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Train Games....

So when you use the trains for 6 hours a day (on a good day) you learn a game or two along the way. Here’s a few of my favourites:

1. How many runners make the trains?

The best record I had for this in one day was 6 out of 8. This is people who are running for a train after the whistle had sounded. After I had seen a guy fall flat on his face (on an opposite plaform), and realised how entertaining I had found it, I swore to myself I’d never be one of those people. That was about 7 months ago and to this day I do not run for public transport. Go grab a tea, sit, enjoy...

2. Mess with people when they ask about my surname

If I had a penny for every time I was asked if I’m related to Sandra Bullock, I’d be a pretty rich lady by now. So when the conductors saw my surname on my travel card it was an old joke...one that I’d heard in every job, bar, class I’d been in. I have a small repertoire of answers I use when asked:

*terrible american accent* Oh, haha yeah, I’m on my way to the airport to meet her now - This one always got a great reaction

Yeah, I don’t normally tell people though. It’s difficult to make friends....*go off on a story about people only being friends because my aunt is a Hollywood film star* - This one soon made the conductor wish they hadn’t asked, also a lot of crazed looks from other passengers who might have overheard

She’s my dad’s cousin! - By far the most believeable and often ended the conversation with a very surprised look from the conductor, who thought he was joking and not actually talking to someone related to a Hollywood star

(I should add I am not at all related to Sandra Bullock, as far as I know)

3. Who will press the “open doors” button first?

This one annoys me. I think people here believe the door buttons are some mythological portals, through which they’ll be transported to a parallel universe, becase NO ONE EVER OPENS THE DAMN DOORS! Ecept the little kids, who are so excited about opening the doors and letting everyone out. But no, everyone huddles around the door, avoiding all eye contact with the buttons. So the game is all about throwing evil looks at the person closest, until they realise that they are infact the appointed pusher of the button, destined to send the rest of us through the portal out into the real world. 

Train travel can suck majorly. But plug in your headphones, grab a hot drink and enjoy. It’s the perfect oportunity for people watching, or just generally passing time in an entertaining way (sometimes even worthy of Ridiculousness)....

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Winter is coming...

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Hill... What hill? #amstelgoldrace #speedbumps #epen #eperheide #heuvelland #allthatlycra #roadies #cycling

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Looks like we're not going anywhere this weekend :D #amstelgoldrace #toomuchlycra #onlyhillsinthecountry

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Study break #bakingtime #frostingainteasy #sugarload

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"So I'm just gonna lie my fluffy butt here".... She's really settled in now :D #bunnylife #timeforanap #hanginwithmyhumans

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Sunshine come back!!! #wheredidthesungo #gladiworemycoat #wetandcold

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Beautiful spring day today at the Drielandenpunt #icanseemyhousefromhere #noclouds #springisintheair #summeriscoming #20degrees #dayout #happymonday (at Drielandenpunt)

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8 things to wake you up at 5am...

One thing I learned about my stupidly long commute, was that a snooze in bed could cost me. I’m not someone who likes to turn up late to anything, parties...work...class...dinner...the lot. I’d rather be 20 minutes early than 5 minutes late. So when I had to get myself up at 5am (and when getting up at 6:30am counted as a ‘lie in’) I learned a few tricks along the way:

1. Set as many alarms as you need, as loud as you need them

Don’t worry about waking other people up. Seriously. It sounds selfish but guess what, while you’re dragging your sorry butt out of bed at 5am, they get to roll right back over for another 2 hours and doze off. I had two alarms, the loudest ones I had one my phone. And they worked every time!

2. Don’t hit snooze

Not something you want to do. Not only does it mean you’ve gotta get ready in half the amount of time your organised self arranged when you went to bed, it’ll make you tired in the day (there’s research for this). 

3. Pack your bag the night before

This is something I learned early on. Pack the night before. Your 5am brain will appreciate this. And your 7am self will get a packed breakfast as a result. 

