I couldn’t find my MetroCard this morning, so I made the decision to leave the house without it. It’s not a monthly ticket or anything, and the money on it won’t expire, so I figured I would just quickly buy a new one at one of the ticket machines at the Hunterspoint subway station.
Except the Hunterspoint subway station has been under construction for several months, and this morning the spot with the ticket machines was blocked by several workmen and yellow caution tape. So I got in line at the ticket/information booth, and waited behind several people, probably missing a train or two in the process, only to be told something completely unintelligible by the guy inside the booth and refused a new MetroCard there as well.
I really have no idea what he said to me, if he waved me through and I missed it, or if he just told me go away. (Though, really, MTA, if you’re going to block a station’s only ticket machines, you’re going to have to make other options available.) Thankfully, a very nice woman swiped her own card twice, an extra $2.25, so that I could get through the turnstiles and get to work.
So to her, that woman whose name I didn’t even catch, I say again, thanks. And to the MTA employee inside the booth, I say, thanks a lot, pal.
Unless, of course, I misread the situation entirely. Maybe he did wave me through or tell me something other than mumble mumble mumble. Really, though, a tired Monday morning is not the best time for an upset and confusion in your routine.
The rest of the day, and certainly everything post-lunch, was pretty much just a typical day. But I’m so happy to be working from home tomorrow, not so much out of fear of another MetroCard debacle — I got another card at Grand Central at lunch — but just because I want those commuting hours for sleep.