Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Broke down

Monday, December 28th, 2009, evening

I didn't go home directly after work yesterday. I was meeting my fabulous friend Claire and her mother for dinner @ 7. It wasn't quite enough time to go home, nor was it early enough to go directly there. I ran some errands - Bed, Bath & beyond and my favorite, Goodwill- before heading to the Mission district restaurant, Beretta. On the bus there, we got maybe four stops past the stop at which I had been waiting. We stopped. The passengers wanting that stop got off. And we sat. A noise starting coming from the front of the bus like air coming out of a tire. A lot of air, coming very fast.

We sat for a few moments before the driver announced his supervisor had said to evacuate the bus. Luckily, we were one block away from another bus stop where a 'limited' bus running the same route stopped. I barely had to wait until it stopped. It was then an easy ride to my stop, although we passed a second bus also broken down on the side of the road. On the way home, I got a ride from Claire & her mom, so I didn't risk anymore broken down buses.

Sunday, December 27, 2009

I can read you like an open book.

Sunday, December 27th, 2009

Sadly, today I left Kentucky after a mere two days time there to come back to San Francisco. And again, I didn't really use any public transit. My brother Brandon and his fiance Lisa took me to the airport, and yes, B, we'll leave a little earlier next time. I was not the last to board, but almost all the seats were already filled when I boarded. For some reason, the airport security thought my new necklace from my aunt Lu might be dangerous. Really, only in a bar fight, and I generally don't engage in those on a plane.

The reason I'm posting is that on both legs of my flight, I had my headphones on and was reading the book The Bluegrass Conspiracy. Despite having both headphones which inhibit hearing, and a book that was taking my attention, my seatmates wanted to gab with me. For the most part, that was fine. I don't mind making polite conversations with strangers, but I did wonder what these two men's motivations were.

Now, before you jump to the conclusion that they were hitting on me (and please remember that some of this was at 6am), they were both married, which both informed me of soon into the conversation without me inquiring. It just surprised me that two people had such a strong desire to talk to someone that they decided they would try to talk to someone who was obviously otherwise engaged.

Strange enough, but then, on the shuttle ride to my car, the driver carried on a soliloquy about the ongoing war between shuttle drivers and cab drivers, or at least in his mind there is one. I was glad to get to my car where only the radio would talk to me.

Friday, December 25, 2009

24 hours to Long Drive Farm

Christmas eve/Christmas day

This is not strictly a public transit post, it's a hellish airline transit story. The plan was to fly into Lexington, KY late Christmas eve. A 6am phone call put a stop to that. Instead of the christmas day flight they had re-booked me on, I got a Christmas eve flight into Louisville. Not a big deal as my ride, Brandon & Lisa would be passing that way anyway.

Everything was going smoothly: driving to the park-n-ride, checking in online, dropping off the baggage, going through security. Then, our flight was boarding. And then it wasn't. And then we were delayed. They boarded us anyway so we'd be ready to go at a moments notice. Two hours late, we leave. Again, not a big deal because I had a long layover.

When we got to Dallas, we couldn't land. So we circled and circled andght circled. Eventually we were diverted to houston where the plane refueled. And I swear that instead of taking the straightest path to Dallas, the pilot did loop-to(oops and zigzags across the state of Texas. And the entire time on ground in Houston, I was trying to keep my family informed and make worse case scenario preparations.

We make it to Dallas and as soon as I can, I check for my Louisville flight status. It's been delayed too, but is lifting off as we touch down. Off the plane, I get into line to re-book. Luck of luck, there's a flight in 40 minutes to Cincinnati! It leaves from another terminal but one of those crazy airport carts is flagged down to give me a ride. This is at first a huge relief until I become convinced the driver is treating the whole night as a sleepover because so many people are stranded. I ask him where we're going next, after he's picked up 2 or 3 other passengers and dropped them off, and he says ny terminal. He then drops me off at a set of escalators and tells me I'm still a quarter of a mile from my gate. I run up the escalators, across the moving sidewalks, down the escalators and through the terminal. All the while extremely confused because the signs say terminal D not B where I'm going. Luckily B is right next to D, but don't. Ask me where C is.

