tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58222962011-04-21T15:28:36.295-07:00Bus-riding adventures of the savvy commuter...A catalogue of some of the more interesting encounters I have while riding San Francisco's MUNI everyday. Believe me, it's never a dull ride...
aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comBlogger811100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1104865266204610982005-01-04T10:55:00.000-08:002005-01-04T11:01:06.206-08:00Happy New Year, happy new blog. Or some such thing. Greetings and salutations for a glorious 2005, everyone.
Been home for a month, working for a certain purveyor of soaps, etc. and riding the buses and trains of San Francisco near every day.
Sometimes I notice things in life changing constantly and without pause for reflection; one of these is the 38, which, though never quite the same twice, aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1087960416992127812004-06-22T20:05:00.000-07:002004-06-22T20:23:53.416-07:00The savvy commuter regrets to inform you that she no longer lives in San Francisco...Instead she is working hard in a swing state to defeat George Bush, and invites you to read about her adventures at her new blog, Tales from a Swing State, which you can find at www.talesfromaswingstate.blogspot.com.The buses in San Francisco and their riders are now free to carry on their freakiness and aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1087410049805396282004-06-16T10:56:00.000-07:002004-06-16T17:33:22.750-07:00Happy Bloomsday, everybody! Do something fabulous to celebrate it.
I just heard a guy on NPR say that our leaders have found themselves stuck between Iraq and a hard place.
Pretty good. Pretty good...Surprised I hadn't heard that earlier. Had you?
In bus news, I got on a 38L the other morning and found a seat in the accordian belt. A grandfather and grandchild sat across from me. I aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1087251203105825032004-06-14T14:40:00.000-07:002004-06-16T17:34:27.406-07:00One of my favorite things is to start a new journal. Something about that initial quick flash of ink on a blank page is pure joy. I love it. There is also, of course, the added satisfaction of finishing a journal. Thumbing through my most recently completed one, I came across a bunch of things I had jotted down but never posted. So, in no particular order, here goes:
**********************aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1086893503367172412004-06-10T11:32:00.000-07:002004-06-16T10:46:31.503-07:00Let's hear it for the absurd:
The non-profit I work for is looking for donations of desks and lamps, stuff for the office. We're growing and trying to accomodate four more people in the office than we had two weeks ago.
Anyhow, we have been posting ads on Craigslist and this site called Freecycle. This reply came in this morning and I am too disturbed by it not to share:
"[I have a] fittedaimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1086814795297629372004-06-09T13:50:00.000-07:002004-06-09T13:59:55.296-07:00Dearest readers,
This article touched me as it displays one of the greatest chasms between people--the simple absence of basic listening skills. If we all just made an effort to listen and respond accordingly, don't you think we could overcome many of the hard-core lines so often drawn around us? I do. Anyhow, this comes courtesy of a contact in Santa Clarita, who is a tireless advocate for aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1086736933242398192004-06-08T15:59:00.000-07:002004-06-16T10:47:52.640-07:00A very special group of fifth graders that I have had the priveledge of working with this year had their promotion this morning. I'm really proud of these kids--they're bright, insightful and renew my hope for tomorrow. Congratulations, Room 301! You and Ms. Tam deserve a round of high fives.
It was my honor to be there at their promotion this morning, but not an honor having to break my aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1086375758880059862004-06-04T12:00:00.000-07:002004-06-16T10:50:43.720-07:00This morning I left my house at about 8:30am and headed towards that pillar of concrete bisecting the city, Geary Blvd. The first neighbor I met on my walk was a man with white hair and wrinkles dressed head to toe in leather. From his cap on down to the tip of his booted feet, and almost every inch in between, he was wearing tight black leather. At 8:30 in the morning. I thought about how aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1086299985519771042004-06-03T14:29:00.000-07:002004-06-16T10:52:30.543-07:00It's been brought to my attention that my blog looks like "it threw up on itself" when viewed in certain browsers. Don't know what to do about that except to say sorry for any offense, and I'll try to get my blog a rag to wipe itself, but it looks ok to me.
I arrived at work this morning with the sad realization that my March for Women's Lives button had not finished the journey with me. It aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1086215540494283652004-06-02T15:05:00.000-07:002004-06-16T10:48:25.426-07:00Welcome to June, everybody! Isn't it hard to believe we're in the middle of 2004?
