So I’ve been gone for awhile.  I blame World of Warcraft.  It’s just too damn addicting.  I quit for awhile, then came right back.  The difference is that now, I’m really done with it.  It’s removed from my system and when I look at it, I don’t get the “omgIgottagetthatsword” feeling anymore.  It’s more like the “omgIateallthaticecream” feeling.

Last night, I was supposed to pick up my mom from her cross country trek on Amtrak. At midnight.

No big deal, just a few hours of lost sleep, right? Well, she didn’t tell me the address until I specifically requested it from her a few hours before her arrival.  It turns out to be in one of the more ghetto parts of downtown.  No Amtrak sign, just a little ghetto trailer next to a railroad track. And should you think this is a substation, you would be wrong. This is the main Amtrak station for Salt Lake City.  They had even laid down a few storage trailers next to it to add to the interesting decor.  As I normally go to sleep around 9, I was a little tired when I arrived at the station and saw the sign that listed their hours.

10:30PM – 5:30AM

My mind boggled a bit. The train station for a large city was only open during hours when most people were asleep. My half-awake mind tried to extrapolate the hours into some kind of meaning, such that they were open from 10:30AM – 5:30AM, but after staring at it blankly for a few minutes, I accepted the posted times and lumbered into the station.

As the beers from dinner started to settle, I sat in the waiting room and watched their broken TV.  Letterman, then some guy, then an Oprah special on making housewives into “sexpots.” No Oprah, please do not pole dance for us. Unfortunately, she did. I felt nauseated.  I stepped outside for some air.

Midnight had rolled around, and the train was delayed by 1 hour.  There were some odd characters outside trying to converse with me about Nascar, so I was left with a choice. Discuss Nascar with strangers or listen to Oprah talk about her “inner sexpot” in the stuffy station.  Oprah won out.

As I went inside, I heard one of the employees talking about how one of the trains was late by about 3 hours. Not only today, but for the last few months.  Every single day for months, this train was late. Finally, the conductor for the train came in an announced to smoke now, because their next smoke break would be in 8.5 hours when they reached Winnemucca, NV.

8.5 hours.

You can drive that distance in just under 5 hours, according to MapQuest. I asked myself why anyone would pay for this, until I realized that the fares are actually fairly cheap.

Anyways, I’m tired and need food. Or coffee.