Transit dilemma
Nearly every day I take the #43 bus to work (I have a part-time summer job at my university), and although I'm not consistent with what time I catch the bus, it's usually between 8:52am and 9:38am. About a month ago I caught the 9:18am bus, and I thought that the bus driver, someone I had not seen before, was very attractive. Through observation, I've discovered that he drives the 9:18am bus only on Thursdays and Fridays, so I don't see him too often, especially as I generally do not work on both Thursday and Friday (I usually take Fridays off). But since I've discovered which days he drives the bus, if I go to campus on either Thursday or Friday, I make sure that I catch the 9:18am bus, and I sit at the front so that I can enjoy his hotness.
After I first saw him, I put up a "missed connections" post on Craigslist. As dorky as that is, why not? The chances of him seeing it were slim, but what did I have to lose? My ad said:
#43 bus driver - w4m - 29 (9:18am #43 bus)
You're the bus driver of the #43 UBC bus that left Joyce Station at 9:18am on Friday. I thought you were hot!
To my surprise, I received a reply: Hi, I have no idea who you are. May I have your picture?
This was suspicious--right out asking me for a photo without any indication that it was the bus driver? I don't think so! So I responded, saying that I would like some proof that he's the bus driver, and that I wasn't just going to blindly send my photo to someone on Craigslist. Well, the person never responded back, making me sure that it was just some creep, not the bus driver. And even though I was sure that it was just some random creep, the following week when I saw the hot bus driver, I said to him, "This will probably not make any sense, but did you respond to an ad on Craigslist last week?" (This also gave me an opportunity to talk to him.) His response was, "Uh, I don't think so." I found it odd that he didn't just say, "No, I did not", but perhaps I caught him off guard. Also, he has never said anything about it since, and I never received another reply to my ad.
Since there will be a new bus schedule and bus driver shift changes in September, this upcoming Thursday and next Thursday will be my last chances to see him (I will not be working on the Fridays). So, I'm wondering if I should just muster up the courage and risk humiliation and ask him out/tell him that I think he's attractive. I'm so afraid of this, as I have no experience asking guys out. But unfortunately, guys just don't ask me out, and if I ever want to meet a guy, it looks like I have to take the initiative. But I'm so scared!
My biggest worry is not actually the humiliation that will accompany the rejection, but rather that he'll feel uncomfortable because he's on the job. Of course if I were to ask him out, I wouldn't do so while he's driving--that would just be really awkward and inappropriate. But I get off at the last stop, the UBC bus loop, so if I were to ask him out, I would do so at the loop, just before I get off the bus (that way I won't distract him from his job, and I can run away if when he says no.)
The problem is, I just have no idea what to say to him; I can't think of a conversation starter! If a rude passenger started yelling at him or something (this happened this afternoon to another bus driver), then I could start a conversation that way, "What a rude person! I'm sorry you had to go through that. By the way I think you're hot; want to go for coffee? You must deal with a lot of crazy people." But I have absolutely nothing to say to this guy, and because I see him so infrequently, I haven't built a rapport. Like with every bus driver, I smile and say hello when I board, and I thank him when I get off the bus. But that is typical behaviour for me, and aside from asking him about responding to a Craigslist ad, I haven't spoken to him at all as there hasn't been a reason to do so. Tonight I was talking to my friend about this, trying to build up the courage to ask the bus driver out, and came up with a plan. It's pretty stupid, but it might give me the courage to ask the guy out.
A while ago, aiming to catch the 9:00am bus, I accidentally caught the 8:52am bus. The 8:52am bus driver was this really nice, friendly woman (I even made Facebook status update about her), and although I don't take that bus often, we've built up a bit of a rapport. (It's easy for me to smile and be friendly with bus drivers, just not hot ones!) So I feel comfortable talking to her, and am thinking of saying, "I was wondering if I could ask you for your opinion, from a bus driver's point of view. I'm interested in a bus driver that drives the 9:18am bus, and I think he's really attractive. Would it be inappropriate of me to ask him out, since he's on the job?" Something lame like that. I told my friend that, and then I half joked, "Hey, maybe I could ask the hot bus driver that question, pretending that it's about another bus driver, and if he says 'No, it's not inappropriate', I can say, 'Well, want to go for coffee?' or if he says, 'Yes, it's inappropriate', I can say, 'Too bad; I think you're attractive. Have a good day!'" My friend laughed, but said it was a dorky-in-a-good-way plan.
