DAY 20

Eastbound.

After a 4:45 wake up and about 45 minutes at the gym i headed to the bus stop via my wife. I was not looking forward to the bus driver, but happily exclaimed "good morning!" when i got on the bus. As i swiped my card and headed back she yelled (with attitude and threw up one hand) "Sir. Your card is expired." I showed her the card and said "the expiration date is the 17th (tomorrow)" and she replied "I can not see that". As I forked out some money for the bus, it was having trouble taking my dollar (naturally). The bus driver seemed irritated and said "no turn it over and try it again!" I instantly thought of an article i read the other day about how bus drivers get spit on a lot. Of coarse i would never do something like that, but i thought i could loose my temper with them.

A few stops later  a couple of what appeared to be homeless guys got on the bus. One was younger probably in his early 30's and was holding a few bags in one hand and his other hand had a gash and was covered with drying blood. The other man was probably in his 50's and was carrying a couple of bags in one hand and a large trash bag in the other. He put the trash bag on a hump at the front of the bus. I have seen people put bags there befog. The bus driver yelled at the man "you can't put that there!". The man answered "why the hell not?" The bus driver said "because your not supposed to put anything there!" This irritated the man and he said "i don't give a shit....I'm more worried about my friends hand than this crap". The driver did not move the bus and waited until the man took the bag down and placed it underneath a seat close to the front. Then the man started to curse and yell at the bus driver, but I could not hear her replies to him. He paid his fair and sat in a seat still bitter and talking loudly about the bus driver. I put my headphones on and listened to the talking bible.

As the bus ventured East, it filled up quickly and about 1/2 through the route was standing room only. The younger homeless man was arguing with his friend about going to the hospital stating that he had some neosporn and bandages at his friends place that he could use to patch himself up. The older man was disagreeing with him and kept stating "I'm taking you to the hospital!" They got off at the stop where the hospital is located across the street.

Can't wait for the ride home......

DAY 18.5-19

Westbound Day 18.5

So the ride home was again relatively uneventful. I sat in the front, it was crowded, and had the BUS STENCH. As we came to the bus stop by the hospital i glanced out the window and saw a familiar face. It was dark, but I could see him. It was the young homeless mentally ill man that i had confronted a few weeks  ago about peeing on the bus stop bench. I told him he needs to pee in the bushes or something rather than sitting on the bus stop bench and peeing on himself and the bench. Tonight he was looking at me with his eyes wide open and head cocked to the side like when a dog hears a strange or piercing noise. I could not help but snicker as I looked away he did to. As I glanced back at him he went back to his cocked head and big eyes. I think he was teasing me and it was pretty funny.

Eastbound DAY 19

This day was eventful to say the least. I started the day off by accidentally waking up an hour early. (the night before i had set the time ahead on accident instead of the alarm). I got all ready to go and my wife just looked at me after she went downstairs and said..."hellooooo, its only 5 am!" I'm such a dork sometimes. No matter I ate some Spanish rice and fish for breakfast and fell asleep on the couch for 1/2 hour while watching the local news.

So i got to the bus stop and got on the bus with a good morning to the driver who was a younger black lady. About 2 stops down she yelled at someone to turn their music down or off. I was in the front and presumed she was talking to someone in the back. Sometimes the kids get on the bus and play their music aloud on their phones or ipods. Not loud, but enough so people can here it. A couple more stops down the bus lady stopped at a stop that had about 12 high school kids waiting for the  bus, only she did not open the door for them. Again she yelled to the back to turn off the radio. Again I ignored her. She proceeded to say very loudly that if the radio was not turned off, that she would call her supervisor who would come down and have a talk. The black lady behind me hit my jacket and said turn of your radio and told the bus driver "its the white guy". I had earphones on and I took them off to see what was going on. The bus driver asked the black lady behind me "can you here him?" and she said she could and that I was listening to news. I did not turn it down and told the bus driver that I had earphones on. She said turn it down or off (which I did not) and I said i don't think it was me. She said well i cant here it anymore since you turned it down.

I was framed. One of the kids in the back had a smart phone that was playing obnoxious music, but the lady behind me and the bus driver blamed me for it. The bus driver had so much attitude that i just left things the way they were and went back to listening to the news. Unbelievable.  i had been accused, tried and convicted before I new what was going on. Classic.

