Tuesday, June 18, 2013

So I have to be a pirate for the next couple of weeks

Today I was diagnosed with, wait for it, central serous retinopathy.

My eye doctor, who is most awesome, said I could quote Wikipedia for the description, after he read it to give it a seal of approval for publication to the masses on my website.

Central serous retinopathy (CSR), also known as central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC), is an eye disease which causes visual impairment, often temporary, usually in one eye, mostly affecting males in the age group 20 to 50 but which may also affect women.[1][2] When the disorder is active it is characterized by leakage of fluid under the retina that has a propensity to accumulate under the central macula. This results in blurred or distorted vision (metamorphopsia). A blurred or gray spot in the central visual field is common when the retina is detached.

The good news is I'm not blind, will never be blind but it's awful to be dealing with this when my job is 100% reliant on working with a computer, graphics, text and colour. It's been sucky.

The condition will go away on its own but the doc can't tell me how long. The good thing is it was caught early and can be treated early to avoid the condition from worsening.

I have to wear an eye patch and sunglasses as much as possible. This is to reduce stress on the eye.

I plan on wearing the eye patch at work, and forcing all my co-workers to speak pirate.

Most likely, I developed this due to the intense round of asthma puffers (3 of them) I had been on for the past 12 weeks.

Just another joy of being an asthmatic.

Now someone buy me a parrot.

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This is the crazy you are are looking for

from: DY
to: cj@thiscrazytrain.com
date: Tue, Jun 18, 2013 at 10:12 AM
subject: yesterday's bus ride
Hi CJ,
Thought you'd enjoy this.

I usually take the 413 GO Shuttle from the Bus Terminal to the GO Station. Yesterday morning we picked up a passenger I recognized from my 94 Bus days. She's a little loopy. You know the type - never has her pass out (in the good old days), but assures the driver she has one; has two or three bags and is juggling a cup of Timmy's tea (bag in, this is important). Well, since they are discontinuing her regular bus, she's trying different routes. On she gets, bags in tow, Presto card nowhere in sight. Has to find a place to put her tea while she rifles through her stuff to find said card. Finally locates it, pings, and sits down.

This is where it takes a turn, you might say. I noticed that as she was sipping her tea, she was also nibbling at the cardboard cup. Yikes, I thought - I hope we get to the station before the tea is finished. Nope. But you'll never guess what she did next. Smooshed the tea bag against the side of the cup then proceeded to dab it against her eyelids!!!!! I'm very glad I was wearing glasses; they kept my eyes from falling out on their stalks and bouncing against my cheeks. She proceeded to very calmly look around and announce to her fellow passengers 'that is very refreshing'.

Oh god, I hope she finds another bus.

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Monday, June 17, 2013

Parking donkey gets owned at Oshawa GO Station


This. This is awesome.


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Sounds like it will get worse before it gets better

Two hundred thousand people try to push their way in and out of the PATH and subway from the GO Concourse at Union Station during rush hour.

Many people are just fed up with the chaos and the cattle-car feeling of trying to feed through the doors. For people trying to come into the GO Concourse, it's like you're a salmon making its way upstream.

More from The Toronto Star ...
"Beneath the feet of harried commuters, in the “dig down” started in June 2010 where a new pedestrian walkway is being created, work is humming along.
The city has excavated an area the size of three football fields and is almost done replacing and reinforcing the support columns for the York section (214 are done, 233 are left for the whole project). They will continue laying down new concrete floors for both levels in that section until the end of the year."

KEEP READING


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Rollin in my GO bus, sippin on gin and juice (laid back) with my mind on my money and money on my mind...


How nice that GO Transit buses provide a window ledge that doubles as a foot stool for this tool sack.

Go ahead, stretch out. After all, for sure you're the entitled sod GO was thinking about when they removed the seats in the "accessible" section of their buses.

That's also his litter which I reminded him to pick up when we got to the station.

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Friday, June 14, 2013

Needs more TTC? No, this site needs more GO train

TTC passengers are fascinated by this blog, especially its longevity.

