incredibly invisible blogger

Yes, she is still alive and taking the bus in Tempe. We unexpectedly went "live" with our new site and it has been unbelievably busy - I thought the worst was over, but the decision to launch was a wee bit premature - not fatal, just traumatic. Sounds like the diagnosis room at hospital. Anyway, the site is down right now and I decided to enjoy the moment and check in with the blog.

Been pretty steadily taking the 7:57AM 81N - an occasional stray away, but probably 3 out of 5 days for sure. This morning, a bit slow out of the house, the bus passed me while crossing Guadalupe. I effected a semi-jog and waved, hoping to be seen in the mirror. A semi-regular rider stood outside the bus, told the driver of my approach and it ended up no large deal.

As we sat at the intersection of Apache and McClintock, a young man risked life and limb to cut through traffic, cross McClintock and get on the bus. He wore his pants in the fashion that uses a belt to hold the pants under the stomach and below the buttocks - looks hideously uncomfortable and gawd-knows-how he could run in them. Like a gazelle, he leapt and bounded around and between cars, as he come across 7 lanes of traffic. Made my semi-jog look pathetic. Anyway, he got on and then asked the driver where the bus was going! He faced near-death to board a bus whose destination was unknown to him! Hello????? The driver gave him stop and riding advice and the young man took a seat near the back of the bus. He whipped out his cell phone, made a call and proceeded to use f---ing this and f---ing that as every other word in the conversation. Suddenly, the lady voice came on the bus and said, "Please be courteous to other passengers and refrain from using [foul][vulgar][profane] language and from placing your feet on the seats." The other semi-regular guy and I started laughing and the driver said he has a bad ear, but thought he heard something - we assured him his ear was in tune and thanked him for the interlude. It waa an interesting ride.

#64XX

A couple of weeks since a new post came this way. Lots of rides and some interesting events, but work remains ugly and once in my office, seated at the computer, blogging time eludes me. Once home, I really don't want to stare at a computer any more - a vicious circle.

During my recent hiatus, enjoyed a couple of seriously eventful bus rides. A young man, previously detained by the police, got on the bus and proceeded to collapse/pass out, apparently overdosed on some drug of abuse. The driver freaked out, calling the gendarmes, and the young man got off the bus and staggered on down the street - almost too many details to ever recant the tale properly.

On another ride, an angry young woman got off as I got on and I later learned from a fellow passenger that the angry young woman was, in fact, a bus stalker. She attempted to "over befriend" this other woman and became irrationally angry when rebuffed. It made a great ride with much discussion - while I don't advocate stalking, bus or otherwise, sure added interest.

This morning's driver (6:57AM 81N) guided the bus like a NASCAR wannabe. We flew down the streets and I must give him credit for smooth stops despite the speed - obviously a master behind the wheel. It felt like a speeding bullet - hence today's image.