Aboard the 38L this morning, I stood by the very back door for about 10 minutes and casually absorbed the conversation of a couple standing next to me. Both were from New York, and were comparing public transpotation in that metropolis with that of this one.
The girl, dressed in a baby blue terry-cloth aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1085604094320674752004-05-26T13:10:00.000-07:002004-06-16T10:49:02.050-07:00My dear friend Abby, who on Monday turned 25, is an avid rider of the buses in Columbus, Ohio, and asked that my running list of bus gripes be amended to include fraternity boys and sorority girls in her town who do not give up their seats for elderly and handicapped riders.
What an outrage! Lazy, inconsiderate mongrols!
Here in my own town, it's against the law to stay seated when an aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1085162669243657802004-05-21T10:53:00.000-07:002004-06-16T10:50:07.583-07:00aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1085097758611117152004-05-20T16:48:00.000-07:002004-06-03T14:27:44.190-07:00aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1085002608465384572004-05-19T14:22:00.000-07:002004-06-03T14:28:16.923-07:00aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1084909117285991202004-05-18T12:37:00.000-07:002004-06-16T10:56:07.426-07:00“If there’s such a thing as love, I’ve caught it.”
~From the new Magnetic Fields, “I”
“Remember what I told you—If they hated me, they will hate you . . . These are dangerous days. To say what you feel is to dig your own grave. Remember what I told you….if you are were of their world, they would love you.”
~Sinead O’Connor, “black boys on mopeds”
All that I tell is true:
I got off theaimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1084574223973144222004-05-14T15:20:00.000-07:002004-06-03T14:29:09.503-07:00aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1083352203245548392004-04-30T12:10:00.000-07:002004-05-14T15:19:59.933-07:00aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1083351217789093902004-04-30T11:53:00.000-07:002004-04-30T15:15:10.700-07:00Well, it's over.
Four months of my life, 780 pages, and countless rides on the 38 Geary and every other line I ride, and "The Royal Family" is finally finished. And thank goodness for it! Not that it wasn't an amazing read, and some of the descriptions of Vollmann's San Francisco brought tears to my eyes, but jeesh--being a voyeur to "the life," the phrase used to describe prostitution, is aaimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1082154954453105922004-04-16T15:35:00.000-07:002004-05-19T14:22:46.203-07:00Yesterday morning I got on a 38L headed downtown and slid into a single seat towards the back. I love these seats the best (don't we all?). It made my morning to score one. So I sat down and slipped into my novel as if it were a little black dress. I've been reading "The Royal Family" by William T. Vollmann. I've been working on this since January. A slow reader by nature, my lethargy has aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1081469759702375132004-04-08T17:15:00.000-07:002004-04-08T17:18:45.123-07:00A small sampling of some of my bus rides lately....
*While boarding a 24 Divisadero on March 31st, I flashed my April Fast Pass to the driver.
"Excuse me, Miss," she said, "but it's March, and so I can't accept that as payment."
"No problem," I replied, pulling my March pass from behind it's despot.
Some drivers can be real sticklers. Others, however, can be the coolest. The very next aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1080686301791232012004-03-30T14:38:00.000-08:002004-03-30T14:40:57.750-08:00The busride this morning was like a dream. A 38L pulled up to the stop just as I reached it, a blessing in this morning's rain. We all filed in and I found a seat along the wall between two nice, normal ladies interested in reading their books as silently as I was interested in reading mine. They didn't smell, cough, or encroach. I fancied myself very lucky, indeed. The bus was almost full, aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1080249361341622782004-03-25T13:16:00.000-08:002004-03-25T13:18:32.590-08:00Well, if any of you are still reading this after my most recent lapse, many thanks to you, indeed. I'd also like to give a shout out to Electrospeck, who once again, saved my blog from my evil tampering with its template....thanks to him, we're back in business.
First order of business: Tonight, MUFF (that's Many United For Feminism) is hosting a fundraiser to help offset the costs of travelaimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1078357926152979282004-03-03T15:52:00.000-08:002004-03-03T15:54:15.873-08:00It passed! Prop I passed with about 70% of the vote!
Way to go, San Francisco--I'm so proud of you!!
