I have a rather lengthy commute to work. On a typical day, it takes me one hour and thirty minutes door to door. My occasional attempts at sleep are futile, and I am very much awake despite the early hour. So, I try to make my commute productive.
I pray. I read. I work. I check email.
And I eat. I eat the same breakfast in the same restaurant every morning. My restaurant is steel and mobile. It includes seating for many. The décor – plastic orange and yellow seats – leaves something to be desired. My fellow patrons are very diverse. I am not sure what rating this restaurant would get from http://www.zagat.com/ Anyway, it’s called the New York City Subway System (http://www.mta.info/nyct/subway/).
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So, you may be wondering what is that typical breakfast I eat? Thanks for asking. I drink a Hansens Clifford Apple Juice box. Yes, I am drinking a 4.23 ounce juice box with a big red dog on it. You gotta problem with that? And for my meal, I eat a Nature Valley Granola Bar. I am impartial to flavor.
Have you ever eaten this brand of granola bars? While I like them very much and they are relatively healthy, they are a mess. It is impossible to eat them neatly. As soon as you bite into one of the granola bars, they start to crumble. So you either A: let the crumbs go and lose part of your food or B. You pick up the crumbs and get every delicious penny’s worth.
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Guess which option I choose? You got it. I choose B. This man is hungry for his breakfast. Those crumbs are mine, and I am eating them damn it! A quick aside: When I was dating, I used to say if you still find a woman attractive after you see her eat, you are really attracted.
If my wife also used this as a basis of judgment and saw me eat my breakfast on the train, I’d be single. Between my kiddie apple juice and my finger licking granola bar, I aint a decent sight. In fact, it is downright embarrassing. However, this is where the beauty of my mobile restaurant comes in handy.
You see on a New York City Subway, anything goes. When, I look around me in the morning, many people are sleeping or at least are closing their eyes to the world. Then there are the beggars, preachers, unstable, and bums. In addition, you have the wanna be rappers. They blast their mp3 players so that the music is loud enough for those of us that are awake and in range can hear. Their heads bob with the music. Some sing to themselves and others treat their fellow riders to a song whether they want to or not.
And I worry about eating my breakfast? Okay, so some people might find the way I eat my breakfast a bit uncouth. So what? Look around. I might be the most unassuming person around.
Now, let me eat my breakfast in peace on my mobile restaurant.
I love those granola bars!
Are you able to eat them neatly? If so, what’s the secret?
Good morning,
By the time you read this you will probably be on the way to your job and sitting in your favorite seat eating your breakfast and drinking your morning juice. Let me say, I don’t think I would choose to live in and around New York City. It has nothing to do with danger but a whole lots with my serenity and the peacefulness that I seek in the early morning hours.
If I had to ride on the subway, I would definitely not be able to eat breakfast because I would not be able to hear myself chew with all the noise around me. So, I congratulate you on your resilience and patience. In my opinion, you have to have those two character traits if you are commuting daily on a subway, and that mean anywhere in the world on whichever train it may be, whether it is the subway in New York, the tube in London, the metro in Paris, or the s-bahn in Frankfurt.
Have a great Friday and a blessed weekend.
Ciao,
Patricia
You’d be surprised how sleepy the train can be at 645 in the morning as it makes way to the ugly areas of Brooklyn.
However, in general, the subway and the system as a whole tend to be crowded with people moving in man different directions. It requires tunnel vision.
Ahhh….but….if you get the granola bars that are mostly fruit and nuts, they don’t fall apart as easily…. I think they’re put together with fluff – so that instantly makes them even better! Just ask Kate.
The heck with that – I like this brand and I will eat them. Embarrassment be damned.
Truthfully, I would probably like those granola bars as well. So, send me some and I will eat them too.
The fluff does make them better!! Try the chewy Nature Valley bars, like Karen said, they won’t fall apart so fast. And, again, fluff!!!
More importantly – dude, my commute consists of walking down the hall to my home office, I don’t think I could handle an hour and a half! My longest commute was 45 minutes, but at least it was in my own car – without all those other people breathing my air!
What can I tell you – not telecommuting as a high school teacher. I would love a better commute and have considered alternatives and would be open to one if the opportunity should arise.
In terms of the granola, I do like what I have. However, a perioidic alternative is cool too.