I'm a consistent and passionate blogger. This was not an impulsive start-up.

Please don't stop sending in your links and pictures of funny TTC stuff but suggesting I make the site more than what it is, well, frankly, I can't do it. I ride GO transit. I'm loyal.

The theme isn't changing anytime soon to include subways. It can't be all about subways, subways, subways.

Isn't that Rob Ford's job?

Sorry, just had to get that out there. I figure if I put it here, then this Edward guy would stop harassing me.

Go home, Edward. You're drunk.

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Aww, look. She even has a pillow


- Submitted


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What? It's just a cat. Riding the TTC subway. Don't act like you've never seen this before


Source: worldclassvivii

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Thursday, June 13, 2013

See this man, he's a priority, not you donkeys


Occasionally this man treks into Toronto to run errands.

Like everyone else, he likes to be home by supper.

I have learned that people on his train, able-bodied people who ride in the accessibility coach because "it's more roomy" (direct quote from an email from an entitled passenger) will advise him, with grand delusions, to take a later train so he can have room for his mobility scooter.

Holy baby Jeebus! Really? Who raised these clowns?

I received a text message from a CSA who told me, in exasperation, he finds he has to beg passengers to move to other coaches to free up space for disabled passengers. His pleas are often ignored.

I know there are many of you who feel accessibility is arbitrary, only determined by the time of day, amount of passengers on board or worse, feel disabled passengers should avoid rush hour trains all together. This makes me all kinds of hella mad. I mean MAD.

I'm not disabled but I have a co-worker who is. I have seen the disrespect she receives with my own eyes. She is not an entitled person. She moves slower than others. She can't stand for a long period of time as her disability can cause her to be a bit wobbly. She's such a kind person and it sickens me to witness how people treat her. She is not a second-class citizen. She is a home owner, tax payer and paying passenger. Give her a seat. Not because her disability entitles her to one but because it's the right thing to do.

These are the small sacrifices us able-bodied people should make.

I can ride a bike, ski, ice skate, drive a car and climb stairs like nobody's business. Others aren't so lucky. 

This isn't about pity, or who was on board first, or what time of day it is ... it's about respect, kindness towards others and compassion. My sister is mentally disabled. Don't think I don't know for one second what it's like to be judged or discriminated against or made to feel like a second-class citizen when I'm out with her.

I've said all I've had to say on this topic. The picture above speaks volumes about what's wrong with our society.

It's a damn shame.

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So some women (and OPP ladies) pulled a GO train for charity... Impressive, right?

UPDATED

Athletes Choice promotes a world record event that pits 12 women against a locomotive to raise money for charity. Conceived by Scott Grisewood, this event raised over $20,000 in it's first year for the local Food Bank.
- YouTube



ORIGINAL POST

According to a text whose author has fallen down a well, this photo was part of a Crossfit (charity?) exercise.

If you know more about this event, leave a comment. I'd appreciate it.

- Submitted

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Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Ready to play GO train Roulette?

I'm betting it all on 7:06/Pickering. All on red, baby.

GO has decided that for those of you who like to gamble, and want to avoid this:


... you can use this handy chart to determine seat availability on their trains.

For those of us on Lakeshore East, there's no point on betting on the 6:47 am or 7:53 am trains out of Oshawa. Not if you're getting on at Pickering.

Lately, due to a bus driver who can't drive more than 50 km/hr when being chatted up by chatty Cathies on my bus (I can feel a rage coming on. I really want to toss these two ladies off the bus) I've been forced to connect with a later train out of Oshawa and miss the 7:15 am train.

According to an email I got from GO Transit tonight, my bus is being rolled back four minutes earlier come June 29th. My bus is set up to connect with the 7:28 am Oshawa train. That's fine. But most days, my bus driver can get us there for 7:10 am, which makes 40 people fucking ecstatic. But these two women don't ride to the station. They get off before. They don't start til 8 am at their local jobs. These honey badgers don't care about us.

See, told you I would rage.

For seat availability charts for other corridors, click here.

Photo courtesy of mreynolds87

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This health update is brought to you by ...

