Aaron Rogers

Sadly no, but that would be pretty cool! If we get Metra to add bar cars I might actually commute more often!

Metra train arriving at a station platform.

The best incentive for going into the office: I have been promised free dinner and drinks after work.

I am back home in the US (unfortunately)

Farthest I've been:

N: Inchcolm Island, Scotland -- if all goes as planned tomorrow then this will be surpassed by Aberfoyle, Scotland
S: Naples, Florida
E: Venice, Italy
W: Ruby Beach, Washington

View of Edinburgh Castle from a park below. The castle is perched upon the top of a rocky hill, and the base of the hill is surrounded by trees.

A crowded pedestrian street in central Edinburgh, with decorative banners strung over the street. The buildings are painted in various colors.

Skyline of Edinburgh's Old Town, as seen from the roof of a building.

In retrospect, maybe I should've done some research and realized that Edinburgh is ridiculously busy during the month of August because it's festival season.
(Yes, I know, I'm a tourist complaining about other tourists.)

Still, this is one of the most beautiful cities I've ever been to.

Spent a few days checking out museums and parks in Glasgow, now seeing the sights in Edinburgh. Later this week I'm going on a Day tour to the Highlands, stopping at Stirling Castle and Loch Lomond - I'm really excited!

View looking down the aisle on board a ScotRail train, with passengers occupying almost every seat.

I guess every 30 minutes isn't frequent enough for the express service between Glasgow and Edinburgh. This train is packed!

Selfie with a group of highland cows grazing in a field in the background.

A trip to Scotland wouldn't be complete without some Highland Cows! 🐮

Glasgow Subway train arriving at a station platform.

The Glasgow Subway is truly tiny, smaller than the narrowest London Tube trains, but the new vehicles are nice. 🧡

Ready for an adventure 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

I can't wait to ride the Metra Union Pacific Norfolk Southern North Line, Union Pacific Norfolk Southern Northwest Line, and Union Pacific Norfolk Southern West Line.

Can we please start incorporating shorts into "business casual" attire? It's too damn hot for pants. 🥵

The number of "unpaid tolls" I have supposedly racked up is quite impressive considering I never drive. Real magic trick there.

Happy new Red Line stations day to all those who celebrate!

Metra train toward downtown Chicago arriving at a station platform.

I may not always enjoy physically commuting to the office, but something about taking the train downtown makes me feel like a Real Adult™ with important places to be.

I wouldn't mind one day being the manager in charge of the team, but right now that is not what I am paid to do! I still have my regular workload to get done!

Thank god this is a corporate laptop job and not something where I have to deal with annoying customers on top of everything else.

Wow I love being responsible for training the new employees and managing their workload when I'm not actually their manager. 🙃

Some people's brains are just wild.

I once had a friend chastise me and call me a bad communicator because we hadn't talked in over month... My first thoughts were 1) you didn't text me either, and 2) why would I want to talk to you if this is going to be your attitude?

I haven't reached out to that person for years now.

The joys of public transit: you can run into friends at the bar inside the train station and chat over a drink before catching your train. 🍻🚆

The Tower A-2 interlocking remains one of the goofiest pieces of Chicago rail infrastructure. The railroad companies really looked at all these tracks crossing each other at a flat junction next to two separate yards and thought "Yep, this'll do." 🥴

Metra train arriving at a station platform.

Trains? On a Saturday afternoon? Groundbreaking.

Unless it's Happily Ever After at Magic Kingdom, I don't really care about fireworks shows.
Even then, I guess I'm more interested in the music and light projections. 🤷‍♂️

Madison Street definitely feels more like a part of the city than my previous home near the Jefferson Park train station.

At least today is a fake Friday which means I can log out of work early and curl up into the fetal position for the rest of the evening.

Close Columbus Drive and all the other roads passing through the park so the entire space can be dedicated to events and festivals year-round.

And for trips beyond Chicagoland:
🚇Washington DC Metro Rail = 9
🚝Walt Disney World Monorail = 3

I have a couple more vacations planned, so we'll see where the rest of the year takes me!

We're halfway through 2025, and I've been tracking my trips on public transit:
🚍CTA Bus = 12
🚇CTA Rail = 22
🚆Metra = 62
🚍Pace = 41

Top Stop = Ogilvie & Oak Park (tie, 36)
Top Line = UP West (36)
Busiest Day = April 26 (8)

...compared to last year, I've been slacking by staying home more often.

Chicago Pride Parade, with people holding balloons forming the word "Chicago" out of a rainbow of colors

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker walking at the Chicago Pride Parade

Mayor Brandon Johnson at the Chicago Pride Parade

Parade float for Metra at the Chicago Pride Parade

I love being gay in Chicago 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️✶✶✶✶

I know the rest of this message is probably supposed to be "...on Sunday June 29th for the Pride Parade." But man, I wish Metra would just add trains to the UP-W.