Movin' on up!

Sorry folks, but I will no longer be posting here on Blogger. I've moved to Tumblr. The new URL is: http://thelittlefella.tumblr.com/ Please visit me there for all future posts (and old posts too!) Thanks!

We did it!

It's all over now and it was amazing. Here's a few pics until I get my act together to post more.

Wedding Pics

A Cautionary Tale

Two Fridays ago the bearded man and I had returned home after a long night out and about in Downtown LA. I was really tired and when I needed my cell phone, asked him to throw it to me. Those were my exact words: throw it to me. Unfortunately for me, the bearded man not only took them literally and did throw it, but since I was underneath a blanket threw it at the big blob instead of into maybe a pair of hands. The result? My first (and hopefully last) black eye. I can attest to the corner of an iPhone with a very hard plastic case in the eye will cause immense amounts of bruising and cause one to scream/cry like a 3 year old (maybe that's just me). Luckily for me it was the weekend and I had a few days to deal with the pain and start to laugh about my misfortune before work on Monday. Even luckier is the bearded man who in testimony to his character not one person doubted our I Love Lucy style explanation.

The bruising is all gone now and with plenty of time before the wedding. So brides and anyone who doesn't want a black eye, I don't recommend ever asking for a phone to be thrown to them unless they know exactly where it's headed.

p.s. 12 days! ACK!

5 weeks to go!

I didn't think I'd actually end up this close to my wedding day sans venue contract signed, or with any definitive wedding colors, or just a sketch of what my centerpieces will look like, but that's how it goes. Life just has a habit of getting away from you and before you know it you're faced with things like marriage license requirements and big decisions like what do I want my name to be?

The bearded man and I went to our respective bachelor/bachelorette parties last week. And even though we both went to Sin City we managed to avoid seeing each other the entire time. I did try to text him, but had the phone taken away immediately after. It was the first time I had gone that long without speaking to him in the 5 years since we've met (this includes my time in Brazil and D.C.) and it was a lot harder than I thought. I've gotten so used to someone else being willing to listen 24/7 and luckily my girlfriends were nice enough to by my sounding board.

So wedding plans, what's left. Well besides the license, it's mostly logistics and supplies. Trying to figure out how to transport and chill 800 beverages (that's 1 beverage per hour per person), how to display my cupcakes/candy bar (I ditched cupcakes as centerpieces) and who is going to take all of it down at the end of the afternoon (beg friends and family to help?). This brings me to the hardest part of wedding planning, asking for help. I like to host parties and I like to organize and plan, but as much as this wedding is my party I'm hosting I can't do the traditional things I'd do like set-up and clean up, making sure that everyone has drinks or that the food is good. So it's delegation time to the bearded man, to my kickass Maid of Honor, to my family and friends who have volunteered their assistance. So with a hope and a prayer it will all come off without a hitch. Time to start learning the anti-rain dance for April 2!

Paperless Post to the Rescue!

So early on we decided to only send real paper invites to those of our guests who are not so computer savvy (aka all of our family and parent's friends). With a wedding our size this cut the number of invites we needed to actually print, label and send to 100. For our friends though I wanted to use Paperless Post which is Evite's way more mature and hip cousin. I first learned about this awesome website when it was in Beta mode from my Aunt who had received an e-vite for a very nice party being thrown by USC. I had spent some time designing our wedding e-vite and was a bit disappointed that our friends would not get the same papel picado (Mexican cut paper) feel as our real invite. Lo and behold when I arrived today on the Paperless Post website to find this amazing piece of electronic stationary:

Sometimes when you're just about ready to quit on all this wedding planning stuff, perfection just falls into your lap. For those of you still in throes of wedding planning and working full time, check out this awesome post by Liz Coopersmith on Broke-ass Bride today.

