Sublog: The Most Hated Man on the Train - Part II: Rail Redux

I spoke FAR too soon.

(Note: Unless you have a relative that works for the MBCR, I doubt I will offend you here, however I warn you now that I can sometimes get a little angry when talking about the commuter rail.)

This sublog was put on hold due to the downward spiral that the commuter rail went into starting sometime last summer - its impossible to be the most hated guy on the train when the conductors are closing cars, refusing to open doors, and being all around jerks about their job. However, the new year started off almost better than could be expected: All seven of the first seven trips that I took managed to depart and arrive on time. ON TIME!! If you don't know about the problems that the train has been having (they lost their collective wrist watch), this may not seem like a big deal, however I would estimate it had been no less than 9 months since I took seven consecutive trips with trains that ran within five minutes of on time.
Finally, with train service seemingly coming back to normal, I could once again explain all the ways I annoy virtually everyone on the train - at least, I would be annoyed if someone else did the things that I did - I'm not sure if the mindless drones much notice me as they head into and out of their beehives daily.
Luckily, I had the opportunity to put in another hour and a half of work tonight, beyond my usual departure time, and I was graced with a train that was 13 minutes late in arriving to Back Bay, and another 10ish minutes (net 23 minutes) late in getting to Canton. This is what I expect from my MBCR (thank God the MBTA extended their contract by 2 years!)
As usual, I spoke too soon. It was foolish of me to think that they'd go 8 for 8 (come on, even Top Brady has an incomplete pass, or forgets to put on a helmet, once every 8 or 9 times, right? Just ask Randy Moss. Or Bridget.)
Anyway, my favorite train moment of the new year happened right in the Canton Junction parking lot. Because of the un-recent-winter-like winter we started out with (ie, there's actually snow on the ground, or at least there was), there are some pretty good sized snow banks about the lot (though not once have I seen the snow bank get its lazy ass up and pay for its space like the rest of us). When the "good" parking lot fills up (the good one is the one on the same side of the tracks as the inbound train) fills up, I inevitably have to park on the "bad" side - but people have started to miss the last spot on the good side - its half covered in snow and ice, and if you back in, the rear drivers tire is elevated a good 8 inches higher than the rest of the car, but its a thousand times better than parking on the bad side.
Anyway, I'm pretty sure the good side fills up by about 7 am... maybe 7:20. By the time I get there, at about 8ish, the good lot is full. Last Thursday though, I lurked around the lot, and found that the hidden space was still open. I backed in (not too hard in the little rubber-band of a car that I have, even with the ice obstacles), and within about 60 seconds, 3 more cars came looking to see if the spot was open. But my favorite moment was the first guy that pulled up... he stopped short when he realized that I had already snuck into the spot, looked over in disbelief (he must be one of the other few that gets it when I don't), then smiled and nodded at me.
Yep, its a sad, sad brotherhood, the poor souls that park at Canton Junction station. For just one moment, I wasn't hated. Envied, maybe, but not hated. At least, not until I probably half shoved him out of the way so I could get off the train first.