October 25, 2008

• Train Travels and Off Nights

  Ok, so I take an Amtrak train to and from Ashland, KY. It was cheaper than either flying or driving and I've been told that it's pretty comfortable. It was cheaper and it was comfortable. It was not timely. Each way, the trip was supposed to take about 14 hours. In both cases, I arrived a good four hours after the time when I was supposed to have arrived. On the way down, the train left on time, but we lost somewhere between a half hour to an hour in Washington DC because they couldn't find the train engine (also, the electricity was out in our car, but that's another matter). Then, a CSX freight train carrying hazardous materials derailed in front of us, so our train dropped us off in Charlottesville, VA and we were bussed to Prince, VA, a trip which took two hours after waiting for two hours for the bus. On the plus side, they did feed us fairly well for our inconvenience. On the way back out, the train was delayed about about two and a half hours, and then we faced further delays along the trip including having to stop once so that the track could be cleared of debris and another delay in Washington as they tried to locate engines and conductors. I suffered in comfort because they have nice plush seats, lots of leg room and (for the most part) electricity to plug the laptop into. And it was cheaper than driving. But still, I don't like not knowing when I will arrive at my destination.

  And I had an off night at karaoke tonight. Several of the songs I picked, I know I didn't do well, and even on the ones where I think I did do well, the audience was dead. It might have been a matter of that we had one or two really good singers (including one that was right after me in the rotation). Or maybe I just sucked. *shrug* Oh well, it happens.

  • 2:05 am
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