Day 172… Livin’ on the Edge

So I took my advice and those of comments and decided to live on the edge a little on Thursday.  It was – after all – Halloween.  So how did I go about living on the edge?  Did I walk a tightrope?  Did I drive with a blindfold on?  Did I wrestle an alligator wearing a tu-tu (the alligator, not me)?  No, I left my UTA Frontrunner pass at home.

I’ll wait for you to catch your breath.

That’s right.  When I left for work that morning I decided not only to leave my pass at home, but my entire wallet.  Who needs a license or permits?  Who needs cash or identification?  I am living on the edge!  I get to the train station and just walk onto that train.  Who’s gonna stop me?  That UTA usher wearing a chicken costume?  I don’t think so.  She just commented on my new book I was reading and walked away.  That’s right.

Then on the return trip I do it again.  Bypass the system and just walk onto the train, stickin’ it to the man!  There is a different person sitting in the front row of the train as I walk in.  He’s wearing a different colored vest and is holding an iPad.  Is THIS the random guy who is going to ask me to show him my pass or ticket?  I walk up to the second level and find a seat in the middle, attempting to blend into the crowd.  I scoot into my seat and pull out my book, keeping my headphones on and my head down.  I feel that I have accomplished my goal!  Until I see a yellow-vested man standing in front of me holding an iPad.  This must be it.  This is the end.

This is where UTA discovers my transgression.

I look up innocently at the man, my puppy-dog eyes forming, my brows raising up in a quizzical look.  I reach up and pluck the plugs from my ears as loud, boisterous music streams into the car.

“Yes?” I say with the voice of an 11 year old boy who has chocolate on his face and cookie crumbs on his pajamas.

The man stares at me like only a hardened UTA usher could.  He swings the iPad in front of him like a loaded weapon, aiming it at my torso, waiting for me to provide the answer he wants but I dread.  Waiting for me to admit my atrocity so he can exact his vengeance!

“We’re doing a survey,” the man says.  “Where do you get off of the train?”

Flustered at the near blow, I answer him with an “uh” and finally spit it out.  He thanks me and walks away, withdrawing his electronic device from lethal status.

I breath in victoriously, reading my book until my stop and retreat from the bowels of UTA, having lived directly on the edge.

Meals:

Breakfast – Homemade Egg McMuffin
Snack – Granola Bar, pumpkin spice cake, chocolate cream pie and a peanut butter banana cookie
Lunch – Grean Bean Spaghetti and garlic bread
Dinner – Chicken sandwich and chicken strips
Dessert – A single donut

Exercise:

An hour+ of walking at work