Monday, August 27, 2007

Poke poke. Poke.

I think I'm starting to sound really super repetative b/c pretty much all I want to write about is riding the damn bus. But I can't help if the most bizarre and strangely entertaining bits of my life take place b/t the hours of 7:45-8:15am and 6-6:30pm M-F (oh, 2-3ish on Fridays), can I? I can't.

So last Fri the bus is off the hook! It's mobbed. I can barely board the 71 there are so many f'in people. All the tourists in their shorts freezing their asses off, reading their maps, the punks with their sullen faces, and the drunks. And me. There is no room to stand...and oddly...one seat left empty. I'm all, "um, does anyone want that?" They don't, so I graciously take it, b/c hey, there are way too many people on the bus to leave a seat open. There is nowhere to even stand!

So I sit. And then the dude to my right starts babbling to a group of three teenaged girls standing in front of us. I guess he works at some cafeteria where they go to school and after eavesdropping made this connection and started to bug them with this question and that comment. Eventually he goes silent. Then, someone pokes me. Him.

"Did you know...that...the transit authority...(he talks VERY slowly)...now has GPS tracking...on all their buses?" Me: "No, I didn't, that's very interesting." Him: "Yes! They do...It's great....You can see when buses...are going to arrive...It's very useful....You should definitely use it." Me: "Yes! That sounds very fantastic! I should use it." Quiet.

Poke.

"So yes...the buses...they all have GPS tracking. Will save you a lot of time. You should try it."

Me: "Oh yes! I will. Thanks." I turn my head left and turn up my volume.

Poke.

"Excuse me....You just touched me."

(oh really fuck face?? you just touched me too. like 8 million times. you poked me.) "Oh, really, did I? Sorry."

Poke.

"Usually, when you touch someone, you say I'm sorry or something."

Me: "Umm, yes, I did say I'm sorry." Him: "Oh? Did you? I guess I didn't hear you." Silence.

Poke.

"You just...you just went like...this (demonstrate the brushing motion for me)."

Me, exasperated, but still calm. "Oh wow. I guess my stop is coming up. I better get up now."
Which is a complete lie b/c my stop is 5 stops and over 5 min away, but for the sake of sanity, I had to move.

Anyway, the moral of this story is this: if a solitary seat is open, and the bus is filled to the gills, chances are, it's open for a reason. So, don't sit in it. The. End.

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