I had one of these "kits" when I was 10. My best friend Cathy had a baton.

She had I would get together on my front lawn and pretend we were Olympic 'ribbonists' and 'twirlers'. Then one day, she made me mad, so I shoved her baton between the grills of the sewer grate in front of my house and watched it fall into the storm water below.

She didn't talk to me for three days after that. I honestly can't remember what she did that made me so angry. I see her next month for a lunch date. I should ask.

Monday, I stood on the scale and 277.2 flashed back at me. Now hang on, don't gasp. I used to weigh 318. Okay, now you can gasp.

Go on. It's okay.

Oh, and the trolls can make all the fat jokes they want, I pay it no mind.

It takes a lot of courage to tell a bunch of strangers about your diet journey. For many people, it's a personal matter. I'm more open. Although it's not easy to tell people how much you used to weigh.

The last recorded weight for me at the doctor's office was 318 on August 18, 2011.

But I don't focus on numbers. I've been on this journey way too many times and have travelled up and down the scale that I've learned to not let the scale be my Lord and Saviour.

So, that's where I am at right now. Still car-less (which is why the weight is dropping off), still sugar-less (my husband was diagnosed with diabetes, a condition he inherited in December 2010) and walking 25 kilometres a week (not by choice, the kid has to get to the sitter's and I need to catch a bus). I eat between 1200 and 1800 calories a day, try to maintain a 40-50% carb to 25-35% protein to 20-30% fat ratio and consume less than 25 grams of sugar daily ( <- this is challenging, sugar is in EVERYTHING it seems).

I'm not an emotional eater. I don't blame genetics, or my parents, or stress, or television, or fast food, or my sedentary career (even though these are factors, they're not excuses). I'm an impulsive eater. I get something in my head and I need to eat it. Before my husband was forced to make the lifestyle changes he's made, we were each other's own worst enemies. We were food buddies. We ate our way across Canada together, I like to say. But all good things come to an end.

I'm always afraid I'm going to jinx myself if I write about my weight loss and it's a fear I need to overcome. The only person who can jinx this success is myself.

One of the tools I've been finding helpful, coupled with forced exercise, is this app I downloaded called MyNetDiary. My husband finds it sucks on the iPhone but it works great on my Samsung.

What I really want to get my hands on is a FitBit. A woman I know via Facebook credits her 150+ weight loss to using the program (along with a rigorous exercise regime that puts my walking to shame). I find there's value in feeling in control of what you put in your mouth.

I'll update again in a few months.

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Parking donkeys. Needs more fire

Even as a kid, I had a low tolerance for other people who couldn't colour in between the lines.
Two year olds, I can forgive. 40 year olds, not so much.

For example, KC sent this pic in.


This was taken at Clarkson Station, which is extremely tight for parking due to the garage construction. KC had no choice but to squeeze himself in between two idiots as it was the last space left. The Jeep on the right was pushed over somewhat, but the driver still could have done a slightly better job. But the VW driver on the left had zero excuses... look at how much room he's got!

KC says: Message to the donkeys: If either of you damage my car, I've got your plates.

Then there's this:


In the text message attached to the photo, the person wrote,"So many empty spaces, but this woman parked on the walkway at Maple GO station just to be 40 feet closer."

That's ok. Arnold will take care of this.




Thanks Arnold. Now get back in my trunk.

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Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Poor bus shelter. You didn't deserve this

This bus shelter at my local GO bus stop has had a bad run lately. Friday night, someone smashed the front glass. Then on Sunday morning, at around 2 am,  two men decided to kick in the glass covering the advertising poster.

My neighbour told me about it as her back deck is just across the river from the shelter and she was outside, nursing a headache, when she heard two males laughing, then banging and then glass shattering.

This is why we can't have nice things.

People suck.

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Remember the woman from the Toronto Star story who got fined for holding up a Lakeshore West train?

One of Francine Leriche's Facebook friends posted this on imgur:


Background on the story here (from this site)

Congrats, Francine, you got your 15 minutes, but I'm not sure if it was the 15 minutes you were looking for. More like troll level: "Bad-ass" commuter.

