scouring the city and not even seen other people get parks, the cars all seem permanently glued to the bitumen. This leaves me parking out at Roma Street, sometimes I will need to battle for a park there but I generally can find one withing a few minutes of arriving. However Im still paying a few dollars an hour for the spot.
Ignoring all the environmental reasons. catching the train is much better for my wallet and stress levels.
So when the timing was right this week and I could easily train it in, I was actually a bit excited. I had a new book to read and enough coins in my wallet, it was almost too easy. I arrived half an hour early, my friend had done the same and thats when this fairytale story should end with a happily ever after.
I always manage to make things more difficult than they need to be, its like the psychic side effect of all my general awesomeness. When the superhero gods bestowed my powers they told me of my greatness, blah blah'd about responsibility and said by the way,
When it came time to wonder home, I found my way to the right platform with ease and settled in to wait 40 mins for my next train. I studied the timetable a bit closer and worked out, If I got the train that came past in 10 minutes, I could change lines at that station, catch a different train the rest of the way getting myself home 30 minutes sooner. So far so good. I hopped on the train and found a seat away from people and settled back into my book. Its good, I was really hooked in now and only occasionally lifted my head to check the stations. Eventually there came the time where I looked up in time to see us smoothly pull out of the station I needed to get off at.
SHIT
We clattered off onto a line heading in the exact opposite direction to my destination and things instantly started looking unfamiliar and scary. I got off at the next station and realised I had to choice but to wait for a train heading back the way Id come, and then wait again for a final train home.
SHIT
Now that I was waiting I investigated the station, it was tiny. There was one platform with nothing on it except one set of seats, ticket machine, stairs to carry you over the lines and one large light pole with a speaker. No ticket booth, toilets, timetables, line information, phone or vending machine. I hadn't been at a station so bare bones since I was little and all Brisbane suburban stations were that crappy.
In front of me was a large factory. Several buildings, all lit up and clanging. There was yelling and noises but no people to be seen. There was areas of bright lights surrounded by shadows and lots and lots of metal. One huge chimney burnt with a constant flame out the top. The stairs from the train station led right down into the big industrial factory.
Behind me the stairs led to an empty field. There was no carpark or even footpath that I could see. There was no extra lighting so it was hard to tell but it just seemed like a large empty, grassy space. There was buildings and lights in the distance but being completely unable to see houses or even a road this station seemed like an island in the middle of nowhere. It was fucking cool. I was in steampunk heaven. I wasn't in any hurry so I was quite happy to continue reading and bask in the atmosphere.
Eventually a train rumbled along and I got myself back to the other station. Where I waited another hour for a train. So my little shortcut actually added a couple of hours to my journey but discovering that station made it worthwhile. When Ive got my camera working again Ill go there on purpose and take some pictures.
Ont he other hand, If I leave work later, which I often do, by the time I get home the next train would get me in there really late. Or If I have other errands to run, I would drive and do them on the way.
When you drive into the city the biggest problem is parking. On a weeknight the parking stations will charge you over $14 for anything longer than an hour and the price continues to rise the longer your there. I just cannot afford that. Thats 3 dinners worth of money! Street parking is $4 per hour until a certain time but there is NEVER any street parks available. I have easily spent 15 - 30 minutes scouring the city and not even seen other people get parks, the cars all seem permanently glued to the bitumen. This leaves me parking out at Roma Street, sometimes I will need to battle for a park there but I generally can find one withing a few minutes of arriving. However Im still paying a few dollars an hour for the spot.
Ignoring all the environmental reasons. catching the train is much better for my wallet and stress levels.
So when the timing was right this week and I could easily train it in, I was actually a bit excited. I had a new book to read and enough coins in my wallet, it was almost too easy. I arrived half an hour early, my friend had done the same and thats when this fairytale story should end with a happily ever after.
I always manage to make things more difficult than they need to be, its like the psychic side effect of all my general awesomeness. When the superhero gods bestowed my powers they told me of my greatness, blah blah'd about responsibility and said by the way,
"whenever you use your powers you will then make every task 80% more complex, difficult and painful than it would otherwise be. 'GRATS see ya!"Pfft, what jerks.
When it came time to wonder home, I found my way to the right platform with ease and settled in to wait 40 mins for my next train. I studied the timetable a bit closer and worked out, If I got the train that came past in 10 minutes, I could change lines at that station, catch a different train the rest of the way getting myself home 30 minutes sooner. So far so good. I hopped on the train and found a seat away from people and settled back into my book. Its good, I was really hooked in now and only occasionally lifted my head to check the stations. Eventually there came the time where I looked up in time to see us smoothly pull out of the station I needed to get off at.
SHIT
We clattered off onto a line heading in the exact opposite direction to my destination and things instantly started looking unfamiliar and scary. I got off at the next station and realised I had to choice but to wait for a train heading back the way Id come, and then wait again for a final train home.
SHIT
Now that I was waiting I investigated the station, it was tiny. There was one platform with nothing on it except one set of seats, ticket machine, stairs to carry you over the lines and one large light pole with a speaker. No ticket booth, toilets, timetables, line information, phone or vending machine. I hadn't been at a station so bare bones since I was little and all Brisbane suburban stations were that crappy.
In front of me was a large factory. Several buildings, all lit up and clanging. There was yelling and noises but no people to be seen. There was areas of bright lights surrounded by shadows and lots and lots of metal. One huge chimney burnt with a constant flame out the top. The stairs from the train station led right down into the big industrial factory.
Behind me the stairs led to an empty field. There was no carpark or even footpath that I could see. There was no extra lighting so it was hard to tell but it just seemed like a large empty, grassy space. There was buildings and lights in the distance but being completely unable to see houses or even a road this station seemed like an island in the middle of nowhere. It was fucking cool. I was in steampunk heaven. I wasn't in any hurry so I was quite happy to continue reading and bask in the atmosphere.
Eventually a train rumbled along and I got myself back to the other station. Where I waited another hour for a train. So my little shortcut actually added a couple of hours to my journey but discovering that station made it worthwhile. When Ive got my camera working again Ill go there on purpose and take some pictures.
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