SEPTic

So far in my posts I've been very kind to my new hometown, and deservedly so. However, the time has come for me to touch on one of the less desirable aspects of the area, SEPTA. SEPTA stands for Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority and it is the somewhat maligned public transportation system that carries me to work each and every day.

I'll start by saying that despite its imperfections, I am glad SEPTA exists. Having been raised in a city that is still, in 2009, without a multifaceted mass transit system, thus forcing thousands of self-declared environmentally-conscious Seattleites to drive their Subarus alone to work every day, being able to ride the L to work is great. But that doesn't mean that this public transit system isn't without its faults.

I could go on and on with complaints about SEPTA...but don't worry I won't! My fellow citizens keep a well-documented watch on the every move of our transit provider at septawatch. For this post I'll just touch on two of the worst SEPTAisms.



No. 1: SEPTA employees "clean" the subway stations with a bright pink cleaner that smells of piss, vinegar and the slop of yesterday's Eagles game. This malodorous concoction is sloshed around with massive grayish-brown cotton mops left over from a time when American Bandstand was still bopping in West Philly. The stench of an unairconditioned SEPTA subway stop at 5:00 PM on a blistering hot day will literally peel your skin off. Some of my lowest Philadelphia moments have come while waiting for the afternoon train during a heatwave, sweat trickling down my back, feet aching in 4 inch heels, foodless and waterless, trying to take in the least amount of oxygen as humanly possible in order to save whatever nosehairs I may have left.

No. 2: If you skip the bag-o-tokens (yes, they still use fare tokens here) and purchase a SEPTA monthly pass, you are required to be identified on your pass as either "M" for male or "F" for female. This ridiculous nonsense has rightly outraged the transgendered community and its supporters and they're fighting for this archaic system to be put to rest immediately (follow their work here). Here is a photo of my decidedly female pass (note the girly-girl pink background the SEPTA gender popo required I use):

A quick post script: This was actually meant for yesterday but when we arrived home both our wireless internet and TV had been shut down so I wasn't able to post until today. I may be going out on a limb here but the two languishing Verizon bills addressed to our landlord we found in the mailbox might have had something to do with it...