Anyone that reads my blog probably knows that I’m a freelancer/contractor and I survive by what jobs I can line up. I got a one-week contract with Ericsson and have to pick guys up in Miami (South Beach to be specific) and drive them around testing cellular phone towers against new software that you’ll see in your Sony Ericsson cell phones in 6-12 months. I like it when Ericsson calls. Easy work with cool people.
Tri-Rail is a passenger train in South Florida which heads from MIA (Miami International Airport) in Miami, past FLL (Fort Lauderdale International Airport)in Fort Lauderdale and travels past Boca Raton and up to Magnolia Park. [system map ]
Instead of driving a couple hours from Pompano Beach (North end of Fort Lauderdale) to Miami when I do work in Miami, I take the train out of conveience. The problem… schedule is a four-letter word.
Yesterday morning, I had to pick up the guys at 11am. I actually got to them around 12:30pm. Mind you, I was at the train station at ~7:30am. A typical run takes 52 minutes from where I get on and where the line ends… So far, either yesterday or today, it’s taken a minimum of 90 minutes.
On yesterday morning’s 3-hour trip I sat down with Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. I probably burned through 150+ pages! Then I sketched some websites I’m thinking about designing, then I started taking pictures of the other passengers, this lead to conversations and I still had a freaking hour to spare! So why the delay? The signals weren’t working… ya know, the long rectangles that block your path so the train can pass?
So instead of training a group of emergency response guys that already work for RTA (RTA runs Tri-Rail… hey, you can rearrange RTA to spell RAT!) to signal cars to stop with flags or manually lower and lift the gates (via hydraulics or magnets or whatever), we sat on the tracks and talked… someone in my car was making some odd smells, too… I didn’t know Taco Bell opened that early!
I’m really disgusted at the lack of initiative on RTA’s part to make the passage a seamless ride. Writing them a letter will accomplish little IMO, but I think I’ll send them my resume and apply for the position of Emergency Response Manager and offer how I can start a training program for the employees to prevent these sort of things in the future. I think I’ll also send them a bill for the time I lost today.
This makes me not want to handle work in Miami… I can’t get down there reliably and quickly anymore. As it is, I’m walking out the door at 6am tomorrow to make sure I am not late tomorrow. It’s nuts that I have to plan like this, yet it’s better than sitting in gridlock for 4 hours in transit to Miami each morning, nevermind the return home!
I’m glad I bought the next two books from the Ender’s Game set… I think I’ll finish #1 tomorrow. It’s better than I remember as a kid… I can’t wait to get into #2. I wonder if I should bring it tomorrow… better… who knows what’ll happen. Maybe I should bring an easel and paints, too. I wonder if a sleeping bag would be out of the question.
