30 in 30: Day 18 -- Fancy Tickling

[fivecats]

Watch Your Step
January 2010 Raleighwood, NC
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Day 18→Whatever tickles your fancy

Backtracking today. I finally looked at the Day Numberon the entry I was writing about and realized I was a day off.

Back in November, right after getting our replacement white, four-door Volvo sedan, Bonn requested (rather strenuously) that I start taking the bus from Raleighwood to Chapel Thrill. Co-werkers of mine were doing this and were able to give me all of the details I needed and I was even able to get a bus pass. Tough to turn all of that down.

So nowadays I'm getting up at 6am (the one HUGE drawback) and driving 25 minutes across town to the bus stop/parking lot. The bus takes another 30 or so minutes and drops me off on campus, about a 12 minute walk from my office. In the afternoons I now have a set time when I have to leave by to catch the bus, which certainly beats staying way late in hopes of getting "caught up" -- something which never happens.

I've been spending much of my time on the bus reading. And -- the best part -- when I get sleepy, I just close my eyes and take a quick nap.

All in all, it's not a bad way to commute.

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Comments

[velvetink.livejournal.com]

Not a bad looking bus - looks like one of the new sort they have down in Sydney. When I worked in Sydney - bus catching was a regular thing. Sometimes I'd fall asleep and end up at La Perouse, that's miles from anywhere (Captain Cook stopped there) and long walk home by the cemetery. I'm glad I don't fall asleep at the wheel driving nowdays. :). I miss reading on the bus though.

[fivecats.livejournal.com]

i but i'm taking is an express bus. it starts in downtown raleighwood, makes one stop at the end of town (where i pick it up) and then drives straight through to the UNC campus. even if i were to still be asleep at the UNC stop, there are enough people who i know/know me to make sure i wake up at my stop.

(thanks goodness)

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another drawback

[droozle.livejournal.com]

The year we lived in Oxford UK, we were too cheap and too scared to own a car, so we took buses around town. The number one great thing, marveling at the skill of drivers who could spin the bus at a sharp curve and reliably miss buildings, trees, and various moving obstacles by inches. The number one rotten thing, missing the bus back home at night and waiting 20 min in freezing rain for the next one, tired children in tow. Brrr.

Re: another drawback

[fivecats.livejournal.com]

thus putting your children off on public transport for the rest of their lives.

when we first stayed in london we took the tube just about everywhere. the second year, seren and her fiance talked us into riding the bus instead so we could see more of the city. which we did.



we, too, marveled at the skill of the bus drivers to be able to make incredibly sharp turns -- at least, we were able to marvel at their skill after the first several sharp turns when we were both absolutely convinced the double-decker bus was going to overturn, slamming us on top of the next lane of traffic or the sidewalk.

having grown up driving in DC area rush hour, i consider myself to be a fairly good city driver. what those bus drivers do, though, is a league well beyond anything i'd ever attempt.

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