More Letters to MBTA's GM, Mr. Daniel Grabauskas

In reaction to the recently implemented scheduled changes on the Framingham/Worcester commuter rail line, today we sent the following 2 letters to Mr. Daniel Grabauskas, the General Manager of the MBTA.

• Why were the schedule changes implemented


• Please bring the Yawkey stop back for the P528 inbound evening train

We Want The Yawkey Stop Back

Dear Mr. Grabauskas,

Since the beginning of January, we have been enjoying a much improved on-time performance on the Framingham/Worcester commuter rail line, and we are grateful to MBTA for their efforts to bring about these improvements. Thus it is even harder to face the new schedule changes on the Framingham/Worcester line that include the removal of service to the Yawkey stop on the P528 inbound train.

The elimination of the Yawkey stop on the P528 trains increases the commute time for everyone who lives in the Fenway, Brookline, Allston and Newton areas by at least 40 minutes. The Fenway area has been rapidly growing in the past couple of years. Eliminating the stop at Yawkey on the rush-hour train cannot serve to attract any new riders for the commuter rail, and is instead forcing many current commuters to find alternative options to get home.

Furthermore, MBTA’s commitment to stop at Yawkey on Red Sox home game days shows that MBTA thinks it is possible to run P528 on time and stop at Yawkey. From our experience, trains always run with a delay of at least several minutes on game days because more then usual number of people have to board the train, and most of them get off at Yawkey, thus increasing the time required for each stop. If P528 can stop at Yawkey and operate in a timely fashion on Red Sox game days when the commuter rail system seems to be severely stressed, then the train ought to be able to make the same stop every weekday.

We believe that improvement of service does not involve removing service customers heavily rely on. Thus, we ask that P528 schedule be changed to include the stop at Yawkey on all weekdays. We hope that MBTA can find our arguments logical, and will consider us—passholders and every-day commuter rail riders--an important constituency.

We thank you for your time, and hope to see performance of the Framingham/Worcester commuter rail line continue to improve. Please feel free to contact us directly.

Questioning The Schedule Changes

Dear Mr. Grabauskas,

Thank you very much for taking time to respond to our petition in your letter dated January 2, 2008.

Since the beginning of January, we have been enjoying a much improved on-time performance on the Framingham/Worcester commuter rail line. After over a month of very satisfactory service, especially for the P528 train, it is particularly difficult to understand the schedule changes put into effect on February 18th for the Framingham/Worcester line. We would appreciate answers to our questions regarding the changes.

1. Why did the schedule changes need to be implemented, given that the trains appeared to be running very close to schedule in January. Was the improved on-time performance the result of MBTA, MBCR or CSX making some sort of a temporary arrangement until schedule changes could go into effect?
   
2. Why was the Yawkey stop eliminated on the P528 train? If P528 can run in a timely fashion with the stop at Yawkey (as MBTA promises to do on Red Sox home game days), why is it necessary to omit the stop? We are concerned that many riders who benefit from this stop on a daily basis will now experience a decrease in overall usability of the Framingham/Worcester line.

We thank you for your time, and hope that you can address our questions and concerns. Please feel free to contact us directly.

To Catch A Thief

Remember my poor stolen car? We savaged a few things from it after it was found--a road atlas, a few old tapes. There also was a bag of receipts--we wanted to rip them up rather then leave them in the car for someone else to find. So tonight, Nick was going through them and ripping them up. (Yes, we could have done that almost 10 months ago, but you know--what's the rush?) In the process he found a receipt from April 12th. "Who would have thought that it would be your last time driving the car," he said.

I looked at the receipt suspiciously. I definitely did not go to a CVS Pharmacy in Dorchester at 9:40pm on the night I parked the car for the last time. I did take the car through a car wash, but I was home by 8:30pm at the latest. The more I thought about it, the more I became convinced that this was not my receipt. In fact I parked the car for the last time on Tuesday, April 10. I remeber because it was the day of the Red Sox home opening game, and it took me forever to find a parking spot. And it was not until the fateful morning of April 13 when I returned to find my car missing.

I brewed over this receipt for a few hours. (Nick carefully deposited the evidence in a clear Ziploc bag.) Finally I could stand it no longer. I called police. Yes, they could have used it if I had found the receipt earlier. The police could have scanned through the pharmacy's security video tapes around the time on the receipt to try and identify the thief, but those tapes usually get destroyed after 30 days.

Oh, the rush of hopes and the disappointment. How many more cars did these guys steal, and are they still in the chop shop business?

