6/3 - I’ve been ridin’ on the railroad…pretty much all the live long day

What I did:

Today I took another trip to Birmingham. I had to be there by 1pm and I had a decent idea of how long it would take me, so I needed to leave by about 9:00am to get to the station in time and all. I finally rolled out of bed around 8:45, and realized I would not make my 9:00 departure time. But, I had given myself about a 30min cushion, so I got ready and ate breakfast and headed out.

I knew my first obstacle would be to make it to the train station. I knew it was about a 20-30 minute walk, and I knew the general direction I needed to go and some vague landmarks. So I headed off and actually made it there fine. It did take about 30 minutes, but I quickly found out this was the easy part. I also vaguely knew what tickets to buy because I would have to make a transfer. However, the transfer title that I was expecting was not what popped up on the screen at the ticket machine (kind of like at the store where they have self checkouts and normal people interactive checkouts is what the train stations are all like, so most people just use the machines). After I stood there a good long while trying to figure out which choice of the three to go with and going back and forth to check things like price and all that, a lady who worked there came up to me and asked if I was doing alright. So I just told her my dilemma and asked her which one to go with. She showed me and I proceeded to do the part I knew how. But…as I started to pay for it, the thing told me my purchase exceeded my card limit. Now, several things popped into my head. First, that this was not a ridiculously large purchase, and the only one I had made on the card in the past couple of days, so I knew it was not the daily limit. The second was that I had enough cash, just not on me and I could possibly run back to my room and grab what I did have. Third, maybe the check from SMU didn’t completely go through for some reason, or something happened to my account.

NB – I hope that everyone reading this realizes I am purposefully making it as dramatic as possible. Since I didn’t get to see the season finale of Gossip Girl due to getting ready for my trip (and I still am wondering who will be queen bee, what will happen between Chuck and Blair, and what Serena will do, etc.), I have to make do with my own life. Anyway, to continue…

I tried my card over and over thinking maybe the machine will forget and just make it work. But it didn't. I then noticed that on the screen it said I could go inside and talk to a real person. I figured that since I can’t reason with a computer (yet) and that I really did not want to run all the way back, that would be my best bet. So, I went in and told the guy what happened and he asked where I needed to go and typed it all in and then just told me the amount. I hesitantly gave him my card (because of what just happened and because I didn’t really know how his little drawer worked to get it to him) and he told me that the machines just have a limit for my type of card that they will not charge it over a certain amount. So, it wasn’t my money, but the machine. That relieved me a lot, and it worked at his register. He actually got me a cheaper ticket too!

The train came soon after that, and I got on and headed off. I made my one change fine, and saw that I would hopefully arrive about 10 minutes till 1, just enough time to make the short walk to the church. But, the train got a little delayed at the second to last stop. So I made it to the station at 1 and quickly made my way to the church arriving only about 5 minutes late. This is the same group that does Sanctuary, which I observed on Sunday, but this is a slightly different set up. There was a short message and then time for prayer and reflection. It was actually really cool and very refreshing (kind of a breather in the middle of the day). I really like some of the stuff they do for reflection time too. It was only 30 minutes and they had some snacks after. I stayed, because I had planned to meet with Pall, the leader of the group, afterwards. So while I waited I got to talk to several really interesting members who come. One person was on the board of trustees for a part of the group and he had a lot of helpful things to say. I talked and drank my tea and then we were off. Pall was going to eat lunch (which I had not yet had either) and took his teenage or so kids and me to an all you can eat Chinese buffet. Haha. It was lots of fun. And I am very grateful for him buying me lunch. Also, I had my first coke in a really long time (6 months?, at least 5) because I didn’t really know what to order for a drink, so I just followed what everyone else did.

Anyway, after that we went back to the church to their tea lounge (which is where Sanctuary meets on Sundays, but during the rest of the time it is a tea/coffee bar), which was much quieter and nicer for an interview. His kids went off to do some shopping and I finally got my first interview. It was great and I really like spending time with Pall. He was clearly very excited about what he gets to do and eagerly shared with me for over an hour. Then it was about 5 and he had to go get ready for something else and take his kids back home. The tea lounge was closing, so I also left.

But I did not get right back on the train. I figured I’d take some time around Birmingham and look around. There is a big shopping center, as I mentioned on Sunday, but I did not realize just how enormous it is. I walked around (not even going in any stores) for at least 30 minutes and still only got through part of it (I don’t know how much more was left). I eventually just sat a while, grabbed a sandwich and had dinner, then figured it was time to head back. So I got on a returning train at 6:30. I had two transfers on the way back, but they went pretty smoothly. It was a lot more waiting, but I had plenty to think about and do. I got back to the last station at about 9:40 and made it back to the house just before 10. It was a little later than I planned, but I made it.


What I learned:

Don’t forget a jacket. It got really cold and I was only in a short sleeve shirt. (I had intended to bring a jacket if that is any credit to me).

Chinese buffets are pretty much the same everywhere.

More about the train routes, especially from Fleet to Birmingham.

Machines have only proved to be useful 66% of the time. I guess that’s enough to keep them around though.

I now can’t look at train tacks without thinking about the Holocaust.

I think it would be really fun to be a train conductor, for at least a little while, despite the above.

Shopping centers/malls are pretty much the same. And I like going to them, just not shopping.

Emerging church/fresh expressions of church really do appeal to all ages. I guess I knew this before but it was really reaffirmed today as a very old man from the congregation get really excited when I started telling him about my research and he gave me several more websites and churches to contact.

In about 6 hours of train riding, I can make it through about 4 ½ albums and 60 pages plus a lot of dozing off time.