Tag Archives: pennsylvania

All Aboard!

Continuing the train theme this week, I took a roundtrip ride on Amtrak’s Acela to and fro Philadelphia for a client meeting earlier today.

I forgot how quick and smooth the ride is, when all goes well.

I also forgot how slow regular cars on regular roads can be.

The ride from Philadelphia to Newark on Amtrak’s Acela (a speedy train)…59 minutes.

The car ride from Newark to my home…55 minutes.

According to MapQuest, Philadelphia to Newark is about 84 miles. Also according to MapQuest, Newark Penn Station is 9.91 miles from my home, which, again, according to MapQuest, should take 22 minutes.

I could have gone back to Philadelphia in the time it took me to get home.

There wasn’t so much standstill traffic as you would think. The drivers roundabout route kept us moving, just for a long, long time.

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Friends

I am so lucky to have the kinds of friends that you may not see every day, or even every month. But once we’re back together, it’s like nothing has changed. Even though so much has – after all, we’ve grown up. But…not too much, otherwise it would be BOR-ING.

Got to experience that several times over the weekend, and it was great.


Target Differences

Target in the Burbs is different than Target in Jersey City. Some of the differences are more obvious than others but we really noticed them while visiting a Target in the Burbs this weekend.

  • Parking lot full: Both were packed so it’s a wash
  • Working carts:  Target in the Burbs wins easily here; there were hundreds available and neatly organized at the entrance where JC has none or limited, and most are broken — Burbs +1
  • Prices: Probably a wash but I am just going to give it to the Burbs — Burbs +1
  • Cleanliness: Burbs wins hands down — Burbs +1
  • Crowds: While the parking lot was full, you’d never know it from walking around the store — Burbs +1
  • Customer service: For a return, helpful and efficient staff, I think the opposite in JC — Burbs +1
  • Staff: People in red shirts walking around asking if you need help (I didn’t but thanks for asking) — Burbs +1
  • Can cab it, or walk, to Target: JC wins — JC +1
  • Register lines: This could easily take 30 minutes in JC with half the registers actually open at a given time. Burbs opened another register when they saw that lines were more than 3 people deep — Burbs +1

Final Score
Target in the Burbs: With 6 points the clear WINNER