As I was enjoying today's episode of "General Hospital" in my apartment on my DVR this afternoon, I heard lots of loud, obnoxious honking outside my window. Now, this is a typical occurrence on any normal weekday during rush hour because there's always one car on the narrow street that is double parked and causing a traffic build up. But this afternoon was different because the hoking would NOT STOP. So I peered out my window and saw what was causing all the honking - it was a good old fashioned fight over a parking spot.
Offender No. 1: Loud, overweight, balding, gay man in a brightly colored shirt. This man's white Jaguar was halfway parked in said parking spot.
Offender No. 2: Elderly woman in a non-stylish car. With a handicapped logo on her license plate. This woman's car was in front of the spot with the intention to back in.

Now, I didn't see this situation begin, but from what I could gather, both of them were going for the spot in different directions, and Jaguar was able to get his car in far enough to stake a claim in the spot. However, this woman was a feisty one and she refused to back down, even when this man came to her car window and verbally attacked her. She even had the balls to lightly hit his car once he go out of it and she was still trying to back in the spot, thereby blocking traffic.

Although I think the man should have done the chivalrous thing and given this woman the spot because she was elderly and possibly handicapped, she really should have moved at this point because she was blocking traffic and causing a scene. And distracting me from my "General Hospital" watching. I must admit though, it was quite amusing. In the end, the old chick moved and Jaguar kept the spot.

Gotta love NYC courtesy! Maybe in this case, the subway actually would have been the better choice for these people.

Thanks to everyone for taking my last poll! It's ummmmm good to know that you all think it's worse being squished next to someone with bad BO on the subway, as opposed to spending eternity in purgatory. Though, I gotta say - that was my vote too! Call me crazy, but I think purgatory might be more fun than it's made out to be.

And for you four people who think it would be worse being caught with marijuana - you must be huuuuuuuuuuge potheads to be worried about that, and you may have a drug problem.

Anyway, I posted a new poll, so take it! And be honest.

Have a great, long holiday weekend, everyone!!!
- SG

Song of the moment: "Summertime" by Will Smith. How amazingly talented is this man? I love him! And the song is quite fitting for the last real weekend of summer.

So um, I'm just gonna throw this out there. If you don't like it, just throw it right back. Televisions on subways. YES! You know, like televisions on airplanes. I mean, why not? How has no one thought of this before!?!? If there were a few strategically placed televisions in each subway car playing some random movie (no actual TV channels would be available for viewing because that would just cause too many fights) it would make the commute sooooo much nicer. Just think, instead of having to look up at the same awful ads to avoid making eye contact with the scary looking man sitting across from you, you would be able to focus on a movie. And, instead of me having to pick a fight with a homeless man who I swore was giving me weird looks, I'd have a movie to distract me. See!?!? It has many advantages! And, with all the fare hikes the MTA has already imposed and the others they are planning, you know they can afford it!

This morning as I was standing on the E train, which I usually try to avoid in the morning because it's awful, in my 4-inch stiletto heels, I observed a man giving up his seat to a pregnant woman. I'm glad he did this because I saw her standing there for a little while until this guy finally awoke from his coma and noticed her pregnant belly standing in front of him, but it got me thinking about subway etiquette and when you should give up your seat. You should always give up your seat to women, or men (e.g. "The Pregnant Man" Thomas Beatie), who are preggers and of course the elderly and the handicapped, but what about women in stilettos? I totally get how it's different because women choose to wear stilettos in the subway when they could be wearing flats instead and the elderly don't choose to be old because they just are, and I usually do wear flats and change to stilettos when I get to work, but this time was different. This morning I was on my way to an interview and I didn't want to show up carrying a bag with shoes in them, ya know? For interviews I always think the less baggage the better. So, with this in mind, I braved the commute standing in my stilettos and not once did I give a man an evil look for not giving his seat up to me as I stood there in pain in my stilettos, but I really think this needs to change. We women (and perhaps some men?) wear stilettos because, even though they can be very very painful, they are the best possible shoe to wear with the outfit and because they want to look good - for all of you! So, as I see it, the least you can do is give up your seat to a woman in stilettos and maybe even thank her for going out of her way to look so nice, even though she is probably in excruciating pain. If each of the five or six people who read this blog give up there seat to a person in stilettos the next time they are on the subway, together we can, very slowly, change subway etiquette. Try it and let me know what happens.