80 days and counting down

We're less than 80 days out from the wedding at this point and it's starting to really sink in that a) this is really happening and b) there's a lot left to do. I have three major goals for the wedding:
1. Our guests have a good time
2. We get to enjoy the wedding
3. Everyone leaves with a full tummy of delicious food

Now even though that seems like a small set of goals, making sure those are accomplished requires a lot more planning. So for a quick rundown on my list of to-dos:
1. Arrange for rental and set-up of the reception tent, tables, chairs, dancefloor and tablecloths.
2. Address and send out invitations.
3. Update the website with the RSVP link.
4. Meet with the wedding coordinator from the church to arrange for the rehearsal.
5. Reserve the rehearsal dinner location.
6. Schedule my dress fittings at the seamstress.
7. Decide on the music for the ceremony and the reception.
8. Purchase alcohol, other drinks, cupcake stands, cutlery and table settings.
9. Buy the remaining pint glasses for my favors and paint on the chalkboard square.
10. Figure out last minute accessories including jewelry, wedding bands, hair flower.

So many things and so little time, this is why people hire wedding coordinators. I'm trying to take it one step at a time and to not allow my life to become consumed in the planning of this event. And, be okay with not finishing everything on that list. So here's to the last big push until April 2. Wish me luck!

UPDATE 3/9/2011: I just realized that I've done everything on this list except for #9 and #10. WOO HOO!

Guest BlogPost Today at Charmed Weddings

I'm really excited that my very first Guest Blog Post is up, check it out here.

I don't know how many of my readers are planning a wedding, but just in case a great resource is Liz Coopersmith at Silver Charm Events. Not only does she write a very helpful blog, but she hosts teleconference calls with industry professionals about all questions wedding including catering, photography, and choosing a venue. Last but not least she is a regular contributor to one of my favorite wedding blogs around the Broke-Ass Bride Blog.

Featured on Metro's the Source Blog

I'm so excited to report that my "Why I Ride" profile I submitted to Metro was posted today to the Source blog. I've appreciated reading the different profiles about why people choose to ride Metro or in some cases choose not. I've also thought the suggestions provided by many of those profiled have been useful and constructive. My main suggestion (despite being a daily rail user) is to improve the quality of the bus system in LA. The infrequency, unreliability and lengthy trip times of the current bus system make them a choice for only those without any other option.

The bearded man and I discussed yesterday why we love where we live so much yesterday. And despite the cute neighborhood of shops and cafes the real reason we love it is our commute. We both manage to have 20 minute commutes to our workplaces. The key thing in the future will be a) always considering our commute when we choose where to live and b) being willing to move if the job is worth it so that we can live approximately halfway between both of our jobs. This also means that purchasing a home does not work with this philosophy, because that will essentially root us in one place. As much as I would love to be able to rip out the carpet in my living room or throw large outdoor BBQs in a big backyard it does not outweigh all the extra time I have added to my day by not driving.

Adventures in Crafting- Favors

I like to craft. Growing up in the Girls Scouts I would spend time making handmade Christmas ornaments and using rubber stamps on just about anything. In Junior High I got into scrapbooking and most recently have tried my hand at sewing. The problem with all of these is that I don't like mistakes and once I've screwed something up (in my mind) I tend to just give up on the whole project.
Once engaged though it became evident that crafting and DIY (do-it-yourself) are super popular ways to make your wedding feel personalized and help save some dough. I decided I would only craft things that a) I couldn't find somewhere online for a decent price or b) didn't exist and would be forced to create myself. So far I've taken on two major craft projects for the wedding: favors and invitations.
Our favor idea came from one of my favorite Christmas gifts- a pint glass with a rectangle of chalkboard paint that lets you put your name on it infinite amounts of times. Here's the inspiration:

Image courtesy of Incredible Things

Unfortunately those cost $4 each and black does not go with my color scheme. (Side note: I don't really have a color scheme, I have a color- green.)

So I decided to do a test run and try my hand at making my own. The bearded man and I picked up 6 Vanlig pint glasses at Ikea for $3.99. We then headed over to a true Los Angeles gem- Jill's Paints to pick up primer and chalkboard paint. We decided to go with a foam roller at the suggestion of the friendly staff at Jill's and picked the only green shade that we liked from the selection at hand. The primer, chalkboard paint and foam rollers came to about $45. I randomly taped up some rectangles on each glass and got to priming. Here's what they looked like after Step 1:
I decided to leave them over night to dry before adding the first coat of green chalkboard paint. I didn't love it with the first coat so I waited another 24 hours before adding a second one and voila:I'm really pleased with how they came out and have already put them through the dishwasher once to see how they hold up. Next we'll be buying the remaining 200 (YIKES!) pint glasses at a restaurant wholesale supplier and getting to work. I might reconsider this as a good idea around #150, but oh well I'm in for the long haul now!

