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Subject:Re: Questions about the work day for the Whirlers From:Chris Morton <salt -dot- morton -at- gmail -dot- com> To:"techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Fri, 19 Sep 2014 09:05:23 -0700
Boy, oh boy.... if anyone misconstrued my "commute from hell" story as a
boast, then please let me clarify. Like many of you, I'm at the age
whereâregardless of credentialsâdiscrimination is clearly at work. I took
the gig in Oakland, putting up with the 7 hrs./day commute, because it was
the only position offered to me and I needed the income. I'd also been out
of the workforce for a year prior.
So began my own version of *Antiques Roadshow*.
As it happened, the train ride both ways was very relaxing, so that helped
offset the time invested in riding the rails. One car was a dimly-lit
sleeper coach and everyone understood that, in the morning, it was the
place to go to get some more shuteye, not chat it up with your neighbor.
Come late afternoon, enjoying a glass of wine and occasional small bag of
pistachios as I looked out over Suisun Bay was enjoyable. There I met a few
folks doing the same thing every day, day after day. My experience was by
no means unique; they all belonged to a club they dubbed the CC Riders
(for *Capitol
Corridor*, the name of the commuter run between Sac and Oakland). Once a
year they'd close off one of the railcars and throw a party, to which
anyone having the $5 entrance fee was invited.
I knew that their commute was one that would encompass many years of their
lives, whereas mine had a firm stop date of which I was fully aware going
in. Seven months didn't seem like an unendurable run, and it wasn't. I also
enjoyed many laughs with my train-the-trainers team, and the gig let me
dust off my old stand up presentation skills once again.
My brother being an attentive chef, the midweek reprieve at his place in
Palo Alto also proved to be something to look forward to.
> Chris
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