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I used to take Caltrain to work (Silicon Valley). It was always possible to get a seat, so my experience might not be useful to you, but here goes. Some thing

by bkovitz 17y ago

I used to take Caltrain to work (Silicon Valley). It was always possible to get a seat, so my experience might not be useful to you, but here goes. Some things I did while commuting: - Practice starting conversations with strangers. (I got a few dates from Caltrain, even.) - Taught myself the basics of Scheme by doing a tutorial. - Read the next book for my book club. - Read and wrote personal email. There was no Internet connection. My outgoing messages would get queued up and sent later. - Veged out. The value of vegging out is not to be discounted. Trying to fill every moment of life with something "productive" is mostly a way to make yourself a frazzled wreck.

apgwoz 17y ago
> Practice starting conversations with strangers. (I got a few dates from Caltrain, even.) I have tried talking to people, though not to get a date, as I'm happily married. In my experience so far, New Yorkers don't like to chat with strangers (note: This is obviously based on a small sample size).
- bkovitz 17y ago
  Actually, I was usually following the strategy of "just start a conversation, and be open to the possibility of it leading to a date." I started conversations with men no less than women. The object was just to discover something interesting, something that I couldn't have found by forethought. For example, I once had an interesting conversation with a geologist about the difficulty of communicating with mathematicians, and once joined a couple frat boys as they walked down the train handing out cans of beer they had brought along. I've heard that it's harder to start conversations with New Yorkers. Dunno. I've also heard that it's impossible to start a conversation with people on Caltrain, since everyone there is so "cold".
- krschultz 17y ago
  No, in New York conversation is DEFINITELY frowned upon on the subway. I take the subway every day, and only once has anyone talked to me. I was leaving on a ski trip carrying my snowboard and someone came up and tried having a normal conversation with me. I worked in a ski shop in high school, I can talk about skiing for hours and hours with random strangers, but this completely freaked me out. My only exception is giving directions to tourists who are lost, I gladly offer help to them but thats about the limit to subway talking with strangers.

by bkovitz 17y ago

apgwoz 17y ago

> Practice starting conversations with strangers. (I got a few dates from Caltrain, even.) I have tried talking to people, though not to get a date, as I'm happily married. In my experience so far, New Yorkers don't like to chat with strangers (note: This is obviously based on a small sample size).

bkovitz 17y ago
Actually, I was usually following the strategy of "just start a conversation, and be open to the possibility of it leading to a date." I started conversations with men no less than women. The object was just to discover something interesting, something that I couldn't have found by forethought. For example, I once had an interesting conversation with a geologist about the difficulty of communicating with mathematicians, and once joined a couple frat boys as they walked down the train handing out cans of beer they had brought along. I've heard that it's harder to start conversations with New Yorkers. Dunno. I've also heard that it's impossible to start a conversation with people on Caltrain, since everyone there is so "cold".
krschultz 17y ago
No, in New York conversation is DEFINITELY frowned upon on the subway. I take the subway every day, and only once has anyone talked to me. I was leaving on a ski trip carrying my snowboard and someone came up and tried having a normal conversation with me. I worked in a ski shop in high school, I can talk about skiing for hours and hours with random strangers, but this completely freaked me out. My only exception is giving directions to tourists who are lost, I gladly offer help to them but thats about the limit to subway talking with strangers.