More later, folks, but thank you to all of you out there who made this happen. MUNI will now be accountable BY LAW to clean up its act. I couldn't be happier!aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1077839555344546932004-02-26T15:52:00.000-08:002004-02-26T16:27:50.200-08:00Dear San Francisco Voter,
I love MUNI. This may be apparent. I also love clean air. I especially love the idea of a combined effort to get rid of MUNI's dirty diesels and implement up-to-date technologies. Folks--let's make this happen by passing Prop. I next week!
Find out more info at www.yesoni.net
For those who can and want to, there is a chance to volunteer this weekend to help get aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1077826814787468402004-02-26T12:20:00.000-08:002004-02-26T12:29:21.246-08:00Last night I took the J over to Noe Valley about 6:30pm. I love the J because of one particular spot, where it passes by the backside of a bunch of houses somewhere between Dolores Park and 24th Street. This section of the ride has caught my attention before, and for a small minute as the train rolls past, I imagine I live in another city. Maybe Chicago.
When I was in Chicago last summer, aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1077736301836617562004-02-25T11:11:00.000-08:002004-02-25T11:13:44.090-08:00Readers may recall that for my 25th birthday, I decided to become an adult. Or at least engage in adult behavior like wearing a watch and carrying an umbrella for the rain.
The watch is still with me, but since my birthday on the 5th of this month, I've blown through three umbrellas. Two were literally blown from me in separate gales, and of the third's whereabouts I have no idea. Today I aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1077735807308869082004-02-25T11:03:00.000-08:002004-02-25T17:26:19.640-08:00My friend Abby lives in Columbus, OH and sent me this story about the bus adventures there....
"tonight when i got on the bus (with my friends jeremy, jason p. and jason s.) it was packed so i stood by the back door for a while. eventually, two spots were free on the bench seat parallel to the sides of the bus. so, my friend jason s. and i sat down. immediately the gentleman to my left aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1077647181356853982004-02-24T10:26:00.000-08:002004-02-24T10:28:22.373-08:00Today I had the sunny seat in the furthest corner of the 38. It was a great ride downtown, the city outside the bus sparkly and bright. I read a letter from a friend and tried to write a postcard back, but felt too distracted.
A man got on and sat next to me and his odor settled in around him, an encompassing fog.
Pugnacious foul odor, I thought to myself. I don't know exactly what aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1076961789840152322004-02-16T12:03:00.000-08:002004-02-17T13:20:41.513-08:00aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1076618645581960662004-02-12T12:44:00.000-08:002004-02-12T12:45:54.436-08:00Readers will be happy to learn that both Mitzy and her owner are alive and kicking around the Peet's on First and Market. I just saw that notorious pair when I ran out to get my lunch. The owner fraternized with the bike messengers hanging out in the plaza while Mitzy napped in a shopping cart near by.
Anyway, last night I had one of my writing groups' meetings in Noe Valley. Afterwards, I aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1075942770661317302004-02-04T16:59:00.000-08:002004-02-04T17:01:11.390-08:00Having left an important document I needed for work this afternoon at home, I zipped there and back on a 38L. I didn't mind this little detour one bit, as I was able to read my book for about an hour more. As the bus slid back downtown, we hit a stall at Jones. Traffic was being funneled through the intersection, and the whole block of Jones between Geary and O'Farrell was blocked off with aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1075844733148011852004-02-03T13:45:00.000-08:002004-02-04T12:21:13.733-08:00aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1075016686901634332004-01-24T23:44:00.000-08:002004-02-04T12:19:35.700-08:00A vignette....
