The bus
I had a post nearly all written on my phone when i got home last night and lost it. Grr.... It went something like this:
I loathe the bus. Why? Because when traffic is stuffed up because of an accident or weather or whatever, and i have to make alternative choices of routes to get home, i always get it wrong. Yesterday was probably the worst i've ever done! See, my normal route is the 53, takes me to my front door. My normal going home routine is take one bus from my office and transfer to the 53. But sometimes the traffic is heavy and i miss the connection. This happened yesterday. Now when that happens, i have alternatives. 1. wait for the next 53, about 25 minutes but longer when traffic is heavy like yesterday. 2. take a bus that goes relatively close and walk 10 - 20 minutes depending on the route and drop off point. 3. walk all the way home from the terminal, about 35 minutes, some of which is uphill.
Yesterday was cold and very, very windy. Add in another mitigating circumstance. I had to pee. Walking any distance is not a good idea. Accident may happen. This restricts my choices somewhat. By the time a bus that goes close came along, it was quite late as well so i first thought i'd just wait for the next 53 and i didn't take the alternative bus. Waited. Then decided, with wind buffeting my ears and neck, that the 53 would be late anyway so took a bus to go closer to my house. Now i could have walked from there, about 10 minutes but... still windy, still have to pee. I thought i could nip into the little grocery store, pick up a couple of things and get back out and probably not have to wait too long for the 53. This probably would have worked had i not been impatient. My downfall.
Another bus came by and i thought, oh i will take that to another nearby terminal where i could either wait for 53 or catch a 66 which would take me within a short block to my back door. Get on bus. Realize that it isn't going to go to the nearby terminal, this being rush hour and it's actually heading out to another community (Sackville) which is about 50,000 miles away. Aggghhh! It goes by an industrial park where the traffic is fairly heavy, about (oh i don't know) 2 miles from my house? maybe? whatever. I'm sitting on the bus, creeping along in traffic and have my head in my hand, and at this point, i'm not even frustrated or pissed off, because it's just so typical me that i had to laugh. Doh.
Anyway, i know i can get off at the main thoroughfare through the industrial business park and cross the street and catch a 66 that's coming back from Sackville and will eventually pass close to my house. So that's what i do. Better than going all the way to Sackville and having to turn around and come back. So again. Waiting. Windy. Still have to pee. Two busses come by but neither are the 66 though i thought one might have gone back to that "nearby" terminal. I asked the driver before getting on but no, he's not going that way. Probably just as well. Lord knows where i'd have ended up. In all, probably about 15 minutes waiting in the wind, passing the time by composing this post in my head (somewhat more abbreviated than it is now because my email on the mobile only allows 1000 characters). 66 comes along, it's warm and toasty and i can sit. Drops me off a short block from home and i get in the door nearly an hour and a half past when i normally would. Because i didn't wait for the 53 either at the main terminal or at the other stop.
If i did have a car, it wouldn't make any difference because i wouldn't take it to work anyway.
And, i did make it to the loo.
Just.
I loathe the bus. Why? Because when traffic is stuffed up because of an accident or weather or whatever, and i have to make alternative choices of routes to get home, i always get it wrong. Yesterday was probably the worst i've ever done! See, my normal route is the 53, takes me to my front door. My normal going home routine is take one bus from my office and transfer to the 53. But sometimes the traffic is heavy and i miss the connection. This happened yesterday. Now when that happens, i have alternatives. 1. wait for the next 53, about 25 minutes but longer when traffic is heavy like yesterday. 2. take a bus that goes relatively close and walk 10 - 20 minutes depending on the route and drop off point. 3. walk all the way home from the terminal, about 35 minutes, some of which is uphill.
Yesterday was cold and very, very windy. Add in another mitigating circumstance. I had to pee. Walking any distance is not a good idea. Accident may happen. This restricts my choices somewhat. By the time a bus that goes close came along, it was quite late as well so i first thought i'd just wait for the next 53 and i didn't take the alternative bus. Waited. Then decided, with wind buffeting my ears and neck, that the 53 would be late anyway so took a bus to go closer to my house. Now i could have walked from there, about 10 minutes but... still windy, still have to pee. I thought i could nip into the little grocery store, pick up a couple of things and get back out and probably not have to wait too long for the 53. This probably would have worked had i not been impatient. My downfall.
Another bus came by and i thought, oh i will take that to another nearby terminal where i could either wait for 53 or catch a 66 which would take me within a short block to my back door. Get on bus. Realize that it isn't going to go to the nearby terminal, this being rush hour and it's actually heading out to another community (Sackville) which is about 50,000 miles away. Aggghhh! It goes by an industrial park where the traffic is fairly heavy, about (oh i don't know) 2 miles from my house? maybe? whatever. I'm sitting on the bus, creeping along in traffic and have my head in my hand, and at this point, i'm not even frustrated or pissed off, because it's just so typical me that i had to laugh. Doh.
Anyway, i know i can get off at the main thoroughfare through the industrial business park and cross the street and catch a 66 that's coming back from Sackville and will eventually pass close to my house. So that's what i do. Better than going all the way to Sackville and having to turn around and come back. So again. Waiting. Windy. Still have to pee. Two busses come by but neither are the 66 though i thought one might have gone back to that "nearby" terminal. I asked the driver before getting on but no, he's not going that way. Probably just as well. Lord knows where i'd have ended up. In all, probably about 15 minutes waiting in the wind, passing the time by composing this post in my head (somewhat more abbreviated than it is now because my email on the mobile only allows 1000 characters). 66 comes along, it's warm and toasty and i can sit. Drops me off a short block from home and i get in the door nearly an hour and a half past when i normally would. Because i didn't wait for the 53 either at the main terminal or at the other stop.
If i did have a car, it wouldn't make any difference because i wouldn't take it to work anyway.
And, i did make it to the loo.
Just.