You’re from New York? How exciting, I always wondered what life was like in that city. I got to ride a subway-like thing once in Chicago when we were on vacation.
I was born and raised in Philadelphia. I have lived in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and the Bronx. I currently live in a town in North Jersey which is 10.5 miles away from Manhattan and work in Brooklyn.
It definitely can be exciting and I still very much enjoy spending time in Manhattan.
haha!! The mental imagery of you drinking out of that Clifford juice box on the Subway gave me a case of the giggles! That is too funny!
I am glad it made you laugh. It always makes me happy when I hear my posts make people laugh.
You are so right, I tried those granola bars and was so surprised when they crumbled onto my lap. But, as you say, they are so tasty that it would be a shame not to save each crumb. The makers need to come up with a suggested way of eating it, perhaps with a cupped hand underneath one’s mouth (but then you don’t have your other hand free for your juice, I hear you say…) … I love the image of you with your juice box in the subway; too funny!
I am glad it made you laugh. It is kind of ridiculous.
Some people have suggested other granola bars but I really like them. They have a nice variety of flavors.
What a wonderful picture you paint of your morning trek to work! 😉
Thanks.
Eleenie is right- you painted a great picture of your commute. I can totally imagine you on that train with all your fellow travelers. I am surprised that you can eat that every morning, though. Don’t you get sick of it?
Well, they do have a number of different flavors. Also, I do occasionally have something else. To be honest, I am not sick of it. However, when I am on a break and the weekends, I intentionally stay away from them.
Btw, I eat nearly the same thing for lunch every day as well.
I think this repetition is a combination of economy of time and $’s. I am limited – to say the least – when it comes to my culinary skills.
An hour and a half commute?? I didn’t have to commute that far when I lived in the country. You are truly dedicated.
It ain’t fun, but it’s my job. I’ve tried moving to school closer, but it has not worked out.
ha!ha! I can imagine those wanna be rappers listening and singing to their music while you are sitting next to them eating your crumbs and holding your juice box with the other hand (with a red dog) ha!ha! 🙂 WOW! I can’t believe it takes you so long to get to work, when I used to work downtown it took me 1 hour and 45 minutes, so I understand you! I didn’t eat in the mobile restaurant; I used to read! Now, hope no one disturbs you in your mobile restaurant! ha!ha! 🙂 Hope you are having a great weekend! 🙂
Yes, I am a bit envious of you as you no longer have the commute. But I am glad to be working and this is life.
It really is an eclectic crew, so I am just part of the scenery.
Those are the best granola bars ever!! They sadly crumble here too in Canada, but one must enjoy as much as one can. I can’t imagine having an hour and a half commute. Yuck! Happy Spring Break to you!
Thanks for the Spring Break Wishes.
Yes, I am not alone in my love of those granola bars.
1.5 hour aint pretty but it is a job and you have to do what you have to do.
How true!! To each their own. Eat, drink, and be merry. 🙂
Yes mam!
I really like their peanut butter flavor. Thing is, you can’t find a box with JUST peanut butter flavor, so it’s not worth it to buy them. (Plus, in Israel, they are super-expensive, so even though I have someone to split the box with, it’s not worth the expense – the ‘someone else’ would be just as happy without them.) When I did buy them, though, I chose option B and picked up every last crumb.
I do find it funny that you drink from a Clifford juice box. Why not buy apple concentrate, make your own juice, and take it in a thermos? Then you get more juice for less money (and less garbage).
And – I hate NY. Stinky, crowded.
Actually, here you can find just peanut butter and they are not so expensive (comparable to other brands). So, next time comes to visit you, have them bring you a few boxes.
All that for apple juice – nah. Besides, my lunch bag is already filled.
Hate NY – party pooper.
The next time someone comes from NY, I will be sure to ask them. 🙂
Hm, you don’t carry a water bottle?
Sorry I was a party pooper.
I do carry a water bottle. I drink the water with lunch. Where I work, there are no kosher places, so I pack lunch (in addition to breakfast)
No worries.
I sometimes try to do breakfast in the car while dropping the kids off. Hasn’t worked well for me so far. I now stick to a coffee from the drive thru and breakfast when I get home from dropping off the kids.
I am rushed and feel a need to multi-task. It would be nice to have a leisurely breakfast, but I don’t think that is in my DNA.