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!