The weather this morning was just awful, a wall of humidity that didn’t really let up until the afternoon when the sky exploded with rain. Luckily that let up before it was time for me to leave. The rain is supposed to keep up, off and on, until the weekend, but I’ll take that over mugginess that weighs on you like a heavy chain.
Meanwhile, it seems increasingly likely that the Long Island Railroad will go on strike starting next week. Talks between the MTA and the union have reportedly collapsed, and as early as Sunday service may be shut down completely. That will make getting to work mighty difficult for me, since the New York subway only goes as far as Queens, not where I live. If I can get a ride there in the morning, say to Jamaica, I can hopefully catch the subway then into Manhattan. That’ll likely add a chunk of time to my daily commute — and god knows how many other people will be trying to do the same thing — but it would be better than trying to take a bus to Jamaica from somewhere closer to home. (Just for kicks, I looked into that, how long a bus ride plus subway would take me, and it looks like the answer is about two to three hours, each way. So, you know, no thanks.)
I hope I won’t have to do that, or at least not much. There’s still a small chance the strike won’t happen, and my boss is okay with me working from home most days if I need to. (That’s basically the best the MTA can suggest commuters do right now.) I may have to go into the office on Tuesday, thanks to a couple of face-to-face meetings, but that might be the most of it. Right now, I’m just waiting to see.
It’s not like I haven’t survived terrible commutes in the past. After Hurricane Sandy, it took a long time for the LIRR to get back on its (never entirely stable) feet. So we’ll see what happens.
Not having to venture out into wall of humidity each day might not be the worst thing that could happen.
