How about a short Thursday update...that's the plan anyway
I haven't written too much about the bus lately, so on the bus ride into work this morning, I decided I would. One of the best parts of riding the bus is when you ride the same routes enough times that the same people start showing up, like supporting roles on a sitcom. Here are a few of the supporting characters I've run into a few times on the bus. (I don't know their real names, these are just the names I've given them)
Mr. Dole
Mr. Dole rides the bus in the morning and is on the bus before I get on. He's a biker, probably in his 40s or so, and is always dressed in biking clothes and wears a bike helmet. He leaves his bike on the bike rack on the front of the bus and gets off a few stops after I get on. I'm pretty sure he leaves his bike helmet on the whole time he rides the bus, he at least puts it on as before he steps out of the bus. It's usually when he gets off the bus that I look up and notice his bike helmet, which is for some reason covered in Dole stickers. You know, the little stickers on Dole fruits? The kind you always played with while eating bananas as a kid? Yeah those. His bike helmet is covered in probably a hundred or so. I get a kick out of it every time I see him.
The Crazy Couple
Ok, so I know so far these names are not that original or creative, but the crazy couple is this couple, probably in their mid 30s or so, a black woman and a white man. I first ran into them one Saturday afternoon when I was taking the bus into Hollywood. The bus was packed and I was sitting a few seats away from them. Anyway, the woman was really upset, and the man was trying to explain something to her. At first, the woman was just refusing to look at or talk to him, but then she started getting really upset, swearing at him and stuff, and soon she started slapping and hitting him. Don't worry, it was the only violence I've ever seen on the bus, but soon the guy got up and tried to get away from the woman, but she followed him in a fury, yelling and swearing and slapping. At that point they moved to the front of the bus, where I couldn't see what was happening anymore, because there were other people standing in the way, but people in the front of the bus were trying to restrain the lady and she was getting really upset and swearing at and slapping them, too. The bus driver stopped the bus for a while, and I couldn't tell what had happened, but couple got off of the bus.
I expected that would be the last I saw of this couple, but then just a few days later on the bus to work, I got on and heard people talking about wanting to see Cloverfield. I turned around and much to my surprise, there was the Crazy Couple, in good spirits and enjoying each other's company. At one point they started talking about how Alabama seceded from the Union in the Revolutionary War. I was happy that they had resolved their issues.
Loud Cell Phone Lady
On the bus rides home, after I get on the bus a woman probably in her late twenties dressed like a professional, gets on the bus talking on her cell phone. But she doesn't just talk on her cell phone, she pretty much yells into it. She's always talking to some great friend of hers (so it seems) and is always having a great time, making jokes and laughing and carrying on. She usually sits near the front of the bus, but if you wanted to, you could sit in the very back of the bus and follow her conversations word for word.
The Skateboard Kids
Often on bus rides home, a few stops before I get off, a Mother, her daughter and son get on the bus. The kids seem to be about the same age, probably around 8 or 9 or so, and both of the kids are always carrying their skateboards. They're cute little Hispanic kids and they're always well behaved, so they don't make for any crazy stories, but I still like them and see them a lot when I ride the bus home.
The LET'S GO Person
I don't have any proof that this person is the same person, but sometimes I've ridden the bus when the bus driver waits a minute or so at a bus stop to make sure they stay on schedule. Well, a few times there has been a mysterious voice coming from the back of the bus that is upset and yells, "LET'S GO!" "What are we waiting for?" "Come On!" "Let's Go!" I have looked back to try and see who is saying this stuff, but I can never get a good look. It always just mysteriously comes from the back of the bus. The voice sounds in such a way that I can never tell if it's a woman or a man doing the yelling, hence the "person" in their name. I of course have no way of proving that it is the same person, but the voice sounded very similar, and if my life was a sitcom, this ghost voice would always be the same person.
There are probably some other people on the bus I can write about, but those are some of my favorites. Also, can I say how much I get a kick out of it when you're riding the bus and the Transit TV newscasters report a story of another bus in the city being in a crash? It makes me laugh every time, and I think they've reported minor crashes twice in the last few weeks.
