I apologize to my... three? readers that I didn't write yesterday. I was a little disturbed and worried about my friends back in Samoa, which has been devastated by an earthquake and tsunami... Luckly they are all fine, shook up and scared, but fine. They are planning on volunteering this weekend when they don't have class. Yay them!
But in other news, back to the bus... yesterday I took the later bus again because I didn't want to get up, and I discovered that although I have to get up at the butt crack of dawn, I actually prefer the earlier one because there are less people.
So this afternoon on the bus I learned a lot about the transmission of the flu from a nice, elderly white gentleman. Apparently, it doesn't matter if you never wash your hands, or if you lick them for that matter because the flu can only pass through mucus, which can only be passed if you sneeze into someone's mouth or kiss them. He, of course, was talking about H1N1, "the swine flu," but then also about the flu in general. Such a relief to know that unless I make out with someone, I will not be getting the flu (so I guess no flu for me this year)... which also raises concerns about the youth of the world. Meh, best not to dwell on details, right?
I have also decided that I'm a "safe" person to sit with, because when the bus starts to get a little bit fuller, and people are actually having to sit next to someone, the middle aged white ladies who look really uncomfortable sit next to me. So not too many up close and personal interactions with the worlds worst assortment of facial hair. Sick, perhaps I shall save that one for another day.
Off to bed for my butt crack of dawn awakening and bike ride!
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
The winds have begun...
So, today I missed my normal bus, due to the extreme winds that made me feel like it was my first day on the bike going up those hills. Oy. But, the benefit of missing my normal bus is I got to take a different bus, with some new peeps.
Firstly, I want to assure you that the personal bubble is STRONGLY in place. As in, no one would sit on the seat next to someone else. Instead, they preferred to stand in the aisle than sit next to someone. Also, there was a larger assortment of people on this bus... A slightly elderly lady reading her large print library book, seemingly oblivious to the world until her stop sat in the front seat. The cheerleader who spent a good 10 minutes applying eye make-up below her overly sculpted and plucked eyebrows was in the middle, a middle-aged latina woman wearing very sturdy black shoes sat disinterested near the window, and the 9th grade boy with his graffiti styled black shoes (which matched his saggy black pants, black shirt, and black, off tilted baseball cap) was too cool to merely stand in the aisle, but had to be as close to the front as possible, leaning causally on the bar, getting in everyone's way as they tried to exit the bus. And lets not forget the resturant workers, older bums, with long hair in a messy pony, and scragaly beard and the very large white guy in a giant jean jacket covered in patches that got on with me... don't know what was up with him. But, my personal favorite of my morning commute was the man who got on near the end of my ride in a pair of coveralls, you know they type, dark blue, with the name tag attached... His name, according to the attached and embrodered nametag was BJ. And yes, I did giggle.
I find the collectiong of people on the bus so ineresting... everyone trying their hardest to seem disinterested and absorbed in themselves, but still causually peeking at everyone around them.
This afternoon was an entirely different story. I finally got to learn the name of my first offical bus friend. As in, the first person on the bus that I talk to on a semi-regular basis. His name is Jonathan. He moved to Albuquerque in 1988 from Ohio. He works in a warehouse, and gets on the bus at the same stop as me in the afternoons. According to a text message that I accidentally read over his shoulder this afternoon, he "hat my fucking ..." I assume it is either life or job. He was not pleased with his job when we finally exchanged names this afternoon. But more interestingly about my afternoon ride was the woman with the messanger bag...
oy. too much. Perhaps I will write about her tomorrow.
wish me luck on catching my bus tomorrow!
Firstly, I want to assure you that the personal bubble is STRONGLY in place. As in, no one would sit on the seat next to someone else. Instead, they preferred to stand in the aisle than sit next to someone. Also, there was a larger assortment of people on this bus... A slightly elderly lady reading her large print library book, seemingly oblivious to the world until her stop sat in the front seat. The cheerleader who spent a good 10 minutes applying eye make-up below her overly sculpted and plucked eyebrows was in the middle, a middle-aged latina woman wearing very sturdy black shoes sat disinterested near the window, and the 9th grade boy with his graffiti styled black shoes (which matched his saggy black pants, black shirt, and black, off tilted baseball cap) was too cool to merely stand in the aisle, but had to be as close to the front as possible, leaning causally on the bar, getting in everyone's way as they tried to exit the bus. And lets not forget the resturant workers, older bums, with long hair in a messy pony, and scragaly beard and the very large white guy in a giant jean jacket covered in patches that got on with me... don't know what was up with him. But, my personal favorite of my morning commute was the man who got on near the end of my ride in a pair of coveralls, you know they type, dark blue, with the name tag attached... His name, according to the attached and embrodered nametag was BJ. And yes, I did giggle.
I find the collectiong of people on the bus so ineresting... everyone trying their hardest to seem disinterested and absorbed in themselves, but still causually peeking at everyone around them.
