I wanna be one less, one less

The Facts:
I am riding the train home. In the middle of the car (behind me) is a thin woman with blond hair and a pink shirt. Every few stops she stands up, walks the length of the car, nodding her head as she looks at each person, then sits down. Between stops she picks up her book and appears to read. At each stop she closely watches the doors and looks at every person entering and leaving the train while holding her PDA in her hand, then notes something in her PDA.

The Theories:
OCD: There is a strong possibility that she may truly be OCD. She may have an uncontrollable urge to count every person entering and leaving the train, and to ensure an accurate count every few stops in case anyone is missed. If this is the case, it is tragic because she will never get very far in her book, and she will use a lot of space in her PDA recording meaningless numbers.

Undercover UTA worker: Perhaps UTA hires people to count the number of people that ride the train. This would be a very tedious job. It seems like it would be easier to just look at ticket sales. And, why would she be undercover?

Science Project/Thesis: People do crazy things for school projects. Maybe it is part of her education to discover how many people are using mass transit daily. That is stinky homework (and this is coming from someone who loves riding the train).

The humor:
I found myself watching her at every stop. I almost felt like helping her. Lets get the whole train involved, that way it will be easier. Everyone just watch one door. I also felt a little bit spied on, which was actually amusing. What would she say about me: "tired looking, unkempt female in unattractive scrubs, on at Gallivan, off at Murray Central". As I exited the train I turned to my friend and said "minus one", then I turned to the lady who had her PDA held at ready for me to exit. I wonder what she would do if I got out and then back in at one stop. Ah, the possibilities.

I love public transit.