Arriving at the correct gate, I overhear the gate agent and a passenger discussing the lack of a flight attendant and possibly a pilot! I get in line (I'm next) and wait. A pushy woman from LA by way of Kentucky comes up and attempts to commandeer my place in line. The gate agent disappears, refusing to make eye contact with me. I forgive him when he returns with the flight attendant. I find out the other folks waiting were kept on a plane for 5(!) Hours before the flight was cancelled. This is their plane out of Dallas which I'm beginning to think is hell. I want on.

The gate agent comes back and I'm able to keep the pushy woman in check without resorting to physical or verbal abuse. I get on the plane. Pushy woman gets on the plane. There is a sense of comaderie especially among the 5 hour people. We all love the flight attendant with his spanish accent. We start to move, but only to the de-icing. It takes nearly 2 hours to be de-iced because one of the trucks break. Finally, as I slip in and out of dreams, hallecinations and dreamless sleep, we take off.

Did I mention that from midmorning California time to well past midnight Kentucky time, I didn't eat? That was awful. We got to Cincinnati at 4:30am. My luggage was still in Dallas but I expected that. I got in line at the terminal to make sure they sent it home, to Long Drive Farm. I get sent elsewhere, but it gets sorted out. I'm beyond exhaustion and I'm not sure I can eat because my stomach hurts so much and has been making funny noises since I had an energy bar a fellow passenger was kind enough to give me. I snooze as I wait until it's a decent hour to text my brother. He texts me first saying they're about to leave louisville. I decide to eat becausw surely that will help? Now, after dried pear, pita chips and chocolate milk, I await the last stretch to get to my old Kentucky home.

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Flattened by the road?


This morning at the bus stop, I noticed lots of perfect, light colored circles in the road. Some of them flapped up with the wind as cars drove by. What were they? They were tortillas! Someone lost an entire pack of tortillas to the bus stop.

Friday, December 18, 2009

Did YOU drink the kool-aid?


I took many modes of public transit today, including the free shuttle to the train station in San Jose. When I ride that shuttle, I try to sit near the front because it's a tight connection to the baby bullet train. The bus was pretty empty when I got on and sat right behind the driver. I was surprised when at the next stop an older guy got on and instead of sitting in the empty back sat right beside me. Not a big deal, but as he sat down I got a whiff of kool-aid smell and then something chemically underneath that smell. The weird grunting he made about half way through the ride really had me wishing he had sat elsewhere and one of the younger, more attractive non-kool-aid smelling men had been able to sit beside me.

The bus ride from the train station also was marked by the sense of smell. Two little girls were sitting with their mom across from me. One had a paper heart covering her nose and the other had a small strip of paper in front of her nostrils. I had no idea what they were. Some kind of H1N1 protection? An arts and crafts project? One of the girls was following asleep - maybe it was to prevent drool? The older girl pulled down her strip and twisted it around so that I could read it said Estee Lauder. They were perfume samples!

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Unannounced Stop

This morning, my bus driver stopped in the middle of the block and left the bus to hug someone she recognized on the street. It didn't take long and then we were back on our way.

Crisis Averted

My last few bus rides have been pretty uneventful. Yesterday, I even got a seat on the homeward bus. I listened to my new playlist which heavily features Reba, thank you very much. Then as I was leaving the bus, a woman sitting near me got my attention and handed me my bus pass which I had apparently dropped. I'm glad she noticed or I would've been very upset this morning.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Ghost Bus

I've been waiting to post the past few days because SF Muni has changed up a bunch of stuff, and I've been waiting to see how it would turn out. The first few days, it was just confusing. Even though I had looked at the website, as I was supposed to, and knew the new routes and new route names, it didn't make sense. Why, when a bus was scheduled to come every 8 minutes, nextbus.com was saying it would be an hour before the next? Why were buses showing up at the stops flashing, 'Not in Service' but taking passengers?

All very confusing. I called Muni yesterday to ask why my bus wasn't coming when it was supposed to, according to nextbus.com. Apparently the buses were coming, but nextbus.com didn't know it.