If I did not have to be at work I probably would have raised issue, but I did not want to get  kicked off the bus and end up getting a taxi or worse yet banned from the bus.

I did note however, that the sign on the bus said "No Radios or Tape players". It did not say anything about phones or ipods. In my mind i was a bit reactionary and played a tape through that included me arguing with the bus driver about the sign and then inquiring about if she was going to make everyone not talk like kids on the bus. I am sure that the music from the back or my iphone speakers were not that loud, but I guess everyone needs to bitch about something.

Have a Nice Day!

By the time I got to my stop i had almost forgot about the incident, but again the devil inside me said tell the bus driver she has attitude problems and to have a nice day. I didn't though.The angel almost always wins with me.

On a better note my wife said she would put together the Thanksgiving  day basket that we started doing last year. My work gathers full turkey day meals to cook for needy families throughout the county and I (with help from some of my relatives) provide a full basket as opposed to going in on one at work. I just feel obligated to provide for those in need and am thankful for all i have.

Day 18

Am suffering from a sinus infection/cold.

I did not keep notes about the ride last week. I remember some things that were going on, but I just did not get to writing about it this weekend. Sometimes my family time consumes my thinking and things like blogging, work or even academics is almost non existent.

Today's commute was rather dull. I phased in and out of consciousness, for the medicine i am taking for my cold seems to make drowsy. I was listening to a story on talk radio and then it was like i was listening to another story instantaneously. Kind of like back to the future.

I had a nice weekend at home and it was uneventful (negatively speaking). I played a kind of kids scrabble with the kids a few times.

They like this game, but my youngest is a bit small to play so she usually helps me. This game also helps my middle child learn bigger words and seems to be able to capture my oldest child's attention as well. Soon I will start playing  scrabble with my oldest child. He has been practicing on my iphone.

Actually all my kids continue to via for my iphone including my 4 years old. She will pretty much ask at least 5 times a day "Dad can i play with your iphone?" I keep it kind of random with yes and no so as not to get her in a habit. It is amazing how she can manipulate the iphone and the games on it.  

I have an older model that i keep with a relatively small amount of memory (for an iphone) that i keep games for them on it. It actually had problems with keeping data on the phone which is why i upgraded to the 4. I am very thankful that i upgraded and did not just try and get the old one fixed or exchanged for a refurbished one. The 4 is faster and I got a little more memory.

Joke of the day:

What did the fish say when he ran into the wall......

Damn!

DAY 14

11/4/11
eastbound
Not  working today but am headed towards town for a doctors appointment. It is cold and  rainy outside and I am greatful that my bus stop is under a bridge.

I guess things could have been worse...

DAY 13.5

11/3/11

eastbound

The bus was crowded, but never mind. I was thinking about the past. I remember as a child I had a shiny silver NASA jacket and looked up to Burt Rynalds's Bandit persona in Smokey and the Bandit. Jackie Gleason was also classic.

You know Ralph Kramdin right?

Well anyhow that trans am was definitely sweeeeeeeet and still is.

DAY 13

11/3/11
eastbound
Kind of tired. Nothing exciting was going on on the way to work. Kind of dozed in and out of sleep the whole way there. hmmmmm

DAY 12.5

11/2/11

Westbound



WINING!



Well things were relatively uneventful but crowded initially. Then the black guy on drugs with an attitude got on the bus. He was so lit that he could not get the bike on the bus (I wonder how he was able to ride it) and the driver had to help him. After the white driver helped the guy on drugs out, the drugged dude got on the bus and exclaimed “what the f**k all yall niggas on this bus can’t help a brother out but a white dude can?” There was a young black man looked like a student who immediately got up when the drug guy sat next to him. And of course the drug guy was right in front of me, literally. He was swaying back and forth until he recognized someone in the back and signaled her to come over, which she did.  He was pretty loud and obnoxious the whole time he was on and at times almost fell off the seat. He somehow managed to see his stop, get up and actually was able to get his bike off and road away. The drug epidemic is alive and well.



Here is an interesting article:

Thousands leave cars, take Dubai Metro

http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/traffic-transport/thousands-leave-cars-take-dubai-metro-1.922328

I have actually been to Dubai and at one point I believe I took buses to get around when the taxi’s got too expensive. The  buses were much smaller than those in the US. It was quite an interesting place. Modern cosmopolitan mixed with primitive overtones.