Oh, and I decided to do away with the fortune cookie gadget I added last night because it keeps telling me that I'll have the best life ever and while that's nice and everything, that's the only thing it says and that gets pretty boring pretty quickly. However, for now I have decided to keep the thought-of-the-day gadget. You like?

Song of the moment: "Let Me Go" by Three Doors Down. This song reminds me of Jesse Metcalfe because he was in the video. Remember Jesse? That's ok, I doubt many people do anymore. Well, back in the day he was hot stuff and had a prominent role on "Desperate Housewives" and the craptastic "John Tucker Must Die." Now, at 29, he's a has-been. Although, according IMDb he has three movies coming up, but I'm sure they will either suck or he will have a bit part! Take my advice to Jesse and go do modeling or something where you can showcase your bod and not have to speak. Maybe Calvin Klein is hiring.

My boyfriend is really into politics and me? Not so much. He gets all passionate when he rambles about people I've never heard of in cities I didn't know existed, and he gets really riled up when you disagree with him about something he really believes in. Which is why it's so much fun to do it. Tonight was one such night. I took a break from watching the best moments of "The Girls Next Door" in the living room to visit my boyfriend in the bedroom while he was watching the Democratic Convention, which, in my opinion is way too long. Anyhoodle, I walked in as he was watching, in awe, Michelle Obama's speech and I heard her talking about how wonderful her father was. "Why is she talking about herself when she should be talking about her husband and how a great a president he will be?" I asked my boyfriend. "I think she's just a money-seeking fame whore who is using Barack to get her 15 minutes and after his term(s) is/are up, she is going to leave him," I continued, as my boyfriend gaped at me in what I suspect was sheer horror. Inspired by his rage, I continued. "And what the hell is she (Michelle) wearing? I could have found something nicer at Wal-Mart," I said. "She's trying to appeal to the working-class white people who will think she's being uppity if she wears something too nice," my boyfriend yells at me. "Trust me, having spent time in Alabama, I know how these people think. They are crazy," my boyfriend, the expert on the views of Southerners, having spent a few years in grad school in Alabama, explained. "Well," I huffed, "I think that even a poor person would manage to find something a little nicer to wear to the Democratic Convention." At this point I was rolling on the bed in fits of giggles with tears streaming out of the corners of my eyes as my boyfriend got all red in the face and I swear, I saw smoking coming out of his ears.

It's amazing what I'll do for a good chuckle sometimes :)

BTW, toooooooootally didn't mean anything I said to my boyfriend about Michelle Obama. Obama/Biden '08!!

p.s. Read below to find out about "Thoughts On a Subway's" totally super exciting changes!

Hi!! Here at "Thoughts On a Subway" we, and by we I mean me, made some changes to the blog tonight. Probably because we are bored. Anyway, we (I) added some sorta-exciting elements that blogger.com added to make blogging more fun. I chose to ad a fortune cookie (click it and it gives you a totally real fortune!) and a random things-to-ponder gadget (their word, not mine) to my blog. I almost chose to add a "Victoria's Secret Model-of-the-Day" gadget but, much to the disappointment of my male readers, last minute I decided against it. Anywho, I'm still undecided about how I feel about these two additions because change scares me, so I want you to tell me what YOU think. Let me know below!

Earlier today, me, my moms and my lil sister went out looking for some nice knockoff bags on Canal St. and had a gloooooooorious day. I got a very real-looking Coach bag and my sister got a hell of a lot more stuff than that (she is one teenage pit bull of a bargainer!) and some peanuts, and my mom and sister got to experience the subway for the first time. They occasionally read my blog (appreciate the support, family!) so they heard the horror stories and my sister was pumped for some action. She kept hoping to see a rat on the subway tracks, which is a pretty common occurrence, yet today the rats stayed in hiding. We saw some interesting characters on the subway, including an Amish family and a man with a major staring problem (though I can't really blame the man because we were quite the striking group, if I do say so myself), and my sister kept asking if I would write about any of them, but, sadly, I had to say, no. None of them were blog-worthy. Just your regular New York weirdos. At the end of the day I felt a little bit like I let my sister down. Here she was, visiting her older, cooler, sister's turf and excited at the chance to see what inspires my blogging, and, on any other day there would have been at least one or two blog-worthy items, but today - Nothing. Why you gotta be like that subway? Don't put on a show for my fam - they already knows your true colors.