4. It’s ok if you’re not a morning person

Honestly I don’t know anyone who is (perhaps my mum). But here’s the thing, if you are a morning person, that won’t make the other people around you be morning people too. So I’d say mornings are a free for all....get your grump on (just keep it to yourself).

5. Find your playlist

Headphones in. Off you go! Nothing got me moving and about more than my playlist. It might not make you a morning person, but it will get you out the door to the train platform at least. I for one will definitely judge anyone out wearing headphones....public transport is a struggle. We all need our coping mechanisms.

6. Always charge your phone before leaving.

Or have a portable charger with you. Or a book. Or something! There’s nothing worse than getting to the train and realising you only have 30% battery for the next 3 hours. There will be train delays, trust me. You’re going to have to call work and let them know that for some unknown reason your train is only going 10km per hour, meaning you’ll miss the connecting bus. And just remember, you’ve gotta make the trip back at some point too. So having a spare charger you keep in your bag at all times isn’t a bad idea.

7. Switching bags is a bad idea

It turns out my 10pm brain isn’t much smarter than my 6am brain. Switching bags means I almost always forgot something. Whether it was my ID, my purse or my travel card, I learned never ever to switch bags. Not at least I’d already been out with it on a day off and it had everything I needed in it. I carry a lot in my bag, and it’s just not worth the hassle. Can you imagine how long it would take Mary Poppins to switch bags? Imagine doing that in 10 minutes at night. Not smart eh?

8. Getting up is the hardest part

After that it’s a piece of cake...sort of. But once you sit up and put your feet on the floor, you’ll be fine. The trick is doing that in enough time to make sure you’ll be out the door on time...or at all really. 

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Train of thought....

One thing about sitting on a train for up to 6 hours a day is that it gives you an insane amount of time to think (if you’re not sleeping). I tried reading and that lasted about 6 pages. I bought a tablet but the WiFi was that bad I couldn’t watch more than 5 minutes of Netflix, and emails took at least 20 minutes to reply to. So what on earth was there to do when I was travelling 400km in one day? 

In more ways than one, commuting was both a blessing and a curse. I was forced to sit somewhere for 3 hours. I couldn’t procrastinate or indulge myself in Netflix binges. I couldn’t go and open the fridge every 10 minutes, only to decide there was nothing to eat, and go back later as if a fairy would restock my fridge in the meantime. So I wrote a bit, but mostly thought about about what I was going to write. I made to-do lists for absolutely everything. 

But the delays....oh boy the delays. There’s nothing quite as bad as finishing work on a Friday and getting 2 thirds of the way home only to realise your last connection isn’t running (cue a half asleep boyfriend driving half an hour at 1am to come and pick me up from a train station in the middle of nowhere). 

And yet, I don’t regret the train travel because it taught me a lot of things. I had to be organised. Getting up at 4:50am takes an insane amount of self-discipline. If I wanted breakfast (and to not go completely broke every month) then I had to take it with me. Lunch and dinner too sometimes. I saw so many beautiful sunrises, forced myself to speak the lingo (which could be a struggle when it’s 6:30am and I hadn’t had a drop of coffee...speaking of which, I did start to drink coffee almost daily). As much as I tried I had to plan my time. I had three days of train travel, the rest of the week was either spent recovering, procrastinating, studying or trying to be active. Another thing about sitting on a train for 6 hours? It destroys you. I have back problems, weight gain, knee problems, foot problems, got sick from waiting around in cold, dirty stations....it’s not pretty. And that’s just physically. 

Yet I still enjoy commuting. I saw a lot of things, learned a lot about people and despite the fact I felt like I was falling to pieces some days I still did it. I wouldn’t have done it for more than a year, and I definitely would never commute for more than an hour ever again because in all honesty it’s not worth it (preferably never ever on trains either). I’ve seen enough train stations to last a lifetime and shall now reserve train travel for airport and concert trips only.