Commuting can feel like an uphill battle

This is a picture taken with my cell phone on last Tuesday. The train line I use to go to work was backed up due to a mechanical problem near the end of the line (apparently the doors wouldn't close on one of the trains). The whole thing started around 7:40 and I didn't get to work until about 9:30. The picture shows the scene I was faced with when I had to change trains at Ikebukuro, one of the major stations in Tokyo.

The 7-54

This is sort of random, but after about 6 months of catching the train in the morning, I now celebrate riding the 7:54.
In Tokyo, where trains are the mode of transportation for the majority of commutes, there are plenty of trains; some lines run a train literally every 2 minutes during peak times - usually the morning rush. So I never really tried to catch a specific train, knowing that there's a 7:56, an 8:01 and so on, that will still get me to work with about 5 minutes to spare.
Getting the 7:54, however, means one less transfer on the way. It also means I probably got up in the morning without hitting snooze too many times and didn't drag my feet getting out the door. So getting the 7:54 having had a bit of breakfast and a cup of coffee is a good sign that I'm going to have a fairly good day.
So here I am, relaxing in my seat 6 stops down the route on what might be someone else's coveted 8:08.

An ode to locomotion

I suppose if a lost commuter pass is any way to judge reality then I am thankful. Heck, I'm thankful anyway.

If you said a prayer for me to get my pass back, then you should know the answer to that prayer is snuggly tucked in my pocket (I thought clutching it in my fist for toooo long was a bit uncouth).

While I am relieved , I must admit I feel some disappointment that, among the 48,000 Americans living in Japan, there isn't one more living in my part of town, commuting the same way to work, the same age as me, and who's first and last name starts with the same letters as mine. Oh yeah, and who coincidently lost his commuter pass on the same morning as I did. Well, really, I'm sure stranger things have happened.

Anywho, I got my pass back!!! Woo-hoo! :)

an evil twin!?

It won't be easy keeping my fingers crossed, let alone my hands clasped in prayer, for an entire day, but given the circumstances, I'll take all the hope I can muster.

Today I spent 30 minutes searching for the station Lost & Found center. Ironically, I can see how completely-lost items might end up there, even if only by sheer chance seeing as inanimate objects don't have a mouth with which to ask for directions from about four people like I do.

Sadly, my train pass still seems to be lost for the time being. The strange part is that there's evidence that a pass which was lost on the same day, at the same time, between the same stations that I commute to and from, for the same one-month period of February was lost by a non-Japanese person who's first name starts with "Ste" and last name starts with "Sun"... but they insist that the remainder of the name is NOT the same as mine, and therefore might be someone else's pass.

Conclusion: I must have an evil twin somewhere out there!!! :O

p.s. I've left a trail of bread crumbs to the Lost & Found office and plan to make it there again tomorrow evening. Stay tuned.

Fingers Crossed

Last Thursday, as I practiced my speech for Toastmasters on the train, something occurred right under my nose that would screw up my life for a little bit. Well, okay, just a small portion of my life, but still...

With all the people who take public transportation in Tokyo it's common to get a monthly train pass, which are available at major stations for periods of one, three or six months. There is a considerable discount involved in these passes, so I bought mine on the first of the month. Since there are a few ways I can get to work, I decided to get a one-month pass and try out a route with slightly more transfers, but one which goes through Ikebukuro and Shinjuku, where I can hang out with friends on the weekends.

Then on Thursday, while I was preparing for my Icebreaker speech (see previous post), I had my speech written on a piece of paper in my pocket, and pulled it out to practice while on the train. Well, my train pass must've been enveloped in the folded page somehow, because at some point if was no longer in my pocket. When I exited the train and fished around in my coat for my train pass I almost instantly realized what must've happened. The problem was that whatever train I had lost it on was now headed out to the end of the line and I was starting work in 10 minutes.

I called my office to let them know what happened and warn them that I might be a few minutes late, and then I spoke with the station manager. Although he tried to be helpful by calling a few stations, in the end he said there wasn't much he could do for me. He recommended I check with the station where I bought the train pass in a few days time, because that's where it would be returned if someone found it and turned it in.

I headed to work and found my boss in the lobby of my building. He was just about to head over to the station to see if I needed any assistance. Well, that right there brightened my day a bit, but I still knew I was going to have to make a lot of phone calls and run around a bit if I wanted to get my train pass back, and that was really dependent on whether or not someone would turn it in. My boss encouraged me by saying that since my name is Western there was a good chance that someone would turn it in since, for one, they would feel bad for an American who lost his train pass, and two, they would easily be spotted using it and could get in trouble, therefore lessening it's value. Haha, go figure!

Well, on Sunday Jing stopped by the Ikebukuro station Lost & Found and they said a train pass had been found and would be delivered to their office on Monday. BUT, they said the name on the pass was slightly different, but the route and usage period was the same. So fingers crossed, they didn't mistakenly reported the name on the pass and it will be mine!