A good day

Today was one of those days that just makes me smile. Here are the highlights:

1)   My run.

Great run in perfect weather with Luke to start the day.

2)   My commute to work.

First, the Green Line train was waiting for me as I crossed St. Paul Street. Then, I was just far enough out of rush hour that the train skipped a few of those less trafficked stops, making the trip into town super quick. I hopped off the Green Line, walked to the Red Line, and that train was waiting for me too. I slid onto the train just as the doors were closing. Once I got off that train at JFK/UMass, the bus to take me to campus was ALSO just right there – waiting – and as soon as I got on the bus, it sped off to campus. The whole trip took me 39 minutes. 39 minutes!!! Astonishing. My typical commute is about an hour. And that’s not all – once on campus, as I was walking to the stairs, the elevator doors opened up in front of me. So, of course, I had to treat myself to an elevator ride. It was the world’s greatest commute. 

3)   The train incident.

This part is funny. Last night, I was trying to refill my Charlie Card (subway pass) but the machines at work weren’t taking debit cards, so I couldn’t add any money to my card. So, today, I pieced together $2 in coins, or what I thought was $2. As I was dropping my coins in the coin slot on the Green Line, I dropped a coin down the steps. Since my gigantic belly makes it pretty tough to bend over, the train driver actually got out of her seat, climbed down the two steps, and picked up my quarter from the disgustingly dirty floor. Now, Bostonians, I know you agree – that is very atypical train driver behavior. So, I dropped that coin in the slot, went to put in my other coin, and realized it was a Malaysian coin, not a US coin. The wonderful train driver looked at me, smiled sweetly, and just said “let’s just call it a day, honey”. So, I thanked her and turned around to stand in the moderately crowded train, tripped over an old woman, and fell into the crowd. As I picked myself up, another woman saw that I was pregnant and got up from her seat so I could sit down. I protested, but she insisted, so I gave in. As I went to sit down, I tripped over a blind man’s cane, fell partially into his lap and partially into the open seat, and knocked over the same woman I knocked over the first time. Brad was on the phone with me for half of this scenario. Everybody laughed. It was a silly little way to start the day. 

4)   My work day.

I was able to do my first phone meeting of the day while I was out on my morning run. Always a great way to start the work day. My second meeting of the day was a Skype meeting with somebody from Korea. I had allocated 30 minutes for it. It took 10. So, I had 20 free minutes in my day, which is pretty wonderful. Then, my budget meeting ended early. Then, my union meeting yielded good news for all graduate program directors (which means me). Then, my department meeting ended early. Finally, my admissions meeting ended 30 minutes early. All in all, a completely unusually convenient day for Laura.