"Good" by Better than Ezra. This song reminds me of the movie, "The Babysitter's Club" and my 13-year-old self forming my own "Babysitter Clubs" with my friends and living my 13-year-old life and all it's major dramas. Ahhhhhhh this song makes me nostalgic. Travel back in time and listen below.

WARNING: This post is NOT subway-related. Read at your own risk.

Today, my horoscope, which I usually always think is right to some degree, or at the very least predicting the future for me, told me something unsual this morning. It said something about checking my lists twice to make sure I get everything done, which I always do because I'm pretty sure that I'm OCD, but it also said, cryptically, "Kids might be pretty distracting." WTF?! What does that mean? I know that I am not currently with child so what is my horoscope trying to say? Maybe I'll get into a discussion about children today? Maybe I'll find out someone that I know is pregnant? Or, gasp, maybe I'll get stuck watching someone's terribly annoying children today? I'm not quite sure what my horoscope is trying to tell me, but maybe I'd better re-think my plans to venture outside today . . . .

Song of the moment: "One," but not the one just by U2 - the one with U2 and Mary J. Pure genius.

It is an unspoken rule among NYC commuters, especially during rush-hour, that the stairs leading into and out of a subway station should have 2 lanes of traffic. Even if there isn't a bar separating the two lanes, we expect others to be smart enough to know that the rule still applies. This is why it REALLY PISSES ME OFF when herds of people treat the stairway as one lane of traffic and don't let people trying to go the other way get through.

One particular instances that comes to mind is a few months back when my boyfriend and I were trying to catch the subway somewhere and as we were headed down the stairs to catch the train that just approached, a herd of commuters got off that same subway and headed up the kinda-narrow subway, allowing us no space to get down. What to do? Let the commuters pass and wait to catch the next train? Or, charge through the crowd and stick your arm in the closing door forcing it to open up and let you on? Well, naturally, I chose the later. I charged through the crowd, pushing and shoving and cursing the whole way down. But, after my brave and particularly frustrating decent, I noticed that I was alone and, unfortunately, had to let the train go. All that work for nothing! What happened? Well, my boyfriend decided to wait at the top of the stairs for the crowd to pass and then come down. Why? Because he's CRAZY! Well, that and he said that apparently it's also a rule in situations like this (with a narrow staircase) to let the big crowd get up (or down) the stairs and the few people trying to get through the other way are supposed to wait. I think this rule is stupid. Just because I'm one person, doesn't meant that I don't have somehwere to be, ya know? I mean, in this particular instance I don't think I was in a terrible rush, but that's not the point!

I believe that there should always be two lanes of traffic in a subway station. What do YOU think?

p.s. I have no clue who the guy in the picture is, but he sure does look HAPPY, doesn't he? In fact, he looks suspiciously too happy to be in the subway station. Anyway, it was the best photo I could find on Google that illustrates just what this post is all about.

I know this is a subway-related blog and all, but I didn't ride the subway today. And I probably won't ride it tomorrow either. So, I'm going to blog about something non-subway related. I hope that doesn't offend you, and if it does, I'm sorry. I promise to come up with some subway-related posts soon.

Anyway, did anyone catch "The Soup" on E! tonight? If so, was it just me, or were you rolling-on-the-floor-with-tears-in-your-eyes laughing throughout the show? If you haven't seen it, check out this hysterical clip.

That's right, Subway Gal has returned from her fun trip to Ocean City, MD. Miss me? Of course you did! Well, now I'm back. And, I'm a bit disappointed because only 16 people took my last poll, which means I failed to meet my goal of at least 20 people. But I will not be deterred that easily. I'm trying again! I've posted a new poll so TAKE IT. Or else! Thanks :)

Song of the moment: Mr. Big, "To Be With You." Why? Simply because this is an early 90s classic and you know it. And because it's what just came on my Adult Top 40 station.

I eOk, so I know that I already said my goodbye for the week, but I just found this story about the MTA and subway stations that, as a respected (HA-HA) transit blogger, it is my duty to report.