New Year's Resolutions

No I'm not starting early for 2011, but I was about to write out a To Do list when I came across my 2010 New Year's Resolutions. I'm so glad I kept this, because it's fun to see which of those things I've crossed off, which I still haven't done and those I completely forgot about even promising to do.

1. Exercise 3x/week and go to yoga 1x/week.
I haven't kept this up consistently throughout the year, but this was by far my healthiest year yet. I think a lot of this has to do with the fact that I'm not commuting 45 min or more each way to work and have an extra 90 minutes a day to spend at yoga or working out. Funny enough I also canceled my gym membership this year, because with 2 people and 1 vehicle having to drive to a separate location to work out was not convenient. Instead I've switched to yoga classes down the street from my train station, running outside and Jillian Michael's 30-day Shred at home in the living room.

2. Take a trip to a different continent.
This was one of the worst years for traveling. Although the bearded man and I managed to fit in a lot of shorter trips: Grand Canyon, Vegas, Seattle, San Francisco (twice), San Diego; there was no international travel. Our last trip of the year will be to another national park which is great since we'll probably not be able to fit one in next year with the wedding.

3. Consolidate IRAs.
A major fail on this one, especially since it's been on my list for 2 years! I hate dealing with the paperwork, but I'm going to make a concerted effort to try and get this done by the end of the year. Due to my plethora of jobs, I have about 5 disparate accounts all just languishing.

4. Cook food I like.
I have to hand it to Real Simple for all of the awesome easy recipes with a few ingredients. The bearded man and I cooked through all 20 of the dinners listed in their 4-week menu plan for dinner. I would say we enjoyed more than 75% of them and there are some we have already made again! I also need to credit again my lack of a commute for my ability to cook more often.

5. Organize apartment/purge.
We have a constant "outbox" where we put stuff that we want to give away and every so often I go through my wardrobe to look for items I no longer wear, are worn out or don't fit. The best plan I can think of for doing this is Apartment Therapy's Home Cure, which just finished but there are awesome short videos to lead you through it. Coupled with the book makes it easier than you might think.

6. Invest in home furnishings/art.
Only made modest progress on this one. We bought a big mirror for the living room and finally framed our favorite photo from a trip to Brazil, but that's it. The majority of our walls are still just plain old white. As for furnishings we purchased a chest for the living room to hold the pull-out bed sheets/blankets, a liquor cabinet/board game holder, and some new throw pillows, but that's about it.

7. Run two half marathons.
I ran three this year, so here's one resolution officially checked off complete.

8. Finish college scrapbook.
I have made so little progress on this one that I wonder if I'll ever want to finish it, but I think I'll make the commitment to finish this one and then maybe go for easier digital versions in the future (Shutterfly, Costco photobooks, etc.) I just never want to take the time to get out all of the supplies, make the necessary amount of mess and clean it up.

So out of 8 resolutions I've managed to do at least most of them a little and 3 of them completely. Guess it's time to start thinking about some new goals for 2011, maybe blogging a little more frequently?

SF vs. LA Transit

So the SF Giants have managed to make it all the way to the World Series, take down the un-hittable Cliff Lee and win the first of four games to be crowned Champions of Baseball. But how does the Bay Area's transit system match up to LA's?

1. The airport: SF's rail line picks you up at the airport. LA makes you take a shuttle that can be confusing and time consuming. 1 point SF.

2. Price: This is tough, because it depends what system you are using in SF. There are two main transit operators: BART- the Bay Area Rapid Transit and Muni which is the local bus and light rail provider within SF proper. BART's prices are based on geographical distance with a heavy premium for the airport. It cost $8.10 from SFO to Civic Center station (approximately 25 minute trip). The Metro line is $1.50 per ride with no transfers, so if you happened to only take the Green Line to the LAX shuttle it would only cost $1.50. If you had to transfer a day pass might save you some money and runs $5.00, still cheaper than BART. Muni though can be significantly cheaper than Metro, because it allows on and off privileges for 90 minutes for $2 and we managed to go from brunch, to Golden Gate park and to lunch all on one fare. Metro does not allow transfers and taking four buses would have cost $6.00 at a $1.50 per ride. 1 point for SF for Muni's transfers, 1 point for Metro for non-geography based fares.

