We're having some crazy weather here in NYC... cold and snowy. It's 11 am & it's about - 12 Celcius. The trains are a mess... most are running late which means they are super crowded by the time I get on.
I have my own strategy for dealing with a crowded train: it's called profiling (yeah i *know* it's wrong but I still do it.) When I get on the train I wiggle through the crowd and stand right beside someone who has a seat, and looks like they will get off the train somewhere between Prospect Park (my stop) and Jay Street (about 6 stations away). High school students are a good bet (most get off at the Carroll Street station); guys in workboots reading the Polish newspaper are a good bet, too (they are usually transferring to the "G" train to go up to Greenpoint). I also keep my eyes peeled for people packing up their things in preparation for their station... newspapers being folded, gloves going on, quick checks on the time (like I do when I check to see how late I am for work). I know profiling is wrong, but I feel like this system usually works.
This morning there were two incidents on the train; entertaining even though I could only hear one side of the conversation.
The first went something like this [the guy on the train talking to a guy on the platform trying to squish into the car]: "Dude. Duuuude. Don't push. You're not getting in here. Dude, step out. I said STEP. OUT."
The second went something like this [one woman to another, in the middle of a car]: "Why won't you move over? It's only polite to shuffle along. No, I don't want to go around you. I shouldn't have to. You are a selfish woman. A selfish, selfish, woman. You have no manners."
