From Ann Arbor to Chicago

At the risk of my blog being converted to a travel tips site, let me write about traveling from Ann Arbor.

Yes, you heard right. Public transportation in US is bad and pathetic in Michigan. That surprisingly surprises people even after knowing Detroit is a car's throw away from Ann Arbor!

Train? Well, yes, Amtrak does run from Ann Arbor but it is WAY too slow, unreliable and costly. It is surprisingly so considering there are really so few trains here. Apparently Amtrak gets the last preference on a track, which means LAST preference! Now that's something. Naturally, you cannot trust its timing - this aint no Europe. Of course it is costly too.

I guess the best way to travel out of Ann Arbor is through Chicago ... to Chicago too. It is a great city - a "real" city quite unlike some in Michigan now :) The most convenient way seems to be the Megabus which is, again surprisingly, not as famous as I initially thought. Greyhound? Seriously people?

The one time I did travel from Chicago to Ann Arbor on Greyhound, it took 50% longer. However, the worse part was a longing anticipation of whether there will be seats available on the bus! I was shocked and surprised to know that apparently you can travel Greyhound standing. Wow! If almost always overbook and if you are unlucky (no seat numbers, sorry mate), you go standing. Good luck with that. I heard at least 3 passengers confirm this in the line while we were anxiously waiting to get in at Chicago.

Now back to Megabus. The only time this seems to be running late is when it is snowing. That is understandable. I assume the other modes of transportation will do not better in that weather. I did travel during the snowy season and in fact I was lucky that the bus was an hour late at AA because I arrived half an hour late at the bus stop! The return from Chicago to AA was on a snowy night and the bus arrived over 2 hours late, but it seemed legitimate.

The Megabus also seems to do well with facilities - they have a WiFi on the bus though I don't like to carry my laptop during travel, simply because it spoils the ride for me, IMHO. No, I am not really advertising for Megabus here, but really, they seem to do a good job.

Oh and the better part? You can actually get tickets for as less as $1! No kidding - I did travel from Ann Arbor to Chicago on a $1 ticket, with a 50 cents online registration fees (which in hindsight comes to 50%!) So that's another reason to choose a rare mode of transportation besides your car in here.

Do you realize ...

TEDxUofM conference asks: If you made the statement, “Do you realize… ” to the world, what would you express?" My entry was the below poem, which got selected :) Looking forward now to attending the conference!

Do you realize the power of dreams

Of imagination let loose

Culmination of a myriad schemes

Striking like the lightning of Zeus



Do you realize the power of hope

Of wanting a better life

Optimism in its infinite scope

A world free of strife



Do you realize the power of the mind

Of dreaming the truly impossible

Perhaps mankind’s greatest find

That makes magic possible



Do you realize the power of science

Of understanding the world around

Looking at the grand alliance

Of the everyday mundane and the greatly profound



Do you realize the power of You

Of understanding we are made of sterner stuff

If only everybody knew

They were diamonds in the rough

Life as we (don't) hope it

(The scene is set before an exam. There are books scattered all around the place. There are scattered papers on a table, which also houses 3 empty coffee cups, an earphone and an iPod. The whole place looks like a mess. A guy is sitting on a chair, head held in his hands and sighing. He looks stiff and tense)
Enter Hardly.

Hardly: What a bloody mess! It looks like a vampire cave Laude.

Laude: But I am not the hunter, but the hunted. No time for your silly jokes Hardly, I gotta study!

Hardly: You kidding me! Why do you take things so seriously anyway?

Laude: (pretends not to listen) To read or not to read, that is the question.

Hardly: That question I thought had already been answered. You eat if you are hungry and you read if you have a hunger for what your reading is supposed to feed you.

Laude: Life unfortunately is more complicated. Remember the ant and the grasshopper?

Hardly: (laughs) Yea, imagine the hardworking ant being trampled under an elephant's leg as it gets ready for a life that doesn't exist.

Laude: And the point is?

Hardly: The point is that there is no point. If your reason for work is too much into the future, then it is worthless. On the other hand, if you have the journey and not a supposed destination in mind, then it makes sense. Your plane to the destination can be hijacked any moment.

Laude: You mean it is unwise to prepare for a better future?

Hardly: I mean it is unwise to anticipate a better future without exploring other avenues. If life is supposed to be about happiness, then the current state of affairs is perhaps as important as the future that you dream of. In any case, if I don't do well on tomorrow's exam, there is no guarantee that I won't have a good future, as much as there is no guarantee that you will have one if you perform better. The matter is not even of probabilities but rather a kind of hope that things will turn out well for the person working hard. Life of course never works that way.

Laude: I have found a logical flaw in your argument!

Hardly: What's that?

Laude: The exam is not tomorrow, but today (smiles)

Hardly: (laughs) You are always right!

(curtains close)