The train was late today. Its the first real lateness since I started using the thing to get to work in January (January 13, actually!). We were about half an hour late, which effected/affected six trains, ie there were six trains parked behind us.
The train in front of us firstly found that one of the hook things that holds the powerline up had come off, but found out after the line had got tangled in the pantograph (which is not a scientific instrument for measuring sexual frenzy, but is the tree thingy on the top of the train that sucks the 'lectricity out of the power cable). So they took all the power out of our section so the driver of the train could fix the line and untangle the pantograph. The trick was, after they had stopped our train, they opened all the doors, then when the power got turned off, so all the heaters turned off... Cozy it was not. Some people were getting pretty stressed, and then that phone sharing thing started as some of the passengers rang taxi's, some rang bosses, and some thought very seriously about giving up and going home for the car (the north bound trains Ctinued to run, while we just sat there).
Its interesting how people respond to train/transport breakdowns. Some of us couldn't give a toss, we have the kind of jobs that are then whenever we arrive, there'll always be work to do. Other people are in a real bind, they have jobs at the front of house, like reception or shops, and they have to be on time. Some of them sit and wind themselves up, and by the time the train is moving they are ready to kill, or abuse anything or anyone that gets in their way. The military ones are the best wait-ers. They have been trained to 'hurry up and wait' from their first day in the services, and they wait, as JK Baxter put it, as women wait.
One woman was Cnecting with another train, and I admired the way she coped with the stress. She was catching a flight to England from Auckland, and needed to catch the Auckland train. She was very good humoured, Csidering. And it had a happy ending; she caught her train.
Supervision
Yesterday I was walking down Johnston Street after a meeting, and was spoken too by a short skinny man standing round on the roadside having a fag. Turns out it is my stats supervisor Chris. He was up for one of his committee meetings, and our paths just happened to cross. Absolute luck really, as I don't normally leave the building from the time I arrive to when I leave. The gym is on the ground floor, so there really isn't any reason to leave (apart from the pleasure of leaving). I've checked the datasheet plan, and got the green light.
And today I finally got hold of TC, the great leader, and we covered quite a bit of ground. I always feel so much more like a successful student after talking to him, and like this whole project could be do-able, and even more importantly, finishable.
Sign of having a great editor, and supervisor!
Bugger incremental, I feel heaps better.
t