Also, a very talkative old woman sitting in the front of the bus a few nights ago got out her clippers and started to trim her finger nails. The face of the grossed-out woman sitting across from her watching her trim her nails was priceless!
Jorge gave me a ride home from work last night. It was raining pretty hard and he apparently lives close to me, so it was great. It took like half as long getting home. I might get some more rides home in the future, so I might not run into the night bus riders as often, which is a shame.
Unrelated to the Wonderful World of Metro, Tuesday was Amanda and I's Nine month-iversary. Exciting, huh? I can't believe its been that long. It sure has been great, though! It's tough being this far away especially with the time change, but I know we'll be okay. The webCams I cleverly bought us for Christmas are helping a lot, especially since Verizon sucks for some reason in my Apartment. Anyway, Amanda bought her plane ticket a few days ago to come visit at the end of the quarter, and I'm going to show her around and we're going to go to Disneyland, too! I've never been there before, of course, but I'm going to wait until then to go myself, so that it's extra special for both of us. Talk about something to look forward to!
Sorry that I'm writing posts so often and it's hard to keep up. Thanks everybody for letting me know how much you're enjoying reading this thing. I'm having a blast writing it, too!
I'm hoping to go to the El Capitan to see 101 Dalmations on the big screen this weekend. Those are all my plans at the moment.
Keep it real everybody
I haven't written too much about the bus lately, so on the bus ride into work this morning, I decided I would. One of the best parts of riding the bus is when you ride the same routes enough times that the same people start showing up, like supporting roles on a sitcom. Here are a few of the supporting characters I've run into a few times on the bus. (I don't know their real names, these are just the names I've given them)
Mr. Dole
Mr. Dole rides the bus in the morning and is on the bus before I get on. He's a biker, probably in his 40s or so, and is always dressed in biking clothes and wears a bike helmet. He leaves his bike on the bike rack on the front of the bus and gets off a few stops after I get on. I'm pretty sure he leaves his bike helmet on the whole time he rides the bus, he at least puts it on as before he steps out of the bus. It's usually when he gets off the bus that I look up and notice his bike helmet, which is for some reason covered in Dole stickers. You know, the little stickers on Dole fruits? The kind you always played with while eating bananas as a kid? Yeah those. His bike helmet is covered in probably a hundred or so. I get a kick out of it every time I see him.
The Crazy Couple
Ok, so I know so far these names are not that original or creative, but the crazy couple is this couple, probably in their mid 30s or so, a black woman and a white man. I first ran into them one Saturday afternoon when I was taking the bus into Hollywood. The bus was packed and I was sitting a few seats away from them. Anyway, the woman was really upset, and the man was trying to explain something to her. At first, the woman was just refusing to look at or talk to him, but then she started getting really upset, swearing at him and stuff, and soon she started slapping and hitting him. Don't worry, it was the only violence I've ever seen on the bus, but soon the guy got up and tried to get away from the woman, but she followed him in a fury, yelling and swearing and slapping. At that point they moved to the front of the bus, where I couldn't see what was happening anymore, because there were other people standing in the way, but people in the front of the bus were trying to restrain the lady and she was getting really upset and swearing at and slapping them, too. The bus driver stopped the bus for a while, and I couldn't tell what had happened, but couple got off of the bus.
I expected that would be the last I saw of this couple, but then just a few days later on the bus to work, I got on and heard people talking about wanting to see Cloverfield. I turned around and much to my surprise, there was the Crazy Couple, in good spirits and enjoying each other's company. At one point they started talking about how Alabama seceded from the Union in the Revolutionary War. I was happy that they had resolved their issues.
Loud Cell Phone Lady
On the bus rides home, after I get on the bus a woman probably in her late twenties dressed like a professional, gets on the bus talking on her cell phone. But she doesn't just talk on her cell phone, she pretty much yells into it. She's always talking to some great friend of hers (so it seems) and is always having a great time, making jokes and laughing and carrying on. She usually sits near the front of the bus, but if you wanted to, you could sit in the very back of the bus and follow her conversations word for word.
