I flopped onto the couch and half laughed, half sighed, "It's a long story."
Walking
I'm a late bloomer when it comes to transportation. I didn't get my driver's license until I was 18, I still don't have a car and I'm chronically challenged with directions. When I was making my debut into the world (aka my day of being birthed), I kept trying to come out sideways. Even then I was bad at directions.
Thus, I have become well acquainted with the art of walking. This puts me on the same level as Elizabeth Bennet, Steve Jobs, Henry David Thoreau and Ellen DeGeneres' grandma.
Perks to walking:
There are lots, but I'll just condense it down to this: It forces me to slow down and actually appreciate life.
Today was not a perk day.
I Did a Dumb Thing
Alright, so today was my first day of "freedom" from grad school. I didn't know what to do with myself. I'm sick so I probably should have just taken a nap.
However, my mind thought, "Hey, Julia, you know what would be a good idea? Let's go to DI" (East Coast translation: Good Will).
I parried back with "Why? What do I need from DI?"
My mind, always quick on the draw, responded with a logically sound argument. She said, "National Geographic magazines and summer dresses"
I couldn't argue with that.
So despite the 45 minute walk time that google maps estimated, I waltzed out the door armed with my purse, my best 97 cent walking flip flops and "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien.
My energy and good intentions started to wane about 15 minutes out. My throat started to hurt because apparently walking when you're sick makes your throat hurt? That was a new one for me.
Just as I was about to admit defeat, turn around and take a nap, I saw a bus!
A bus! I know how to navigate a bus! and that would save me from this whole walking thing. Not only do I know how to navigate a bus, I had to use the bus for the whole month of March, so I'm basically the Indiana Jones of buses.
Feeling pretty proud of myself for being so street savvy, I sauntered onto the bus.
There is this game that you can play while you ride the bus. At least I play it, I'm not sure if anyone else does.
It's called "Let's not look at the bus schedule, let's just guess when you have to get off and hope that it's the closest stop to your destination." Terrible name for a game, I know. I'll gladly take suggestions for a new title.
Bus stops don't really have a rhyme or a reason. There could be two within 50 feet of each other, or it could be a mile before there is another bus stop.
As I get close to my destination, I gamble on which stop is the closest and when I think I can't get any closer without going past my destination, I pull the yellow cord to let the driver know I want to get off. It's surprisingly stressful and exhilarating.
There have been many times that I thought to myself "crap, too early" as I exit smiling and waving to the bus driver.
On this particular day, I was playing my game. Only I thought I knew exactly where the bus was headed. I was calm, cool, collected and confidant. The bus was at a light and I was looking left because that's where I needed to go. Really slowly, the bus started to veer to the right.
It dawned on me: I've been betrayed!
No matter, I waved my hand in my mind, the bus usually takes the least logical route to get somewhere so we'll probably take a little detour and then end up where I need to be. I picked up where I had left off in my book.
Half an hour later and in the town north of where I live, it became clear that the bus was not going to be near my stop again for a long time. I determined to just keep reading my book until I got back to near my house.
An hour and a half later I got dropped off where I had been picked up and I made my way home.
I had spent $2.50 to go essentially no where. However, I had gotten through about 90 pages in my book.
Sometimes you just have to laugh :) And I'm lucky enough to have roommates that laughed with me.
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