Stupid Oyster Cards

Magnet #1231 - Hammersmith & City

Have I mentioned how much I hate Oyster Cards?

Seriously, folks, ask anyone. I can travel around just fine in most major cities I visit, but when you pit me against the London Underground's Oyster Card, it's an ongoing battle.

Ever since they came out, I've always had trouble with them. I mean, they're the best things ever invented, which is why it's always our first transaction when we hit Heathrow, but man, for me it's always a pain - the acquiring of them, the refilling of them - my God, the refilling of them. It should be the easiest thing in the world - I mean, funny part is that the screens are all in English. I understand the directions perfectly, and follow them to a tee.

Even so, there has never been one single visit to one of those damnable machines that has been successful in one try.

It goes beyond a tourist thing, I swear. It's like the machines themselves know I'm coming, and decide to revolt.

Using this London Transport Museum magnet for today because today, I bought my first Monthly Unlimited MetroCard in months - at least since last year. It's the first time I knew I'd be in town for the next 30 days without having to go down to NC! So even at the $104 price, it still made me very happy to buy it. And? Not one single issue. MetroCard came out like a dream. (Take that, Oyster Card!)

And today I needed it, as I went to Midtown to hang out at Bryant Park for lunch and a Broadway outdoor performance, ran down to Union Square area for some ice cream from the Van Leeuwen Artisanal ice cream truck, went down to SoHo to visit the Museum of Comics & Cartoon, back over to Penn St for a quick errand, back up to the Upper West Side to drop off my stuff, back down to Midtown to do the Syfy Tweet-up at the Paley, and then down to Tribeca to watch Don't Go to Sleep, this movie that scared the pants out of me when I was nine.

Full day, but definitely worthy of one of my last days as a Lady of Leisure!