!@#$%^&*

I had my first culture shock meltdown this week. It culminated in a lot of cursing, which may have completely frightened my roommate.

Harvard offers a discounted monthly T pass. If you buy one full price, it costs $59.00. Harvard's pass is $29--yes, God bless Harvard discounts. In any event, I was told repeatedly that even after you sign up for the Harvard pass, it takes months to get started. A few coworkers told me that I probably wouldn't get the Harvard one until May. So, resigned to not overdo it with refills in April, I went to buy a monthly T pass on Sunday afternoon. When I tried to use it, it didn't work. I then realized that Boston monthly passes are limited to calendar months. So, my pass would not work until Thursday, April 1st. In NYC, monthly Metro Cards are 30 days. You can get one in the middle of the month and it works for 30 days, no matter what month it is. In fact, if you buy it the last day of January, it'll work through February and into March 1st--assuming it's not a leap year.

In any event, as Julia and I are recounting our days last night, I opened the mail and a shiny Harvard Charlie card fell out of an envelope. F-bombs ensued. This is the other thing about the Charlie Card. You cannot return them. Monthly metro cards can be reimbursed if you bought them with a credit card. This is completely unfair, particularly if you lose your card. I bet Boston makes a lot of money of people who lose or destroy monthly passes by accident. (And especially when morons like me buy an extra one.) They really should allow for refunds.

I quickly calmed down, however, thinking of the Moscow Metro. $59.00 definitely feels like chump change when you compare it to the value of a human life. Soon after, I found someone who was willing to buy it from me for a small loss. Again, in light of the Moscow Metro tragedy. I quickly accepted the offer and vowed not to complain about any transportation issues ever again, unless my life was endangered.