This afternoon, though, everything worked perfectly. I left work and hustled to the bus stop because nextbus said 7 minutes until the next one home. I wasn't too worried, because in 15 minutes and then in 23 minutes, there would be another. I made it in plenty of time for the bus. When it pulled up, though, I was confused.

Usually my bus is super crowded. This bus was not super crowded. It was the opposite - less than half full (and no, this has nothing to do with my optimism or pessimism). In fact, I was so flabbergasted, I wondered if I was on the right bus? I was, but it certainly felt like a ghost bus. The changes SF Muni made to my route was to help alleviate the crowded-ness, so it looks like it worked. Now, let's just hope it wasn't an anomaly and that my ride home continues to be so easy. Stay tuned for updates.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Can I steal a TicTac from you?

I generally ride the bus or train by myself, as a commuter. Not today!

My friend Carla is visiting from NYC, and we took a bus to North Beach to have brunch with Alicia, a new friend from NYC who is looking to move westward to San Francisco. The three of us, plus Alicia's 2 friends took a bus toward the Mission so she could look at an apartment there. Carla and I sat in front of her, facing sideways. Her friends sat across the aisle from her.

After a few stops, a man got on the bus and comes all the way to the back and sits in the back row that stretches across the entire length of the bus. He effectively was sitting between Alicia and her friends, but a row behind. Alicia's friends directed a question to me or Carla, and we had a cross aisle conversation that Alicia wasn't at that very moment a part of. The stranger, very loudly, asks, "Hey, can I steal a Tic Tac from you?"

We all look at him, he had just asked for a breath mint from Alicia who had just stashed them in her purse. He seemed to realize what a weird thing that was when we all looked at him and apologized for asking, but he still took the Tic Tac.

When we got off the bus, we all agreed it was weird, that he was hitting on Alicia (very poorly) and he probably didn't think all five of us were riding the bus together, and when he did, got shy that he was hitting on one of the five.

Hey, Mister Driver Man

Drive that thing slow

Thursday, December 3rd

I did not ride the bus today. I drove to work in San Jose for some very boring reasons. What was not boring, and was rather unbelievable and scary, was as I was returning home the bus at the bus stop that did not think it prudent to let me pass it, but to instead come dangerously close to hitting me. It did not hit me because I stopped in the middle of the road, looking incredulously at the bus as it passed very very close to my right hand side.

Many Many Many

Wednesday, December 2nd

How many buses did I ride today?
2.

How many trains did I ride today?
2.

How many languages did I hear spoken on said buses & trains?
At least 4.

Monday, November 30, 2009

Broken doors, stairwell secrets

Monday, November 30th, morning and afternoon.

Both buses were crowded and tense today.

This morning, one of the sets of doors broke and the bus driver had to kick everyone off. Luckily, it was only a stop away from my normal stop, so it only added a block or so to my walk. Also, a movement from a Bach cello suite came on my shuffle, so that helped keep me calm.

This afternoon, I barely got on the bus and had to stand in the middle stairwell the entire time. It was fine for the most part except for a very inconsiderate teenage couple sitting on the steps and refusing to move when people needed to get off the bus and yelling at people who bumped into them. This would have been enough, but then I also had to hear them having an entirely way too intimate conversation for a public situation. It made me grumpy. A couple hours later, I'm almost recovered from my grumpiness - the Mariposa brownie I had after dinner might have something to do with that.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

MUNI Pride

Saturday, November 28th, midday & evening

I rode the bus to Golden Gate park to meet my friends Mira & Tony and their adorable puppy Lina. While waiting for a transfer, I saw my friend Tosh across the street.

On my way home, the man standing across from me mostly had his back to me. When he turned around to let someone pass, I saw he had on a MUNI Transformers shirt! Wherever does one get one of those?

Friday, November 27, 2009

A Well-Dressed Puppy

Friday, November 27th, 2009

Took the bus to have brunch with my friend Eleanor @ Kate's Kitchen. A very attractive and well coordinated family (matching clothes & stylish hairdos) got on the bus with a very cute, gold colored puppy in a mesh bag carrier. He had a rhinestone collar. We got off at the same stop.