3. Convenience: Now here's where SF really stands out from LA. First, BART has a paper fare card that can be reused, reducing the number of times you have to visit the fare machine. Times for when the next BART or Muni will arrive are available online and via the iPhone. In the station, times are listed for the next arrival of a train (soon to be available in LA, but should have been around for awhile now). Metro only recently created an iPhone app, but it still does not provide real-time updates for bus/rail arrivals and there is no mobile version of bus/rail schedules (only a painfully slow-loading PDF version). 1 point for SF

4. Style: Now I know this is not as important, but I do want to at least give props to LA for not putting carpet and fully upholstered seats on their rail like BART. I always worry about the number of germs and nastiness that must be living in them. Also, MUNI has weird seat set-ups in their buses with seats facing each other that seem like space wasters. Plus, the public service ads in MUNI paled in comparison to the beautiful Metro ad campaigns.
1 point for LA

Final tally: SF, 3 vs. LA, 2. Looks a lot like our baseball season, they're better than us, but not by much. And with today's approval of the expansion to the Westside, we'll start being able to build a system in the near future that can compete with our Northern neighbors.

L.A. ranked #4 among workers using transit

A recent release from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey listed the LA Metro region #4 in terms of the number of workers using transit, but the percentage of workers using transit LA is still lagging behind at 6.2%. I think there may be several reasons for the lack of more transit riders, but here's a few:

1. Employers are more willing to subsidize parking rather than transit. Until parking becomes a scarcity it is a difficult sell. Metro has already put in place reduced transit fares for employers through its B-Tap program. Unfortunately, Metrolink's sizable expense results in employer reimbursements' accounting for a very small portion of the cost. In other cities such as SF, DC and NY the cost of a monthly parking spot can equal rent on a small studio.

2. Many of public transit riders in LA are not workers, but rather students, elderly and of course those people who don't ride i.e. the unemployed. Not that other Metropolitan areas don't have the same types of riders, but I think LA has a disproportionate amount of non-working riders. I would be interested to see how LA matches up against other areas when all transit riders are considered.

3. LA has several areas where the majority of workers are headed. Traveling to DTLA via transit is very doable, but other city centers: Century City, Long Beach, Santa Monica, Westwood, Burbank, etc. are so spread apart that having reliable, frequent trips for workers is difficult.

The reasons I ride transit have a lot to do with the fact that my transit is subsidized by my employer; I work in DTLA at a transit hub, i.e. Union Station; and I learned how to ride transit from my time at USC where parking costs over $300/semester (parking scarcity). Take away one of those and I might be with the other 93.8% of workers in the LA Metro area- stuck in traffic, in a car by myself, listening to NPR and cursing.

A New Topic for a Bit

As much as I love writing about transit, it's been getting a little tedious. Mostly because I tend to travel the same route 5 days a week and except for the occasional rant or transit-related news item there isn't much for me to write about. But I have been ditching my usual reading of transit and policy blogs/articles for a much different topic- Weddings.

The bearded man and I got engaged a couple days after our 4 year anniversary. He couldn't do it on the actual anniversary date, because I'd be "expecting it and it wouldn't be a surprise." So instead he chose to wait to a random rainy Saturday after coming home from brunch with his Dad. There was no grand gesture, but it made me laugh and I started cursing once I realized what was actually happening. So fast forward 7 months and we are now 6 months away from our wedding date- 04.02.11. And interestingly enough my dependency on public transit has affected some of my wedding planning decisions- so this blog won't totally lose its feel. But since I've managed to already change it once, I thought why not one more time? This will be a whirlwind of activity and I thought that it might be fun to invite the internets in on the fun/chaos.

Thanks for putting up with me!

