After you ride the train for awhile you know what car will be closest to the exit you want, when it stops.

As irritated as I get with Philadelphia and its people, I put it in perspective like this:

--I now make over 2 times what I did in my last full-time job in St. Louis.

--I make 40% more than I did when I first moved here in 2000.

--Had I never moved here, I probably would have never found Cellar.

In DC, I knew just where to stand when I would get on the Green Line at West Hyattsville in the morning. And I knew it was best to get in the front car on the ride home, b/c it let you out right by the escalator to the exit.

It's not so easy to do with regional rail here. Perfect example: This morning, the train came in on the inner track. And when it comes in on the inner track, it stops about 15 feet short of its normal stop (b/c you have to board at the wooden planks). But I pretty much know where to stand at night at Suburban Station to assure myself a good seat.

Tonight's commute just sucked though...

I finally scaled my hours back this week (after working over 40 hours a week for the past 5 or 6 weeks), and was waiting for the 5:11 express train to take me home. Well, apparently something happened to it, b/c next thing you know, there's an announcement that it's 20 minutes behind schedule. And the R7 is always packed at rush hour...and now there's going to be a delay into the next train...crowds will begin to mass...people will grow angry...fuck it. A coworker I ride with on occasion and I took the El to Frankford, Rho met us there and took us to our cars at Cornwells.

Maybe I'll drive tomorrow...

2 or 3 mornings a week, I'll stop at the cardiac cart outside our building for breakfast. It's simple yet delicious and fulfilling: A turkey bacon, egg and cheese sandwich and a bottle of chocolate milk, $3.85.

But the best part about getting breakfast is...when I walk up to the cart and they see me, they automatically begin fixing my breakfast. I don't have to say a word. That rules. :)

Think of those clogged arteries ... although turkey bacon is pretty damn tasty.

I got a cheesesteak off the cart at UPenn the other day when I was near Drexel. If I move to Philly next month like I plan to, I'm going to become such a fat shit.

I go through cycles. This week, it'll be 4 days of cart eating. Recently, it's been 2 or 3 days a week. Before the first of the year, it was like once or twice every couple of weeks.

Since my job moved to Center City, I can honestly say that I've never eaten lunch from any of the carts...only breakfast. And there are 4 carts on our block...there were 6 when I first got there in September. When I was down in Old City, I usually ate lunch at the carts at least once every week or 2. (The cart right in front of KYW makes a fairly good cheesesteak...even if he is the Cart Nazi.)