Learning the Trains

Today, I was awesome.  I boarded the 9am ferry not knowing what exactly my plan for the train ride was. I needed to take the 5 train to Grand Central then transfer to the 6. I, having no knowledge of trains or how they work, had no idea why I had to switch trains when both trains followed the green line. So for all the other train-dummies out there, here's what you need to know: There is an express train that will follow the same path as the local train but stops less frequently. IF your stop falls in between two express stops, you must then transfer to the local train which will take you within a block or two of where you need to be. ALSO, if there are changes in the trains that are running or in the times they run, you should probably find these out ahead of time. I did not notice the signs that said "Scheduled change: The 5 train no longer runs on weekends. Take the 4 train to Grand Central." until after I had already missed the 4 train. Ugh. So I waited another fifteen minutes and boarded the 4, took it to Grand Central and followed the signs.... kind of.

The signs in the subway are color coded based on the train routes, pretty self explanatory, except sometimes they say Exit and some other train line. This does not mean exit and then board another train. Sometimes you have to go up a flight of stairs, around the bend and down another flight to get to the platform where your train will pick you up. Someone really should tell New Yorkers that "Follow the signs" isn't actually the answer to "Where does [this train] go?" Or "how do I get to [this train]?" Because truthfully, there is about a quarter of a mile of platform for one train and some signs say, "Other end of the plat." This doesn't mean your train will pick you up at the other end of the plat. It means the stairs that take you to the correct platform are at the other end of the plat.

All this to say, I made it from the Staten Island ferry onto the 4 train, got off at Grand Central, boarded the 6 train and made it to church this morning. Then from church I took the 6 back toward Grand Central but got off at 59th, took a path to Lexington Ave where I got on the R train, got off at Times Square and got on the 1 train which spit me out at the exact intersection I needed to be at for my voice lesson! Then a short ride on the 1 train brought me right back to the Staten Island ferry. And this makes me awesome.

In other news, I had a voice lesson with Carla LeFevre today. I was definitely rusty but she was ever so nice and really worked with my muscle placement and whole vocal mechanism to get the most glorious sound out of my voice. It was a good first lesson and highlighted a few rough places I can easily work on before I have my first lesson with Mignon. I called Mignon and we are tentatively scheduled for a week from Tuesday at 3!!! So even though I don't have a job, I have a teacher whom I adore, a working knowledge of the train station, and a loving dog who goes berserk when I get home in the afternoon. Life is good. God is even better.