-Juice

Constructive Tweeting

I had a bummer experience on Metro last Friday. After leaving a little early to be able to purchase some breakfast on my way to work, I arrived with a good 3 minutes to purchase my one-way pass with my pre-paid token. The first machine I used ate my token. I put it in and nothing happened, no ticket, no returned token. Now instead of being a smart Metro rider, I decided to try the same machine again. I thought maybe my first token was stuck and the second would jar it. Bad idea as my second token was promptly swallowed up.

The Mission Gold Line station only has two machines for each direction. The other was being used by what I could only assume was an infrequent Metro rider, as she used at $20 bill to purchase her $1.50 pass and spent several moments trying to count up her $1 coins. Luckily, she finished up her transaction in time for me to put my 3rd token in the second machine and retrieve my fare with time to run to the train. So after $4.50 spent in tokens I finally had valid proof of fare. Needless to say I was not pleased and promptly fired off a tweet to @metrolosangeles. I received a reply tweet a few hours later that I should call the 323.Go.Metro customer service line to report what had happened or use the intercom located next to the ticket machines in the future. Unfortunately, neither of these options would work for me, because the Customer Service line has notoriously interminable wait times (over 20 minutes) to reach an agent and I was not going to miss my train just to talk to someone on the intercom. Plus, I feel that Twitter is a great forum to receive real-time information from customers about service issues and relay the information to whomever needs to know and if @metrolosangeles is not the appropriate Twitter handle to respond to, I suggest the Customer Service folks at 323.Go.Metro to start their own.

I guess to add icing on the cake, when I exited at Union Station I was greeted by no less than 6 Sheriff officers asking for proof of fare. If I had been someone who could not afford to waste 3 tokens or who only had exact fare I would have been fined despite my good faith effort. I made sure to relay to them the problem at Mission Station's ticket machine and they did seem to be at least mildly interested in the information.

For better or worse, my tweet was posted on Metro's Source blog. I hope to be listed under compliments in addition to rants one day, because no one likes a Debbie Downer.

TAP Cards and Turnstiles

Metro's electronic fare system, TAP, was in the news again for the cost of installing locking turnstiles that are still not being fully utilized and the slow adoption of riders from paper to electronic. Although, many of the assertions made in the Daily News article are true there is little doubt that the majority of other public transit entities in the U.S. struggled through the same issues when they transferred from paper to electronic fare systems. Other systems do have advantages though to LA's Metro including having staffed stations that allow for confused riders and problems to be addressed in real-time by a Metro employee and a much larger rail system that was built with turnstiles originally in mind. I never quite understood what made Metro choose to start with a honor system except for that when the Red Line was built it was feared to be rarely used by anyone let alone have to worry about fare evasion. As the network has grown and lines are added the increased need for oversight has made this system a problem. As a regular rider, I take offense to being constantly asked by Sheriffs and fare checkers for my proof of transit. I often see them paying more careful attention to patrons that one might expect to be potential fare evaders: teens on skateboards, individuals that are asleep, etc. Without a system that ensures every rider has paid the profiling will continue.

As for the article's questioning as to why more riders haven't adopted TAP, I believe that until paper tickets are no longer an option for students and seniors, there will be little motivation to move to the new system. People enjoy what is familiar and will not change unless forced. With the increase of use there will hopefully be more outlets to purchase a TAP and remove the burden of finding an outlet near you. And maybe one day soon, Metro will be able to lock those pretty new turnstiles once and for all.

Am I a loser?

According to Hollywood, I just might be. Slate has a great article entitled "Dude, Where's your car?: How not having a car became Hollywood shorthand for loser". This is an idea not lost on me. I often wonder what people think about the fact that I live in L.A. and there's only 1 freeway-drivable car in a 2-person household. I would argue that not having a car to get me to all my destinations, has increased my cool factor.

1. I'm not stuck in my car for 90-120 minutes a day commuting 5 days a week. Although this means I don't get to listen to endless amounts of bad radio, I do get to spend my commuting time listening to my iPod and This American Life podcasts.

2. By having only 1 car, we were forced to move to a transit-friendly neighborhood. In addition to being near transit I also live within two blocks of a local wine store, Trader Joe's, two yoga studios, half a dozen restaurants, two coffee shops and a bakery.

