It has been almost 24 hours since I made the fateful decision to jump on an Amtrak train that will take me from San Francisco (Emeryville, to be exact) to New York City.
I made that decision at 5am on a Thursday morning in my hotel room, booked the train tickets on my phone, and quickly packed to get to Emeryville Station in Oakland for the 9.10am departure.
The journey will take me three days to reach Chicago Union Station, then another one day from Chicago to New York City.
I have only my Aeronaut 30 carry-on bag for my clothes, and my Synapse 19 backpack carrying my camera, lenses and tech, so hopping unto a super-long train journey like this wasn't going to pose an issue. No luggage to check in or drag around.
So far, the view from the train has been awesome. Except at night, of course, when you see nothing but the darkness outside and within you.
I make many new friends, some because they will share my carriage for the entire journey, and some because we meet new people at the dining car at every meal.
Big shoutouts to Ali and Brian who were off to Reno to see the hot air balloons, and Sandy, the backpacking grandma from New Zealand, and Jackie, mother of twins from Munich on her yearly solo trip, and Malik, my trucker friend and fellow Apple fan, and Arlene, RV driver and writer of books, and Melissa from San Francisco who has a super-talented daughter doing a Masters in music, and Louie on a two-week trip through Seattle and Colorado.
So many new friends, and it's only Day 1.
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After 13 hours of riding the California Zephyr train, in the middle of my first night, we crossed from Nevada into Utah. And my Apple Watch adjusted the time zone automatically while I tried to sleep.
But I'm restless. Yet excited. And thinking of about a million things.
Where am I going to stay in the East Coast where hotels cost a bomb?
Should I fly back to SFO or take the train back?
How do 小妹妹 bloggers take selfies of themselves asleep while aiming the camera of their phones?
What shall I have for breakfast later in the Dining Car and who will I sit with next?
Why can't Amtrak trains go as fast as Japanese trains?
Did I turn off the gas at home?
Does it matter since the rest of the family is there?
Have the children done their homework before the school holidays end?
What is my wife wearing to work today in Singapore?
How will the recommendations of the Constitutional Commission to raise the criteria for candidates who wish to run for President impact the candidates who qualified the last time?
Should our leaders stop pretending they want an elected president when the ruling party can change the goal posts until they get the candidate they favour, and just go back to the Selected Presidency?
Should we rename the amendments to the elected presidency to the Tan Cheng Block Act?
Should I pee before I go back to sleep?
Where can I find a shower at Chicago's Union Station where I have a 6-hour layover before my next leg to NYC?
Then I told myself not to think too much. But just go with the flow. Just in case, I booked my NYC air ticket on my iPhone first. American domestic airlines have a nasty habit of raising prices aggressively if you don't book early.
I also paid my bills using my AXS app and watched my bank account shrink with one tap. I was almost scared to "Slide and Peek" at account balance in my POSB app.
And most important of all, I took this selfie of myself sleeping but looking like someone else took it.