Her friends are congratulating her actions on her Facebook page, public for all to read.

This woman truly feels she did the right thing. Amazeballs.

P.S. The Toronto Star has opened up commenting on the story published yesterday.

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Monday, June 10, 2013

Will my faith in humanity be restored?

I still can't believe, three days later, that I left my husband's birthday gift on the train Friday night. His birthday was Saturday.

I've carried so much crap with me on and off the trains over the past six years and I've never forgotten a damn thing. But the first time in 13 years I decide to buy my husband a birthday present (usually we go out for dinner), I leave the damn thing under my seat.

I'm really mad at myself. And with Father's Day around the corner, I am not expecting it back. The timing of someone finding the gift and realizing what next Sunday is, I'm stupid to think anyone would turn it in. But I keep thinking there are lots of people out there, like myself, who continue to do the right thing when they find lost items and turn them in.

Over the years I have turned in:

a BlackBerry
an iPhone
a Nokia phone
a Kobo
a brand new pair of Nine West heels
a gift bag with wrapped gift
Sunglasses
a jacket
a coin purse
umbrellas
an MP3 player

I never once kept anything for myself. I did go to Lost and Found once to claim an umbrella I lost and was given back one that wasn't mine, it looked like mine but didn't have a metal tip, but it was raining something fierce and I felt I was owed the umbrella. Don't make me feel bad about it. I brought it back the next day to tell them it wasn't mine and was told to keep it.

Items found on Lakeshore East trains come in to Union today between 1 and 3 pm. Wish me luck.

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So advocating for the disabled makes me self-righteous? No, it means I have integrity which many people lack


THE COMMENT IN QUESTION

bbl has left a new comment on your post "Oh look, this coach has room for my golf clubs ......": 

I don't know the circumstances in this particular case, but when I took the GO train the accessibility coach was never full of people who actually needed to be there (i.e. people with assistive devices, special needs, disability, etc.). If this guy isn't keeping someone who needs an accessible seat from getting one, get over it. If he was, I'm sure he'd move if asked.

This post comes off extremely self-righteous and annoying. People need to chill. 

Posted by bbl to You. Me. Ride This Crazy Train - Adventures and Observations on The GO at June 9, 2013 at 12:15 AM


MY REPLY

C.J. Smith has left a new comment on your post "Oh look, this coach has room for my golf clubs ......": 

At BBL

So when the parking lot at your local shopping plaza is empty, do you park in the handicapped spots? Or do you leave them empty?

The accessibility coach MUST remain accessible. Doesn't matter if you don't see anyone in a wheelchair. If the coach is full of people and their crap, the person in the wheelchair who just so happens to appear at the next stop becomes a second class citizen and has to miss his or her train.

That's fair to you?

But at least Mr. Able Bodied Golf Cart Guy gets where he's going. Right? 

Posted by C.J. Smith to You. Me. Ride This Crazy Train - Adventures and Observations on The GO at June 9, 2013 at 1:07 PM


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Go ahead, bake your feet, we don't mind


- Submitted

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So did she make everyone else on the train even more late while she argued with the transit officers?

Francine Leriche said she told the transit officer who first approached her that she was holding the doors open because “I need to get home.” She added that she thought someone had run to speak with officers near the front of the train about how the doors closed too soon, and that she kept her hand in them to make sure the train didn’t leave.
- From a story in today's Toronto Star

I can't believe this passenger actually went to the media looking for sympathy after she tried to hold open the doors of a train. It makes no sense why she made this decision.

She was already on the platform. The train itself was late. She wasn't late. She was supposedly on the train when she decided to hold the doors open. For who?

It's just an incredibly stupid story, not worthy of the energy it took to publish it. Why didn't this mom make the necessary arrangements to leave at 4 pm to ensure she didn't disappoint her daughter? I don't know her work situation. Maybe she has a tyrant for a boss who doesn't care about family events?

But in the end, it sounds like she made a bad situation worse. She should have kept her mouth shut.

FULL STORY HERE

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