This afternoon was an entirely different story. I finally got to learn the name of my first offical bus friend. As in, the first person on the bus that I talk to on a semi-regular basis. His name is Jonathan. He moved to Albuquerque in 1988 from Ohio. He works in a warehouse, and gets on the bus at the same stop as me in the afternoons. According to a text message that I accidentally read over his shoulder this afternoon, he "hat my fucking ..." I assume it is either life or job. He was not pleased with his job when we finally exchanged names this afternoon. But more interestingly about my afternoon ride was the woman with the messanger bag...
oy. too much. Perhaps I will write about her tomorrow.
wish me luck on catching my bus tomorrow!
Sunday, September 27, 2009
ABQ RIDES
In an effort to both document, and enjoy the daily commute that I make to work on the bus in Albuquerque, NM I've decided to start posting about my experiences. Nothing too much, just little stories here and there about the people I see and meet... And maybe some fun stories about work and life.
To begin, I have been riding the bus for nearly a full two weeks now (yay!) and already I have some good memories. There are all types of people who take the bus, for whichever reason they decide. But, there are also the regulars that I see almost everyday. These regulars I call my "bus friends" even though there is almost no acknowledgment of each other on both parts, although there has been the occasional eye contact...
Back to my story for the day. This occurred on Friday, while I was waiting for a different route than I normally take (being as I work for a temp agency, I had to turn in my time sheet for the week and pick up my paycheck, therefore allowing me to get on a different bus in approximately the same time frame that is a mile and half closer to my apartment). Anyway, so I'm sitting at the bench, minding my own business, wishing that I had not chatted for a full 4 minutes in the office, because then I might have caught the earlier bus. As I'm sitting there, just hanging out, waiting two teenage girls walk up, chatting, and generally being 15. Which is fine, whatever. They were too cool to sit on the bench, so they had to lean against the tree and almost get hit by a car backing up.
But then this dude turns the corner, and I have no idea what is going on with him, but he is weird. It is a fairly warm later September afternoon in New Mexico, and this guy is wearing a long flannel shirt, jeans, and gloves. PLUS, he is holding up a piece of cardboard, blocking the direct sunlight from hitting his face. Now I realize he might be allergic to the sun, because his face is really white, but at the same time, he smells bad, his hair is unkempt, and after he sits next to me on the bench (entirely too close for American space standards, I might add) he starts muttering to himself, I cannot tell what, but its almost like a combination of talking and getting a beat going at the same time. BIZARRE I say. But eh, its the bus after all.
So we end up getting on the same bus, and the two teenage ladies are waiting for the other. Our bus driver was particularly friendly, reminding us to stay seated if there were open seats (with all 3 of us on the bus) and to check our areas thoroughly before exiting, so we don't forget any of our possessions. My sunlight friend exited the bus way before me, and I made a friend at the intersection where I disembarked. We shared how horrible the pedestrian crossing is, and she shared that she has witnessed people getting hit by cars on the particular street we were on.
Oh the joys of ABQ!
To begin, I have been riding the bus for nearly a full two weeks now (yay!) and already I have some good memories. There are all types of people who take the bus, for whichever reason they decide. But, there are also the regulars that I see almost everyday. These regulars I call my "bus friends" even though there is almost no acknowledgment of each other on both parts, although there has been the occasional eye contact...
Back to my story for the day. This occurred on Friday, while I was waiting for a different route than I normally take (being as I work for a temp agency, I had to turn in my time sheet for the week and pick up my paycheck, therefore allowing me to get on a different bus in approximately the same time frame that is a mile and half closer to my apartment). Anyway, so I'm sitting at the bench, minding my own business, wishing that I had not chatted for a full 4 minutes in the office, because then I might have caught the earlier bus. As I'm sitting there, just hanging out, waiting two teenage girls walk up, chatting, and generally being 15. Which is fine, whatever. They were too cool to sit on the bench, so they had to lean against the tree and almost get hit by a car backing up.
But then this dude turns the corner, and I have no idea what is going on with him, but he is weird. It is a fairly warm later September afternoon in New Mexico, and this guy is wearing a long flannel shirt, jeans, and gloves. PLUS, he is holding up a piece of cardboard, blocking the direct sunlight from hitting his face. Now I realize he might be allergic to the sun, because his face is really white, but at the same time, he smells bad, his hair is unkempt, and after he sits next to me on the bench (entirely too close for American space standards, I might add) he starts muttering to himself, I cannot tell what, but its almost like a combination of talking and getting a beat going at the same time. BIZARRE I say. But eh, its the bus after all.
So we end up getting on the same bus, and the two teenage ladies are waiting for the other. Our bus driver was particularly friendly, reminding us to stay seated if there were open seats (with all 3 of us on the bus) and to check our areas thoroughly before exiting, so we don't forget any of our possessions. My sunlight friend exited the bus way before me, and I made a friend at the intersection where I disembarked. We shared how horrible the pedestrian crossing is, and she shared that she has witnessed people getting hit by cars on the particular street we were on.
Oh the joys of ABQ!
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