The Skateboard Kids
Often on bus rides home, a few stops before I get off, a Mother, her daughter and son get on the bus. The kids seem to be about the same age, probably around 8 or 9 or so, and both of the kids are always carrying their skateboards. They're cute little Hispanic kids and they're always well behaved, so they don't make for any crazy stories, but I still like them and see them a lot when I ride the bus home.
The LET'S GO Person
I don't have any proof that this person is the same person, but sometimes I've ridden the bus when the bus driver waits a minute or so at a bus stop to make sure they stay on schedule. Well, a few times there has been a mysterious voice coming from the back of the bus that is upset and yells, "LET'S GO!" "What are we waiting for?" "Come On!" "Let's Go!" I have looked back to try and see who is saying this stuff, but I can never get a good look. It always just mysteriously comes from the back of the bus. The voice sounds in such a way that I can never tell if it's a woman or a man doing the yelling, hence the "person" in their name. I of course have no way of proving that it is the same person, but the voice sounded very similar, and if my life was a sitcom, this ghost voice would always be the same person.
There are probably some other people on the bus I can write about, but those are some of my favorites. Also, can I say how much I get a kick out of it when you're riding the bus and the Transit TV newscasters report a story of another bus in the city being in a crash? It makes me laugh every time, and I think they've reported minor crashes twice in the last few weeks.
Also, a very talkative old woman sitting in the front of the bus a few nights ago got out her clippers and started to trim her finger nails. The face of the grossed-out woman sitting across from her watching her trim her nails was priceless!
Jorge gave me a ride home from work last night. It was raining pretty hard and he apparently lives close to me, so it was great. It took like half as long getting home. I might get some more rides home in the future, so I might not run into the night bus riders as often, which is a shame.
Unrelated to the Wonderful World of Metro, Tuesday was Amanda and I's Nine month-iversary. Exciting, huh? I can't believe its been that long. It sure has been great, though! It's tough being this far away especially with the time change, but I know we'll be okay. The webCams I cleverly bought us for Christmas are helping a lot, especially since Verizon sucks for some reason in my Apartment. Anyway, Amanda bought her plane ticket a few days ago to come visit at the end of the quarter, and I'm going to show her around and we're going to go to Disneyland, too! I've never been there before, of course, but I'm going to wait until then to go myself, so that it's extra special for both of us. Talk about something to look forward to!
Sorry that I'm writing posts so often and it's hard to keep up. Thanks everybody for letting me know how much you're enjoying reading this thing. I'm having a blast writing it, too!
I'm hoping to go to the El Capitan to see 101 Dalmations on the big screen this weekend. Those are all my plans at the moment.
Keep it real everybody
-Alex
4 comments:
Regarding The Crazy Couple ... I'm thrilled that they're happier now ... but they may need to read up a little on their American history. Alabama didn't even become a part of the Union until 1819 - over 30 years after the Revolutionary War was over. Yes, Alabama did secede from the Union in 1861 during the Civil War (like just about every other "southern" state), but seriously, who talks about that on the bus in the morning on their way to work? Well, I'm glad things have settled down. Maybe you should turn around and correct them next time ... I'm SURE Mrs. Crazy Couple would LOVE that! Oh well, ignorance is bliss, right? ;)
^ You know, I really should have caught that, considering that I lived in Alabama for 11 years of my life...but no, I totally missed it. Oh well...I hate the south, so we'll say that's why.
Entertaining post, Alex. You've made me want to start riding the bus. :P
I am so glad that you've become part of the bus culture. There are so many intriguing happenings on the bus, and I love that no matter which city you are in, there are a couple of personalities that you will find on every metro. The cyclist. Loud cell phone lady. And, of course, the Let's Go man. You captured bus life in a wonderful, almost Seinfeldescent, way, and I commend you for that. This is a five star post.
Jarrell
laughed out loud, literally in starbucks. that's jerry and elaine commentary. look out for the following:
"the low talker" (don't agree to wear ANYTHING)
"the close talker"
"man hands"
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