Well, here I am at the train station, waiting to get on the train to go to the office to start another week of work.  Yippee.  Yippee, I say.

I’m writing this on my phone, but the base of my thumbs are feeling sore, so I’m going to try to keep it brief*.

There appears to be some issue with the Tri-Rail this morning; the first train of the day is apparently delayed, which is going to mean that the second one is as well.  I may just Uber to the office and blow yet more money.  At least part of that money will go to someone who’s trying to earn a living by driving.  And late trains are always crowded.

I think I’ll do that.  I should’ve walked to the train, anyway, but I didn’t feel like starting the day sweatier than I already am.  Hopefully I’ll have the willpower to walk in the evening.

***

I’m in the Uber now**.  There’s been no sign of any of the trains approaching, and even the Tri-Rail tracker and the main Tri-Rail websites are not responding.  One might be inclined to guess there had been some kind of cyber-sabotage, but the automated (but specific) overhead announcements were working fine.  Probably it’s all something (or things) far more prosaic.  But the 1st train of the day was announced to be arriving 35 to 45 minutes late, which is already later than the second train of the day, so that one’s likely also to be late.

It’s a bit of a challenge to type on the cell phone while in a car going up I-95, and I wonder whether it would be easier or harder on the laptop (computer).  I’m not planning to write the whole remainder of the post here in the car.  I like to keep track of an Uber trip both on the app and outside, sort of watching how fast (or slowly) it updates.  It’s not important, but it’s oddly engaging, and I can’t do that and write at the same time.

I can see the rising crescent moon outside the right window as I’m heading north (obviously).  I saw it first thing when I stepped out this morning, and thought it looked like some kind of insane (lunatic, if you will) exaggerated grin.

Of course, when the crescent moon is bright and near the horizon, it will always be a grin, not a frown.  The crescent always faces the sun, so if it’s “frowning” it will be following the sun in the morning or leading it down in the evening.  Thus, a frowny moon is going to be a daytime moon, and so less visible than a grinning one.

I think I’m right about this, based on positions and optics and stuff.  I’ve never read about it specifically, but it seems that this is the way it has to be.  Someone please correct me if I’m wrong.

My Uber driver is driving a Tesla, which means I’m sitting in a Tesla.  I must say, the front end of Teslas look disquieting to me, because there is no grill (there doesn’t need to be air intake for an electric motor, other than perhaps for cooling, since it doesn’t use combustion).  Though it makes sense, it always reminds me of the scene in The Matrix, when the Agents made Neo’s mouth disappear, or the fate of the formerly shouty sister of Anthony in the Twilight Zone movie version of It’s a Good Life.  A human face with nose and eyes and no mouth is disquieting to see.  Still, they seem to be good cars, and the lack of a grill probably improves the aerodynamics.

***

Now, here I am at the office.  Though I could finish this on the desktop (the computer, that is‒I am sort of leaning on the desktop at the moment), I’m continuing it on the phone because it feels better to finish where I started.  I’ll do the editing on the desktop (computer), though.

There is a crosswalk on the way to the office****, and the walk signals there have been hosed for months, and nothing seems to have been done about it.  When one is on the west side of Military, waiting to cross Hillsboro, the walk signal never activates.  This is despite the fact that I push walk signals buttons in ascending primes.  In other words, I first push twice, then I pause, push three times, pause, push five times, pause, seven, pause, eleven, pause, thirteen, pause, seventeen, pause…and so on.  It rarely gets that far.  Usually, during the main part of the day, the simple needs of traffic on Military make the thing turn before too long and stay turned for a decent duration, despite the fact that it is, as I say, hosed.

However, this early in the morning, the wait is longish‒there’s much more Hillsboro than Military traffic‒and then when it does change, the change is very brief.  This, at least, demonstrates that it’s not merely a problem of the signal, i.e., it’s not just that the walk sign is not lighting up while the system is otherwise processing things as it is supposed to process them; in other words it’s not just an indicator light problem.  No, the actual walk signals’ input and activation systems (north and south directions) on the west side of that intersection are not functioning.

I had to cross, though, so once the light turned green for traffic in my direction (and once I was reasonably sure the guy in the eastbound truck on Hillsboro, who was going way too fast coming up to a red light, was going to stop before the crosswalk) I scuttled off to cross the street.  But the light turned after the one car each going north and south passed, and it was red before I was much more than halfway across the street (and green for cross-traffic) even though I walk rather quickly.  So, if anyone works for Broward County in the division that manages such things, or knows someone in that division, please let them know this thing needs fixing.

I’m not sure how one would go about alerting them to the problem.  I suppose there might be some phone number or email system online.  I often toy with the thought of deliberately getting hit by an oncoming vehicle while crossing that street and, assuming I survive, explaining that the signal was broken.  It would be making a point and chastising reckless drivers at the same time.  It would also give me a break‒figuratively and perhaps literally.

I doubt I’ll do that.  I tend to be much less careful about entering crosswalks than I used to be, though.  I figure, if I have the right of way and get hit by someone driving inappropriately, well, that might kill two birds with one stone‒or two anthropoid idiots with one vehicle.

I doubt I’ll kill myself using traffic, though I suppose I might act on an impulse if the circumstances were just right.  It’s just generally rude to the innocent drivers out there‒people commuting, all that stuff.  I’d much rather do something quieter and less messy and more polite.  I’m working on it.  I’m reasonably clever and creative, so whatever I choose from among the options I’m considering, it will probably be both effective and not too messy.  Unless I change my mind about avoiding that.  My mind is not my friend, in many ways, so I can’t be sure it will always stick with my preferences.  After all, I’d prefer not to be stressed and angry and depressed and insomniac and in pointless chronic pain, but, oops, it’s all there.  I would rather be reasonably happy and together and have friends and my family and have all of us be reasonably healthy.

I would also prefer you all to have a good day and a good week.  Look after yourselves and those you love; you can’t count on anyone else to do it.

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*I did not succeed.

**I’m not behind a plow***.

***Or “plough” if you prefer the British spelling.

****They do not call it the Rising Sun…or even the Rising Moon