I find there are certain songs that are perfect to listen to on buses, trains, airplanes. Last time I was in New York, I listened a lot to the Gossip. Today, I found that LCD Soundsystem's Someone Great is perfect for San Francisco's buses.

On the way home, I had just enough time on the transfer to go to the bank, sprint across the street and be the next to last person to board the bus.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Wednesday, November 25th, evening

I rode the bus to Koko Cocktails, where my friend Julia djs once a month with her sweetie Cactus. I was a little anxious because this would be my first solo late night bus trip, and especially with the holiday, I wasn't sure how consistent the buses would be. Plus, my last late night bus trip included a taxi.

On my way back, and on my way there, the transfers went smoothly! Thanks partially to my fancy Droid phone - which I got in part so I could access Nextbus.com- and mainly to Muni, I never waited more than 5 minutes at any one stop.

On one leg back from Koko, a cop got onto the bus. He stood by the driver writing on his pad of paper, then walked to the back and then to the front again. He stayed on through maybe 4 stops before exiting. Everyone watched him go and looked around with raised eyebrows after he was gone.

Wednesday, November 25th, morning

The driver greets every passenger with a smiling, "Good morning!" The passengers who leave through the front door are told, "Have a good day!" and maybe, "Happy Thanksgiving."

Her old high school friend is on board, sitting up front. They gossip about their old friends and what happened back when.

At my stop, she used the microphone, which pipes both inside and outside the bus, to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving.

Tuesday, November 24th, evening

A toddler uses my butt and thigh as a railing while I'm standing as he navigates away from his mother. He giggles that he has run away from his mother.

Monday, November 23rd, evening

A guy falls asleep on my shoulder on the long bus home. As I was texting my brother about it, he wakes up and I have to hide the screen from him.

Friday, November 20th, midday

Perhaps the most exciting bus event yet!

I saw a proposal on the bus.

A man got on the bus and greeted a woman he hadn't seen in a while. They chat. He kneels in the aisle and takes her hand. She laughs. She doesn't say no, exactly, but she declines. They make plans to meet up a party later that day. He gets off the bus, but not before running back to kiss her on the cheek twice.

Saturday, November 14th, evening

My friend Debbie invited me to go to a wedding reception downtown with her. It was a fancy cocktail party. I took this as an invitation to wear my best green party dress - vintage tafetta, thank you very much.She was also wearing a beautiful, fancy dress, though her's was in blue and I don't have a picture. We were both wearing heels. We wanted to ride the bus downtown, but were apprehensive about riding the bus alone from our respective neighborhoods. She drove over to my house so we could ride the bus together. The bus was near empty, the woman across the aisle from us was applying make-up and no one blinked an eye at us.

We took a taxi home, because we missed the last bus.

Undated Events

I watched a full moon rise over the city. It was dusk and the sky was purple. I smiled in the artificial light of the bus and felt happy. I fell in love again with San Francisco, and was so glad that I moved here.

A couple got into a fight on the bus. She was sitting in the front and went to the middle of the bus where the joint was (it was one of the double long buses that has the weird circular platform connecting the two) to confront him. Was this the start or was it a continuance of something? She came back to the front of the bus after everyone scattered and the bus driver was alerted. A woman lectured her, telling her to be calm. The driver stopped the bus. He started it again. He stopped it again and the couple got off the bus. No one outside of the couple harmed. Everyone shook up.

Why blog?

This blog is to record my experiences on SF public transit. I use the buses to work everyday, and the Caltrain some days. I use the bus, BART, street trains (or whatever the J, F, K, etc lines are called) to get around the city.

I've only been living in the city for a month and a half, and already I've seen some notable events. I was texting with my brother about them, and told him I would only post on Facebook about the positive ones when I realized they are all important and I want to talk, share and hear from other about all of them.

I won't be talking much about specific routes for paranoid internet safety reasons, but if you want to know, just ask me!