3. I'm able to shop at the weekly Thursday farmer's market, something I never got home in time to visit when I drove. I can also make almost any yoga class or dinner date within 30 minutes of me being off of work, even on a Friday! (Gasp! Has taking public transit turned me into one of those crazy hipsters who only shop locally? And if so, isn't that the definition of Hollywood cool these days?)

4. A weird side effect of not driving during the week is how little I drive on the weekends and nights. The bearded man and I tend to stay within the 10 mile radius area around our place, which just happens to include Downtown LA the newest cool spot to be in Lala land.

So I guess I will dust off those weird stares and uncomfortable pauses when I tell people I don't drive very regularly. I'll remind myself there are millions of New Yorkers who never even care to get their license and not worry about being called out like poor Cher.

Too many transfers, too many delays

My coworker is a brave soul. She travels on 3 Metro rail lines a day to get to work: Green to Blue to Red. The total distance of her commute if she drove would be a little over 13 miles. For the most part taking public transit works for her. She doesn't spend close to an hour in traffic, her car isn't forced to put on mileage and since work pays for the majority of her monthly pass it's cost effective. But there's something that is rarely taken into account: the psychological toll of relying on transit day after day to get you to and from a place 10+ times a week. The problem is that with 3 rail lines that's 3 times as many places for things to go wrong, multiply that by a round trip and that's 6 times a day things could go wrong, multiply that by 5 days a week and you're up to 30 times...you get the picture. The problem becomes when the days that the trip goes off without a hitch start to seem fewer than the number of times SOMETHING goes wrong. This can range from something minor like one or two doors not opening on a train causing momentary chaos at every station to a crash with a car, requiring everyone switching to a bus bridge. In LA it tends to be the Blue Line with problems more often than the others, and in Washington D.C. it typically was the Red Line, but when one of these "problem" lines are on your daily commute your ability to rely on transit as a timely and efficient option starts to dwindle. Not to say Metro isn't trying the twitter feed @metrolosangeles has started keeping much better with transit alerts and continues to be responsive via the source blog for issues being raised by customers. Check them both out if you're a rider or just a transit enthusiast.

The end of $2.00 for a monthly pass

Today is the end of June which for most people means that the year is halfway through, but for those transit riders out there it means the start of a new fiscal year and LOTS of changes. Tomorrow LA Metro will increase the base fare by $.25 to $1.50 and the monthly pass will go from $62.00 to $75.00! I am lucky that my employer pays for $60 towards my transit costs in lieu of paying that same amount for parking. The tough decision now will be whether to continue buying the monthly pass or switching to tokens. There are a few pros and cons to each.

Pros for tokens- I will only buy $60 worth a month and therefore have no out of pocket expense.
Cons for tokens- I no longer get to TAP my way on to the bus/train each morning. Not to mention the inconvenience of having to purchase my pass everyday. And it's possible I'll use up all of my tokens and need to pay out of pocket anyways.

I've decided to try tokens for one month and see how it goes. Tomorrow should also mean a shakeup for Metro's bus routes which means new schedules/routes/stops, etc. Trying to figure everything out is difficult, but we have 511 to the rescue! Similar to 911 for emergencies, 511 is for transit and transportation. Southern California recently unveiled it's go511.com site with transit planning information, traffic alerts, carpool and bike information. It's a lot more user friendly then the trip planner offered on Metro's website AND more comprehensive than Google transit. (Sidenote: This may not be Google's fault since transit companies must be willing to provide the site with route and time information for this to work.) 511 might not be everything to everyone, but it is the dawn of Southern California transit being integrated on a regional scale that is easily accessible from any computer! Woo hoo!

Stranded on the Gold Line

Yes I have to admit that for two evenings in a row, my favorite method of transport, the Gold Line, left me stranded. Monday evening I left work to ride the 6:10pm train to Sierra Madre Villa station from Union Station when an announcement comes on that the train will be leaving in approximately 3 minutes. This is odd, considering this will make the train late something that I'm happy to report is relatively rare for the Gold Line, particularly during morning/evening rush hour. After a few minutes, the driver instructs everyone to exit the train, as it will be going south to Atlantic Station. We are then told that a train running north will be arriving shortly. Two more trains arrive traveling southbound and still no northbound train. Finally, we get the real update there is police activity at the Chinatown station and train service between Union Station and Lincoln/Cypress station has been canceled for an undetermined amount of time.

