#cakes28diary

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From the first two weeks of this sem. I feel alive again.

[cakes28diary]

To Do List (day before fall sem starts ver.)

- Clean room

- Laundry

- Set up Notion for the sem

- Pick out an outfit

- Pack bag

- Go to Wawa and get a psl

- Do nails

[cakes28diary]

A week in the motherland

[cakes28diary]

Journal Entry 001: Commuter Life

Tuesday, April 16, 2024

For the most part, I love commuting to the city. Penn station and NJ transit trains have really become my second home. This year I decided to commute instead of being on campus, and this has caused me to subconsciously memorize all the stops on the train and the times the trains run. Most Tuesdays I take the 6:59am train, which is unfortunately filled with a bunch of finance bros that end up on phone calls saying the same thing: “let’s circle back on that,” “we’ll touch base on that in the meeting,” “did you get my email?” blah blah blah. It’s exactly like that Bald & the Beautiful podcast episode. Anyway, another sub group on the 7am train are the ones that try to fight with the conductor/ticket person; I applaud those people who have that much energy in the morning. 9 out of 10 times it’s the passenger’s fault.

…

Going back to why I love commuting—the alone time (a common theme among my journal entries). Once I’m seated, I have a structured routine which consists of me picking out my music or podcast for the morning, eating a breakfast burrito that I rushed to make the night before, playing my daily NYT games (Wordle, Connections, Letter Boxed, and [my latest addition] Strands), then I would either go on to play solitaire on my phone or read a book. The feeling of completing a book on the train is like no other. This routine plays an integral part of my day and as someone who has always craved a stable routine, this is what I look forward to. The train conductor/ticket person also remind me why I love Jersey: their accents. I never thought Jersey people had accents until I started commuting. A prime example is them having to clarifying Newark and New York because you still cannot distinguish the two with the accent.

…

I’m about eight months deep into commuting and I think I’m reliable enough to share the essentials that I must have in my backpack.

Ketchup packets from the Dunkin at my train station - I’m not a big ketchup person, but these have ultimately saved my breakfast wraps and whatever food I packed for the day.

Lactaid, multivitamins, ibuprofen, eye drops

Lipstick, lip tints, lip liners, lip balms - My affinity for makeup started when I discovered Michelle Phan circa 2011. I’ve learned that I always need at least three lip products with me at all times.

…

To end this thought, the train ride home is a journey. Everyone running to the same track is a form of community building at this point, and if you’ve ever been to Penn station you would understand the type of organized chaos and disappointment when you don’t get a seat to yourself. Some nights, I am so over stimulated from the day that I end up sitting in silence and unplugged from my phone, while eavesdropping on other people’s conversations. On the days that I get to go home early with the finance bros, I find it amusing that a lot of them have an iPad set up. The ride home is by far the worst feeling. Man, do I dread the fifteen minute ride home after a full 12 hours at school! It is such a painful feeling; it’s comparable to watching a bad movie and you are fighting through it to get to the end. It is a bit sad that this semester is ending, but I cannot wait to sleep in this summer.