recycler

everyone knows that taking public transportation helps the environment by using less energy per passenger-mile traveled than driving solo.  but did you also know that by funding public transportation, we are also funding recycling efforts?

sun block

sometimes, there is a need to protect yourself from the direct beams of light shot at you from the sun.

sometimes there is not.  i can't imagine that holding a jacket like that would actually cool a person off.  i would probably end up actually sweating even more.  but if i honestly believed the reward for that sweat is not getting skin cancer, maybe i'd do it.  but wait!  what about that left forearm!  ahhhhhh!

non-refrigerated yogurt transport

that looks tiring, doesn't it?  sometimes on a crowded train, you don't get the luxury of sitting down though.  you can't read the box labels in this picture because i didn't have my iphone tripod mount with me this day, but it says "yogurt."  turns out him staying on the train for only one stop was good for both his arms and the eventual yogurt recipients getting a non-spoiled product.

nerd 49

a clear indication that nerd oppression has hit all-time lows.  i'm happy about this, of course, but i wonder what makes nerd49 think s/he is a nerd.  also, is there a nerd36 out there?  or perhaps a nerdpi or nerdavogadro?  or maybe the 49 refers to the square of the number of characters in "nerd 49" (it does look like there's a space, doesn't it?).  but what would that mean?  for each letter in "nerd 49" there's another phrase of exactly 7 characters?  maybe we have a master scrabble player (but there are no numbers in scrabble).  or is 49 some underground nerd slang i don't know about?  maybe a fan fiction author or pwn palace regular?

wait, wait, graffiti artists usually like sports.  49 is the 49ers probably.  though raiders fans are more common amongst graffiti-writers, maybe that's what makes nerd49 a nerd.  49ers sought gold.  i got it!  nerd49 is rich.

no, no, that can't be quite right.  so many questions, so little time.

little objects

i've had a few posts of the "weird big object brought on train" variety.  here are a couple of "weird little objects brought on train" pictures.

usually i only see instruments outside their cases on the train if they're being played for change.  this guy has "weird collector" written all over him, but he's also got "beleaguered teacher" written all over him too.  maybe i should have saved this as a brain teaser.

i'm not sure if i find this pair of hands acting as a hair holder creepy or clever.  from my peripheral vision, its creepy because i think there's a small fairy being enslaved for cosmetic purposes.  looked at directly, however, it's kind of clever because a fairy would never wear such a tacky set of pearls on her wrist.

shopping bags

one very obvious difference as you travel between different parts of this fair city of angels is the shopping bags. there are some parts of town where plastic top valu bags are the norm.  other parts of town see a lot more paper trader joe's bags.  and somehow, forever xxi transcends territorial boundaries.  i'm sure there's something very deep to be said about demographics, geography and class regarding the what, when and where of shopping bags, but one fairly obvious one (at least once you know to look for it) that was pointed out to me by a close friend can be illustrated by these pictures.

as nice as it would be to believe that this woman is returning home from her trip to restoration hardware, i'm quite certain this just isn't the case.  we're actually travelling towards the nearest restoration hardware and it's miles and miles away.  returning something perhaps?  at the time of day this picture was taken, there's no way to reach restoration hardware via train before closing.  here, we have another similar story with victoria's secret.

now i'm not suggesting that victoria's secret is not within the reach of this woman nor that any such shopping she might do there is unexpected.  however, i have been to the lingerie shop enough to know that when they pack the bag, it's never that full and they always top the bag with frilly-looking tissue.  also, as it just so happens, while i wasn't taking this photo, i noticed the contents of the bag were definitely much more suggestive of a hoodie than anything victoria's secret sells.

nothing says "i love my farmer's market" quite like a plastic bottle of coke.  well, nothing but a bag with "i love my farmer's market" actually printed on it anyway.

now, why all these shopping bags from places most likely not shopped at?  the nearest i can tell is domestic help is returning home with some gifts from residents of helped domicile.  after all, just because you're paying someone slave wages to clean up after you and look after your offspring or step-offspring doesn't mean you aren't racked with guilt over it.  the feeling is easily assuaged by sending the help home with a little not-good-enough-for-me-but-you-might-find-it-nice care package once in a while.  "here, put it in this restoration hardware bag i happen to have lying around.  that way, you can feel fancy on the train without blowing the thousands of dollars i made my husband spend on doorknobs and drawer pulls."

only as old as you feel

despite the backpack, i don't think this woman feels like she's six years old.  but if she does, i need to find out what her secret is.