Rather than being smart and heading over to the nearest happy hour I decide to go on a bus adventure with the goal of reaching Gold Line's Lincoln/Cypress station and continuing on my trip home. Unfortunately, Metro's website does not include a mobile transit trip planner and loading the full version on my iPhone takes an excruciatingly long time. I decide to wing it and board the LADOT DASH to Lincoln Heights/Chinatown. Turns out this bus goes by the Gold Line station, but stops about 1 mile away. I decide to transfer to Metro Line #45 which also has a head sign of "Lincoln Heights" but alas this bus also does not meet up with the Gold Line. I decide to exit and transfer to my third bus, Metro Rapid Line #751 which travels along Daly and does meet up with the Gold Line station. To make a long story short, my 15 minute ride turned into a 90 minute ordeal.

Considering I've been using the Gold Line as my main commuting transit option I am pleasantly surprised that in 6 months I had only two days when getting to/from work had taken significantly longer than it would have driving. That was until yesterday when I was stranded again for the second time. Luckily, this time I was already at Lincoln/Cypress station when the police activity shut down the northbound trains and I quickly phoned the bearded man to come retrieve me and spirit me away home. But what about those riders who do not have a back-up option? In order for public transit to become a viable option for those who do not HAVE to take transit, giving riders a sense of security that they will be able to reach their destination in a reasonable amount of time or offer options in the event of emergency is key. I was hoping that the new Twitter feed @metrolosangeles might be able to alleviate this by reporting in real-time issues affecting service. This is not currently possible, but I'm glad to see that Metro's blog the Source was at least responsive to the fact that its passengers are talking on Twitter about service issues. I'm particularly excited that my frustrated tweet from Monday evening made it to the Twitter Tuesday post, check it out here. Hopefully, this will be the last of the mysterious shutdowns due to unexplained police activity at least for awhile, I'll be keeping my fingers crossed as I stand on the platform.

Dodger Game Express

I had the privilege of attending the Dodgers' home opening on Tuesday afternoon and utilized the free Dodgers Express bus from Union Station to just outside the field level entrance at the stadium. For someone like me that works at Union Station there could not be a more practical means of transport to the game and this service will save me a considerable amount of money ($15 per game). It being a sold out game, the Express bus was running fairly frequently and I waited a mere 10 minutes to board. My fellow riders were particularly rowdy as we had less than 30 minutes until the first pitch and the traffic on Cesar Chavez was brutal. Some suggestions I heard from the riders included: 1. creating a bus only lane before game time to allow for faster trip times
2. allowing the bus to turn right from the far most left lane into the parking lot rather than having to travel in the congested center and right lanes
3. having a bus only travel lane once we've entered the line for parking
My personal suggestion is that they make more than one drop off to allow those people with reserve and top deck level tickets to disembark closer to their seats. I would imagine that those individuals sitting at the field level will probably be driving to the game seeing that $150+ per ticket was in their budget. I didn't take the Express back to Union Station as I was lucky enough to have the bearded man pick me up and take me to dinner, but I will at some point during the season and report back on how it fairs. I suspect that it might be faster to walk down to Sunset Bl. and take a regular Metro bus (Route #2, 704) but that will also be part of my research. Finally, I want to test out if I can make it back from a 7:00pm game to Union Station in time to make the final Gold Line train (that is if the game ends in 9 innings, and doesn't last 5+ hours like Wednesday's game). All good information to know whether it is truly possible to attend a Dodger game in L.A. sans personal vehicle.

Overall, I was impressed with the Metro representatives on hand to direct people to the bus, and especially amazed at the driver for putting up with all those awesomely rowdy and crazy Dodger fans. Here's hoping that after this year, it will be seen as a reliable and necessary service that either the Dodger organization or Metro will make available every season and not just if funding is provided by the Southern CA Air Quality Management District. For more information on why and how this was funded, please read the LAist article.