Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Meditations of a Bus Taker

No, I did not steal a bus. However, as I have been rendered - through a vicious trick of fate - carless, I have been taking advantage of public transportation over the last two weeks. Taking the bus is very different from driving.
First off, bus travel is far less stressful. The drive in to work on the highway would often leave me in a funk, contemplating various methods of revenge against idiot drivers. Most of these fantasies involved me wielding some form of weapon, such as rocket launchers, catapults, and low-yield nuclear devices.
The bus ride is calm and peaceful. I get to read, listen to music, and people watch. I really enjoy watching people, as you learn so much from observing habits, especially over successive days. I have identified several individuals, and know a bit about them, such as where they like to sit on the bus, whether they prefer to read or listen to music, and how they react to being stared at by total strangers.
The problem with the bus simply boils down to time. It takes about an hour and a half to get to work, and the same amount of time to return. 3 hours of my day taken up in transit. Now a car, that takes on average 20 minutes one way. So, even though cars cause me more stress and less entertainment, they also represent a significantly lower drain upon my most precious resource.
I like to sleep in, and I like to stay up late. Two of my favourite things, as a matter of fact. I have to go to bed at 11:00 at night now, and that makes me feel like I'm about 107. I also have to get up at 7:30 am (as opposed to 8:45 am when driving), and getting up that early makes me feel like peeling kittens.
So, I've decided that a car must enter my life sooner, as opposed to later. Now of course, armed with my rather encyclopedic knowledge of cars (if you define the word "encyclopedic" as: lacking any serious knowledge or common sense) I will be heading off to see what the automotive world has in store for me.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Yes. Get a car. You are much more entertaining when you're stressed out and bitter.

FXW