Flashback Friday Moment of The Week: 1/20/2017

by Just Juan
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Today, I almost missed my stop on the MARC Commuter. I dozed off on the Frederick-bound Brunswick Line as soon as we departed Washington Union Station and when I woke up, in a panic no less, we were just pulling out of Gaithersburg Station…just 3 minutes from my stop at Metropolitan Grove. If I would’ve missed that stop, I probably would’ve had to call Mercedes to pick me up from Germantown or take an Uber back to my Jeep. Though it definitely was a crisis averted, I do wonder how I looked to the other riders just sitting there all sleep and stuff. That brings me to this week’s moment in the Flashback Friday series: caught sleeping on the train.

How I first came across this moment? It all started when the Faith Christian Fellowship crew came together and ventured down towards the Sumida River for the fireworks festival. For me, it was an exhausting day and I fell asleep on the train ride back home. If you knew me back then, you knew about Juan’s Train Rules. Me actually falling asleep on the train was in clear violation of Rule #3. One of my fellow church members—her name is Agnes—caught the moment in a photograph.

What it meant to me then? When I woke up a couple of stops before Fussa, I was actually shocked. I usually never slept on the train…even in the über safe environment that is the Tokyo train system. Luckily for me, I always activated the timer on my iPod Touch so that I wouldn’t be so distracted by my music or reading that I would miss my stop. The next day, at church, Agnes showed me the photo and I was actually embarrassed.

What it means to me now? Even to this day, I still feel embarrassed for having slept on the train…and being caught sleeping on the train. In the grand scheme of things, I know it’s innocent as people sleep on trains all the time but I had a very strict regimen when it came to navigating on the Tokyo trains. I felt I let myself down.

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