The headline of the story in yesterday's New York Times is weak - it's so obvious it's embarrassing that one of the best newspapers couldn't come up with something more clever to say - but it actually discusses some good ideas being proposed to fix subway stations. GASP!!!! Fix subway stations??? Unheard of! How exciting!

Anyway, one of the ideas being proposed in a study that the MTA's advocacy org (I know, I didn't know such a thing existed either) conducted is a type of Adopt-a-Subway program. I know, you're thinking, who, in their right mind, would want to adopt an NYC subway station? It's the equivalent of new parents deciding that instead of adopting a new, healthy baby, they would adopt an 80-year-old homeless man with a broken hip and one arm. But then again, I doubt anyone thought the Adopt-a-Highway program would be a success, and now look at all the signs we see about people and companies adopting highways. So, it just might work! I expect that we will see changes in 2028.

Yes, it's true, I am going on another vaca, and this time I am headed to Ocean City, MD for a week of beach and boardwalk fun with my boyfriend. We are leaving tomorrow morning and won't be back until the following Friday. You're sad, I know, but I'll be back before you know it! And, I'll bring you back a souvenir! Well, actually, I won't, but hearing that when I was younger used to make me feel better when my parents were out of town, or just at work for the today - I guess I was a bit of a spoiled brat, if you can believe it!

Anyway, while I am gone, leave me some comments about your interesting/funny/scary transportation stories and take my poll, if you haven't already, plllllllllllllease.

This morning on the 7 train I glanced up and saw an ad for attorneys Trolman, Glaser & Lichtman, who don't think you should settle for less! Now, is it just me or would you never ever work with an attorney whose cheesey ad you saw plastered all over the subway? Call me crazy, but three old men, who are supposedly good attorneys and therefore should have no trouble finding clients, putting themselves in an ad in ridiculous poses for their own firm does not exactly inspire confidence. Good, in-demand lawyers should be waaaaaaaaay too busy to spend their time at a photo shoot for their ad. Right?? Either way, I don't think that I could take someone named Trolman very seriously.

However, there was one particular ad on the subway today that caught my attention. It was an ad for Be Kanye pills or something that will make you more like Kanye West. It looked like a legitimate ad, but there was no way at all that it could be. The ad directed you to visit www.bekanyenow.com for more information and, because my curiosity got the better of me, I did just that as soon as I got home today - guess the ad was effective! I thought it was pretty clever. To find out how to be more like Kanye, check out the site here!

And last, but not least, I would like to give a shout-out to the 7 train. I don't normally ride this train, but as I mentioned, I did today and I was very impressed! And, as someone who is not easily impressed by the MTA, this is a very good thing. I realized today that the 7 trains are super fast! Case in point - earlier today I had gotten off at the wrong stop, and as soon as I made the super-quick trek back to the platform so that I could get back on the next train, there was another train waiting! Amazing.

Song of the moment: "Stronger," by none other than Kanye himself.

Happy Monday!! Well, maybe not for you because you're working, but I'm not so it's happy for me! :)

Anyway, thanks for taking my last poll! Almost 20 people took it, which is a new record, and it showed me that most of you would consider dating someone you met on the subway, train, bus, etc. For the one person that did meet someone while riding public transportation and it didn't work out, I'm sorry, but do you wanna tell us about it? We're nosy and we love hearing crazy stories, especially when they aren't about us!

As you will see, I posted a new poll today, so I hope you check it out and take it. My goal is to get more than 20 people to take this one, so encourage your friends!

Good News! The MTA is aware of the disgustingness (yes, I am aware that is not a word) of subway stations.

Bad News. They aren't going to do a
damn thing about it

So, today is Saturday and I was gonna go out and visit friends but then stuff happened and the weather was bad; like black sky, rain and thunder bad; so I decided to change my plans. I decided it was going to be a CHILL-AX day consisting of me in my fave sweatpants in front of the TV watching a movie marathon that begins with "Reality Bites." Then, all of a sudden, the sky cleared up and the sun came out. So, I put down my way-too-sweet mojito, closed the blinds and resumed watching my marathon.

Reason I'm telling you this? In case you are checking out my blog today, I want to let you know the reason for no subway-related post today.

Song of the moment: "Stay" by Lisa Loeb because that was like the main song in "Reality Bites," right?