The Amtrak Adventure

Dearest readers,

Earlier this week, I made the decision to take the Coastal Starlight Amtrak train to Emeryville instead of the traditional plane trip from Ontario to Oakland. It was an interesting decision; it’s something I have wanted to try since I chose to go to school in Southern California/close to home, and I figured it would give me a good lot of time to knit and write. Well, it is 9:10 pm and I have been on this train for exactly eleven hours. (Update: Now it is 10:16 pm and I still have another half hour to go). Here is the list of the things I have learned today, in no particular order:

1. I will never be as productive as I set out to be. Period.

2. Amtrak, against its advertising and/or my beliefs, does not have free or paid Wi-Fi on board, or at least not on this trip.

3. Beyond that, quite a bit of the time on the train was spent without cell phone service. And of course that time would be the time I was trying to text my parents the beautiful views and text Shayna about the awesome TV show I just watched.  

4. I can download content from the cloud (or something to that effect), even without Internet.

5. I downloaded a lot of free pilot TV episodes a few months ago. A lot of very random sitcoms that ended up being pretty entertaining. And one odd animated sitcom that I didn’t quite understand but still managed to watch all four of the season premieres. Because really, what did I have better to do? Don’t answer that.

6. A to Z, with Christina Milioti, is a romantic sitcom that is too adorable for me to handle. On that note—

7. Squealing over a television show on a public train is not socially acceptable. People will stare and you will stare back at them awkwardly, put your oversized headphones back on, and finish up the scene that is freakishly unrealistic and oh so sweet.

8. Walking up and down narrow aisles while apologizing every 14 seconds for bumping someone with my purse should not qualify as “the ability to wander around whenever you want”.

9. Getting delayed for half an hour for some kind of “routine track check” is not fun, but at hour ten, I really didn’t have the strength to get irritated anymore.

10.  That “half hour routine check” will naturally lead to an hour and a half delay getting into Emeryville.

11.  Sitting for an extended period of time will make your butt ache, no matter how comfortable the oversized seats initially seem.

12. I am really, really good at not finishing knitting projects.

13. I also excel at getting bored with said knitting projects and starting new ones.

14. I then continue on to give up on knitting and start crocheting.

15. I will then decide that I really wasn’t in the mood for crafting anyways, leading to the fifteen minute clean up.

16. The elderly man assigned to the seat next to me will not thrilled to find me mid-yarn cleanup as he attempts to shuffle into his seat.

17. Lots of very adorable youngsters ride the Amtrak train. However, their mothers and/or guardians will give you a suspicious look when you try to say hi to them.

18. I can make many abnormally funny faces for my selfie album.

19. Phone storage can fill up very fast with too many selfies.

20. When in doubt, delete selfies, not music. An hour later I will regret deleting the music because I am too lazy to pull out my computer and sync it again.

21. The “don’t take candy from strangers” goes the other way too. Offering a middle-aged man some mini peanut butter cups will enable him to pester you about “where are you headed to?” and “What are your life goals and aspirations?” and “are we allowed to smoke electronic cigarettes in here?” Decide to move seats, because it seems easier than telling him to shut up.

22. Apparently, the crew section seats are actually only for Crew Members. And they will kick you out of them, even if you are just quietly typing this blog post on your laptop.

23. Amtrak food is overpriced and disgusting. Well, it is okay tasting, but for $15.95 I do not expect lukewarm microwave lasagna. And not even the good kind, from like, Trader Joe’s or something. Oh no—this was the gross “a little better than weight watchers but definitely worse than your average frozen meal” kind of lasagna.

24. It’s probably best to avoid the meat dinner dishes. Luckily, I made that assumption and didn’t have to wonder about learning it the hard way.

25. Time can fly when you’re bored too, making you feel twice as unproductive because it wasn’t like I was even enjoying myself while I was being lazy.

26. In desperate times, my yarn purse can manage as a halfway decent pillow.

27. I really should’ve brought a pillow.

28. The Writer’s Market 2015 is a very lengthy read, and, as it is a nonfiction listing of book publishers, not actually that useful for leisure reading.

29. As much as there are beautiful view of the ocean and meadows, there are also a good lot of industrial buildings and graffiti. It all starts to blur together after about hour five.

30. “Rent”, the movie, is on Marc Dollinger’s iTunes account, which apparently I cannot access without Internet or maybe ever.

31. A Ramen noodle cup and a pre-packaged Starbucks Frappacino should not be the best lunch the café has to offer. I really just wanted a tuna salad sandwich. Was that too much to ask Amtrak lounge café? WAS IT?

32. “Amtrak is always late.” This is apparently common knowledge that I learned, ironically, too late.

The train finally arrived in Emeryville at 11 pm; over two hours behind schedule. Dad pointed out that for the time it took me to get to Emeryville, I could’ve gone to LAX and ended up in London. Now rethinking my winter break plans…London sounds very nice this time of year.

So that was my Amtrak adventure. Perhaps some of these tips might help one of you readers. It was definitely an adventure. That being said, I doubt I’m traveling on Amtrak anytime soon.

We leave for New Orleans on Sunday. Get excited—it’s going to be a fun few weeks of reading!

Later,

Rebecca/Rivi <3