Some things are worth breaking your heart over.

Some things are not.

You were not.

So I take it back.

I take it back.

I want it back.

So I only did it for 6 months. But truly, it was 5 months longer than I thought I would make it. I wish I had written about the experience, gotten it all down on paper. But I didn’t, so I figured I would take a few minutes to remember some of my experiences.

First, let me talk about the bus drivers in Maryland. most of them are ok. You get on, you smile, nod or say hi and they return in kind, they get you to your destination, and that is the extent of the relationship. There are 3 bus drivers, however, that truly stand out (and not in a good way). The first is the grouchy woman who always looks at you like “sit down and shut up or I might have to whoop you). I would get on the bus, smile politely, usually say hi and walk back to my seat. She would just glare at me with her cold beady eyes, like she would rather be anywhere but where she was. I only ever saw her in the mornings, thank goodness.

The second bus driver of note was the aggressively friend guy. As every person got of the bus, he would practically shout in his gruff, deep voice, “thank you for riding ride-on”. While I can appreciate the sentiment, it Is a bit off putting to have someone practically yell a relatively friendly statement. And it was always early in the morning. A bit much to take a 7:30am, don’t you think? Of course, I prefer his method to that of miss grouchy.

The third bus driver that stands out is the guy who got his CDL at K-Mart. He seemed unable to select a speed and stick with it, so his foot was constantly going on and off the pedal… on the pedal (speed up), off the pedal (slow down), on the pedal, off the pedal, on the pedal, off the pedal. Now, I have never experienced motion sickness. In fact, I know people that are amazed at my ability to read in a moving vehicle while riding in the back seat. However, this bus driver gave me my first dose of what motion sickness must feel like. And I only saw him in the evening. What a lovely cap to a day spent slaving away for pennies.

Interestingly enough, there are not really any bus drivers in VA that have left such an impression on me. However, there have been several incidents that have. The first was when we almost got into an accident. And it was totally not the fault of the driver. We were riding through a community where the two way street barely had room for one way traffic. And bear in mind that a bus is fairly large and noisy. So, it’s not like you can claim you didn’t’ see it/her it coming. Well, one morning, that must be what happened, because some driver pulled right out in front of the bus, causing our drive to slam on the breaks. The person had gotten into their car, which was parked along one of these narrow streets and decided to just go. We were all jarred a bit, but no harm, no foul. And I’m sure the car driver felt pretty stupid (or extremely happy for making it out in front of the bus without personal injury).

The second incident happened in the same neighborhood. We were moving along, picking up people, driving to the next stop when the bus just cut off. I could see the driver looking all perplexed and not sure of what happened. In fact, we never really knew if the bus ran out of gas (which is what I suspect, since I believe I heard her utter it under her breath) or if there was some kind of mechanical failure. Either way, we all had to pile off the bus. Luckily, we were on a route that another bus also followed, with the same destination. So within about 10 minutes, I think we were all back on our merry ways to daily grind.

So, I’ll close with these last thoughts on bus/metro etiquette:

1)    Always say “hello” and “thank you“ to your bus driver, no matter how crappy the experience. After all, it might be the one thing that keeps them from driving the bus off a bridge or something.

2)    Don’t spread out during rush hour, unless you know there are no more stops until you reach your destination. Nothing worse than having to ask someone to move the stuff so you can sit down.

3)    On the sitting note, try and take up as little room as possible. Being rude and not sharing usually makes me annoyed enough that I will sit next to you anyway and try and invade your space.

4)    Shower. Enough said.

5)    Perfume should be an accessory, not an outfit.

6)    If someone is wearing headphones or reading a book, there is a good chance they do not want to talk to you.

7)    I really don’t find your life that exciting, so either stick to texting, or wait until you disembark to have that long, loud,  private phone conversation.

8)    Don’t leave your papers/trash behind. It’s rude and creates more work for people who probably aren’t paid very well and have to spend the day driving you around.

9)    I have my own iPod. I don’t need to hear yours too. Chances are, our music choices are not complimentary.

10)  I paid for a ride, not for a show. Keep the PDA to a minimum. Seriously.

I have some stories inside me that I need to get out, but am having the hardest time putting pen to paper. So I thought I would try something along the lines of the artists way. My goal, then, is to write more often. Even if it is just babble about the day. Please forgive the verbal diarrhea. Here's hoping that it will lead to more creative writing.

