Conversations in the Jackson House #2
Me: Man I hate taking a train into the city.
G: You go into the city now?
Me: Yep.
G: That’s awesome. We’ll be able to go in together when I start school.
Me: Your company will be much appreciated
G: You mean I have to talk to you?
I hate working in the city. Today I forgot my phone on the kitchen bench.
We live in Melbourne. It is a city that is very well serviced by public transport; buses, trains and trams. I mean sure, you have your hiccups but in general it runs pretty much the way you would expect. People complain about trains running late, over crowding, how expensive tickets are, the balls up that is Myki (our ticketing system,) services that don’t connect in a timely matter and badly planned maintenance issues (this morning I missed two trains into the city because they are doing maintenance on the carriages so cut the services in half – from 6 carriages to 3, meaning we couldn’t even get onto the crowded platform let alone the train) but reality is, it’s a pretty efficient system 99% of the time.
It has been years since I regularly used public transport…like 14 years. I have decided to go back to temp work, doing short term contracts that pay big dividends in the back pocket. The majority of temp work is in the central city business district (CBD). My suburb has a nice, new, shiny train line and the previous one hour 20 minute trip into the city now takes 30 minutes. Most days I can even get a seat. It’s a comfy carriage and people are generally polite and well mannered. Here is what I have noticed:
- Phones have replaced newspapers. No more commuter’s with arms akimbo, stretched out into their neighbour’s space trying to read The Age, elbowing their neighbours as they attempt contortionist acts to simply turn the page.
- Phones have replaced walkmans/music players.
- Phones have replaced books.
- Phones have become televisions
- Phones have replaced observation games with kids, like Eye Spy and that alphabet game where you look for the alphabet from A – Z in signs around you.
- Phones have replaced paper maps and timetables.
- Phones have replaced human interaction. Even the couples on the train have one ear plugged in while they maintain a ‘conversation’ and exchange the occasional kiss.
Today as I departed the train and mounted the stairs to my connecting train all I could think of as I pointedly avoided staring at the three asses directly in front of my face was "please don’t fart, please don’t fart" because crop dusting in that environment probably would have made me vomit. I also took special note of the shoes, watching the many soled foot falls as we trudged up the stairs…felt like a dusty cattle drive and I was the cow, or one of the cows, in the herd, soles shoes for hooves, on their way to work for the man, to earn our pay, so we can pay the bigger man. I hate crowds.
I hate having to take public transport into the city, but working in the city has its advantages too. I depart my station at the Flagstaff Gardens, one of the many beautifully maintained leisure parks in Melbourne. My walk to work then takes me through the Queen Victoria Market. The morning hustle and bustle as stall holders prepare for the day excites me and fills my senses with sights, sounds and amazing fresh smells. Even better, I get to spend my lunch break at the market, buying fresh produce and drinking in more of that invigorating atmosphere. My office is light and airy and the people I will call my work family for the next 8 weeks are welcoming, friendly and so very engaging.
When G starts up at school on 1st February, not only will I ensure I interact with him on the train, but I’ll draw his attention to what he’s missing by sticking his head in his iPad/phone all the time.