So, what should I do? Ask the bus driver out?
After I first saw him, I put up a "missed connections" post on Craigslist. As dorky as that is, why not? The chances of him seeing it were slim, but what did I have to lose? My ad said:
#43 bus driver - w4m - 29 (9:18am #43 bus)
You're the bus driver of the #43 UBC bus that left Joyce Station at 9:18am on Friday. I thought you were hot!
To my surprise, I received a reply: Hi, I have no idea who you are. May I have your picture?
This was suspicious--right out asking me for a photo without any indication that it was the bus driver? I don't think so! So I responded, saying that I would like some proof that he's the bus driver, and that I wasn't just going to blindly send my photo to someone on Craigslist. Well, the person never responded back, making me sure that it was just some creep, not the bus driver. And even though I was sure that it was just some random creep, the following week when I saw the hot bus driver, I said to him, "This will probably not make any sense, but did you respond to an ad on Craigslist last week?" (This also gave me an opportunity to talk to him.) His response was, "Uh, I don't think so." I found it odd that he didn't just say, "No, I did not", but perhaps I caught him off guard. Also, he has never said anything about it since, and I never received another reply to my ad.
Since there will be a new bus schedule and bus driver shift changes in September, this upcoming Thursday and next Thursday will be my last chances to see him (I will not be working on the Fridays). So, I'm wondering if I should just muster up the courage and risk humiliation and ask him out/tell him that I think he's attractive. I'm so afraid of this, as I have no experience asking guys out. But unfortunately, guys just don't ask me out, and if I ever want to meet a guy, it looks like I have to take the initiative. But I'm so scared!
My biggest worry is not actually the humiliation that will accompany the rejection, but rather that he'll feel uncomfortable because he's on the job. Of course if I were to ask him out, I wouldn't do so while he's driving--that would just be really awkward and inappropriate. But I get off at the last stop, the UBC bus loop, so if I were to ask him out, I would do so at the loop, just before I get off the bus (that way I won't distract him from his job, and I can run away if when he says no.)
The problem is, I just have no idea what to say to him; I can't think of a conversation starter! If a rude passenger started yelling at him or something (this happened this afternoon to another bus driver), then I could start a conversation that way, "What a rude person! I'm sorry you had to go through that. By the way I think you're hot; want to go for coffee? You must deal with a lot of crazy people." But I have absolutely nothing to say to this guy, and because I see him so infrequently, I haven't built a rapport. Like with every bus driver, I smile and say hello when I board, and I thank him when I get off the bus. But that is typical behaviour for me, and aside from asking him about responding to a Craigslist ad, I haven't spoken to him at all as there hasn't been a reason to do so. Tonight I was talking to my friend about this, trying to build up the courage to ask the bus driver out, and came up with a plan. It's pretty stupid, but it might give me the courage to ask the guy out.
A while ago, aiming to catch the 9:00am bus, I accidentally caught the 8:52am bus. The 8:52am bus driver was this really nice, friendly woman (I even made Facebook status update about her), and although I don't take that bus often, we've built up a bit of a rapport. (It's easy for me to smile and be friendly with bus drivers, just not hot ones!) So I feel comfortable talking to her, and am thinking of saying, "I was wondering if I could ask you for your opinion, from a bus driver's point of view. I'm interested in a bus driver that drives the 9:18am bus, and I think he's really attractive. Would it be inappropriate of me to ask him out, since he's on the job?" Something lame like that. I told my friend that, and then I half joked, "Hey, maybe I could ask the hot bus driver that question, pretending that it's about another bus driver, and if he says 'No, it's not inappropriate', I can say, 'Well, want to go for coffee?' or if he says, 'Yes, it's inappropriate', I can say, 'Too bad; I think you're attractive. Have a good day!'" My friend laughed, but said it was a dorky-in-a-good-way plan.
So, what should I do? Ask the bus driver out?