Today started off pretty suckily. I walked out of my apartment building only to see the bus pulling away from the stop. I uttered “shit” as I walked out the door. And since the buses run about every 20 minutes, I didn’t even have time to go back upstairs. So, instead, I sat down at the bus stop and read my book while waiting for the next bus.

Luckily, taking a later bus didn’t make me late to work. I usually have to wait about 15 minutes on the other end of my metro ride for a bus to take me to my office. So, instead of my usual 15 minute wait, I only had to wait about 5 minutes. 

Now, I am thinking that I can get up a bit later and take the later bus. However, this does not factor in 1) missing the bus or 2) the bus being late. So I will most likely stick with my normal bus routine. I am much more relaxed when I know I have to wait for the bus rather than worrying that I might just miss it.

The other issue I am having is that people keep offering me rides. Now, this does not sound like a problem on the surface. And it truly isn’t a problem, per se. It’s just that it causes two issues for me. The first is that I use my commute time to read my books. I really look forward to quality reading time. Before selling my car and resigning my life to relying on public transportation, I was hardly reading at all. I am even in a book club and was finding it hard to get through the books. Bow, I read about 3 books a week. Of course, if it is really good, I end up reading more of it when I get home, rather than restricting myself to my commute time. So, when someone offers me a ride, I lose that precious reading time. It would be rude for me to whip out my book, when someone has kindly offered to drive to some location (be it home or even just to the metro). I feel rather obliged to be charming and witty, or at least as charming and witty as I can be. And usually, I just don’t have the energy to be that entertaining. And truly, this really only causes me discomfort when I am really enjoying the book. Usually, the joy of getting home at an earlier hour trumps this discomfort of company.

The second problem is a monetary one. My company gives me money every month for taking public transportation. And I always ask for enough to cover me taking the metro daily. When someone offers me a ride, that is a trip (or part of a trip) when I am not using my smartrip card to cover me getting home. And this month has been particularly riddled with kindness and rides. This is a problem because the smartrip card only holds so much money. Which means if I ask for a certain amount, but haven’t used enough to bring my card down lower, than I won’t have room for the money for which I asked. And it is hard to judge, because we have to turn our slips in so early. So, the first couple of days of the month, I have no idea that someone is going to offer to drive me home 2-3 times per week. This means that I am asking for more money than I need, thus leading to the problem of not having room on my card for the new installment. Again, not truly a problem. Maybe actually more of an annoyance. And, the benefits of being offered a ride far outweigh the negatives. I mean, I don’t have to ride the bus/metro with 100s of my newest best friends. And I shave off at least 30 minutes from my commute. So please don’t think this is a complaint, because it definitely is not.

So, for funny metro stories. I was actually punched by some woman on the metro. There I was, sitting on one of the metro train benches by the door at the front end of the car, reading my book and generally tuning out the world. Around Woodley Park, the red line starts to get quite crowded. So this woman gets on and is holding the pole that runs up from my seat to the roof of the car. Well, apparently she decided to let go of the pole, for whatever reason. Then, realized that she really needed to be holding on. And for whatever reason, she propelled her hand out to her side to try and grab the pole but wasn’t actually looking where she was aiming. She easily missed the pole by about 4 or 5 inches. And I guess in anticipation of grabbing the pole, she curled her fingers up. But since she wasn’t wrapping her hand around the pole, the force with which she had swung her arm caused her arm to continue on its path, right into my upper arm, making a thwacking noise, and jarring me out of my reverie. I looked up at her with shock on my face. After all, I couldn’t figure out why someone would punch me! She also had a look of shock on her face. We looked at each other and she apologized profusely, hardly believing that she actually hit me! Then we both starting laughing. Too funny.

My biggest pet peeves on the train/bus are:
1)    People who spread out, and don’t try and compact themselves when you sit next to them. This means, they are having full side body contact. Ick.
2)    B.O. Nothing worse than being on a crowded train and having someone with sticky armpits raise their arm to grab the ceiling bar. The only worse is when that person is right in front of you.
3)    The loud cell phone talker. I really hate it when someone has a totally private conversation at extremely loud decibels. I mean, seriously? The only thing worse is when they speak a foreign language, because than I can’t eaves drop =D

Well, that’s about all for now.