I’m going to go ahead and assume this is the worst thing you can possibly say on a crowded train. And it happened to me! While squished up against an older guy coming home round 9ish on the PATH. He asked his buddy if “we’re the next stop” when they were at Christopher and I knew something was kind of wrong. They would be the next stop alright, but the drag between Christopher and the next stop, Pavonia Newport is a deceptively large one.

And then began the fidgeting. And then, the dealbreaker – a desperate muttering of “I don’t think I’m going to make it.” I think all of us (who weren’t wearing headphones, so let’s say 25% of the car) perked up at that and maybe attempted to squirm our ways into the corner slightly. But try as I might, all I could do was sweat it out in the hopes that this gentleman could hold his own and not pee/puke/poop all over me. It was an insanely nervous 15 minutes indeed! Luckily he got out without a drop (in the train at least), and I think we all breathed a collective sigh of relief.

How about you. Have you had any narrow misses on crowded trains?

A lot of people bash on the PATH, but I gotta be honest, I really love it. It’s fast and convenient and fairly reliable – it runs all night and there are never mystery off-hours like the NY subway has. It’s pretty straightforward (although my friends from NY wouldn’t agree), because there’s only two lines and only one map to follow. And the PATH tweets are incredibly responsive and very helpful for alerting commuters and responding to problems.

It does have its share of problems, but what trains don’t? One of its biggest problems is crowdedness on trains – unlike the NY subway (in which commuters are going in every which direction), everyone on the PATH is going one place: New York (if you’re a lucky commuter who lives in New York and works in New Jersey, then you pretty much get the train to yourself!). Thats one of the factors that makes the PATH trains so crushingly crowded in the morning.

Another reason is the riders themselves. PATH trains must be set up in a less convenient way or something, but a lot of people bunch up in the trains and don’t move past the first pole. MOVE IN people! So many time’s I’ve been squashed into the corner and I view the lovely haven that is further-in-the-PATH-car, where people are lounging about freely, having enough space to do their entire yoga routine if they wished. I think moving in would solve a lot of the rush hour squish. And I’ve seen plenty of men who spread themselves seemingly as far as they possibly can – perhaps to annoy everyone else or maybe they just don’t notice. It’s the opposite with the girls but equally annoying – many girls, especially short ones, think they are at liberty to hug the poles and put their entire body around it. This is an anonyance on so many levels – there are few good poles in the PATH cars and if one is fully taken up from top to bottom, it’s an inconvenience for at least a few people.

Like my walking guide… I think the root of the problem lies within people not understanding that there’s other people in the world too. They at least deserve a little standing space.

I don’t know why, but I am particularly happy with the way this page turned out.

And the Christmas tree at the switching station on the PATH between NY and NJ seems to be an annual thing in all the years I’ve lived in Jersey City I’ve seen it… Don’t know how old it is, but it’s a nice charm to see a fully glowing and decorated Christmas tree outside in the dark of the subway as you roll on by to work. I enjoy these little thing…

Just one of those days…

As seen on the train a while back.

Welcome to The Glass Urchin. My name is Auilix, and I’ll be your host for the moment. After many attempts to tame the rampant ideas and wild stories in my head through comics, I’ve finally decided to try my hand at one of my greatest adventures: my own life. I hope you’ll enjoy the comics to come, as much as I’ve enjoyed drawing them and coloring them in.

You reach me at a time when I’m not too sure about my future paths (who really is sure anyway?). Having just been laid off from a company, my first real job (and a great one at that), I’m not sure where my life will go. Likewise, I’ve no idea where this story will go. And with that, let’s step inside mysterious world of today.