Do Not Rest On Your Laurels

After our petition to MBTA, the on-time performance on the Framingham/Worcester line seemed to have improved greatly. In fact for a few incidents caused by obvious mechanical failures, the off-peak direction trains have been running on time. So we have relaxed, and started to enjoy the ride again. But not for long.

Today MBTA announced a schedule change for the Framingham/Worcester commuter rail line effective Monday, February 18th. The highest impact of the new schedule seems to be the changes in the inbound train P528, which is the "rush hour" evening train for the "off-peak" direction commuters.

The train will leave Framingham 10 minutes later, and leave Natick 12 minutes later, arriving in South Station 13 minutes later then on the current schedule. More importantly, P528 will not stop at Yawkey unless there is an evening Red Sox home game scheduled.

Moving P528 train further later in the evening further increases the gap between inbound trains on the Framingham/Worcester line, making it impossible for riders to work a full day and make it home before 6:30pm. While there are 5 outbound trains leaving South Station between 5pm and 7pm, including a 5:00pm, 5:15pm, and a 5:35pm, there are only 3 inbound trains leaving Framingham between 5pm and 7pm, with the first train leaving at 5:40pm.

Personally, this schedule change will add at least 40 minutes to my evening commute, making it rather unreasonable. For people getting off at Yawkey and transfering to the C or D line the increase could be even greater. People with children aiming to be home before 7pm are selling their commuter rail passes and getting back into their cars.

Why is it possible for MBTA to stop P528 train at Yawkey 60 days out of the year, but not the rest of the time? Do the pass holders/regular commuters not deserve the same high quality service as the baseball fans attending the game? Do the off-peak direction commuters not deserve to be able to return home from work at a reasonable hour? Why can MBTA continue to discriminate against the off-peak direction riders without any consequences?

As much as we can, with limited resources, we will fight this change; we will fight the discrimination. I have one word for you--MOBILIZE!

Another Brioche Attempt--Without Water

I was watching Diary of a Foodie on PBS, and the brioche recipe they used intrigued me. The recipe does not use any water or milk. So the liquid in the dough comes entirely from eggs! Yes, that is a lot of eggs.

I used the ingredients exactly as listed in the recipe. Mixing the dough was fun, though I think I smacked it against the mixing bowl a bit too hard, because I am now sporting a few bruises on my wrists.

Beyond mixing, the directions lacked a few details. I refrigerated the dough before trying to shape it--otherwise it was too sticky. I believe this is normal for any dough significantly enriched with butter (half a pound in this case!) . Can anyone find oven temperature in this recipe? I used 375F, but it probably should have been 350F.

I had a little bit of trouble rolling out pieces of the braid—I have been trying to use the counter to avoid having to clean my enormous wooden board. Laziness prevails of course. While the counter is great for working the dough, it is too slippery for rolling—cannot beat wet wood. I also wonder if I did not let the dough rise enough.

My brioche came out a bit on the stiff side and definitely eggy in taste. I might have to go back to water after all. But this was fun.

If you are reading this blog, chances are you know me personally. If you know me personally, you probably have already heard that I am training to run in the 112th Boston Marathon on April 21, 2008.

In honor of the Super Tuesday, today I am opening my own poll. Go to my running/fundraising blog, and vote on how fast you think I can run Boston. Hurry, the poll will close on Friday, February 15!

If you would like to be more accurate in your guessing, I have a challenge for you. Donate $5 to Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge (to benefit cancer research), and send me your guess for my race time, and the total mileage I would run while training excluding the race. Click here for me detailed instructions on how to participate in this challenge.

After the race, I will announce 2 winners--best guess for my race time, and best guess for the number of miles run. The winners will receive Amazon gift certificates!!! You can guess as many times as you want!

13, 17, 67

Dates, numbers, time... When we were finally allowed to move to the United States, February 1st was the first Friday for which dad could buy us airplane tickets. Yet after waiting for over a year, my parents decide to delay our departure one more week. Why?

On February 1, 1991, we gathered at my grandparents' to celebrate their 50th anniversary. Exactly a week later my parents and I moved to America.

Four years later, 13 years ago today, grandma passed away in a hospice in New Jersey. My grandfather visited her that morning, but only mom was there when she died.

My mother remembers her mother:

'My mother. I heard the expression “Nobody would love you the way your mother does.” It’s a cliché. The more I live the more I realize how true this statement is. I wish I could say to her how much I miss her love, how much I long to have a hug from her. We never appreciate enough what we haven gotten used to having, and often we don’t even notice its presence.'