Today I rode a 44 O'Shaughnessy from 6th and California to 9th and Judah. A small old lady got on somewhere in the Richmond. Her body was shaped like the letter C, with her head drooping lower than her shoulders, out of which sprouted a mound like a gopher's. She had wiry gray hair that leapt and reached in every direction but down, and into this she had inserted clips at aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1074815513199816112004-01-22T15:51:00.000-08:002004-01-24T23:10:39.546-08:00Today as I sat at the bus stop I can often be found sitting in, which happens to be the alpha and omega for the 33 line, which is the only MUNI line to run on that part of Sacramento Street, I observed a bus creep up to the stop, let out a whining "whhooosh" sound, and take a break. This is common. The drivers usually hop out and then zip into California Pacific Medical Center to use the aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1074734717859633602004-01-21T17:25:00.000-08:002004-01-21T17:26:45.110-08:00Today I found a seat on the N Judah close to the back doors of the first train. I nestled into the book I am currently enjoying, The Royal Family, by William T. Vollman. I got on at Cole and Carl, and soon enough we were sucked through the tunnel and deposited at Duboce and Noe, right off of Duboce Park. I looked up briefly to see the toddlers and dogs playing, and then continued reading. aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1074637654137319942004-01-20T14:27:00.000-08:002004-01-20T14:28:59.420-08:00On Sunday night, after a friend's bon voyage party off of Alamo Square, the friend who I attended the party with and I made our way to Haight Street, close to where he lives and from where I needed to catch the 33. The dream he is, my friend waited with me at the bus stop on Clayton and Haight. We had McVities' Ginger Snaps and a Cadbury Boost Bar to pass the time with--these are British treatsaimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1074210501549944912004-01-15T15:48:00.000-08:002004-01-20T14:47:37.623-08:00Everything happens for a reason.
Had I not stayed later at work than I should have last night, I would not have been in such a rush to get to the Mission for my writing group. Had I not been in the Mission, I would not have had the delicious burrito I did while at said writing group. Had I not stopped to get this burrito, I would not have had need to be on Valencia and 20th at exactly 7:02 aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1074133596843138172004-01-14T18:26:00.000-08:002004-01-14T18:27:57.216-08:00I'll turn 25 on 2-5 this year, and have declared that to be my platinum birthday. Special K turns 27 on 2-7, that Saturday, and dammit, we're celebrating. Stay tuned for details. Or don't, and go ahead and miss one great party. (Tentative theme: Paris, 1920's--come dressed as your favorite ex-pat. I'm thinking Zelda Fitzgerald here.) I'm also thrilled to bits about my family's gift to me, aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1074026326843936332004-01-13T12:38:00.000-08:002004-01-13T12:40:05.983-08:00Waiting at the bus stop at Arguello and Geary this morning, I passed the time, as I often do, by examining the MUNI map posted inside the bus shelter. There were two other persons at the stop, a woman with an empty stroller, and an elderly gentleman dressed all in white, from his windbreaker on down to his velcro sneakers. "Good morning!" He boomed as he walked up to the shelter. "Hello," I aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1073857025505017242004-01-11T13:37:00.000-08:002004-01-11T13:38:22.733-08:00It's been a week now since PangPang left San Francisco to move to Southern California, and I miss her something fierce. Last night, in fact, I began to cry at a bar as her boyfriend, John, and I commiserated. He patted my shoulder and offered to take me to get a slice of pizza to cheer us both up. I spoke to her today, though, and she says hello to everyone....
In other news, I am now aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1073334853262685462004-01-05T12:34:00.000-08:002004-01-05T12:48:13.466-08:00In a not-so-surprising twist of fate, as is pretty common happenings in my life, I've seen the obese lady and Mitzy three times in the past week. Not on the bus, thankfully, but out in the open, right in the heart of downtown San Francisco.
The first time was just a day or two after the incident on the 1. I spied them across the street from the Peet's I was departing, latte in hand.
The aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-107221657152201682003-12-23T13:56:00.000-08:002003-12-23T13:57:10.360-08:00Seen on the 1 California recently:
An obese lady gets on the bus with her pit bull. Now, having known several very loving pits in my life, I'm not one to disdain them. But this rambunctuous pup, Mitzy, (as we all learned when her owner began shouting, "Mitzy!! Heal, girl, HEAL!! You hear me?? HEAL!!" ) is barking and hopping all around, until she is violenty yanked down the aisle by said aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1071603965720382432003-12-16T11:46:00.000-08:002003-12-16T11:46:56.873-08:00What, pray tell, is the deal with the Gestapo-like situation on the N Judah these days? I haven't been on it in two weeks without having to show my "proof of payment" to a cop each time. Every time this happens to me, I am reminded of a the very sad day after Thanksgiving, 1996, when my then-best friend and I parked her Volvo at Stonestown and hopped on an M train downtown to start our aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1071173858263538782003-12-11T12:17:00.000-08:002003-12-11T12:18:24.873-08:00While still mourning the very-near loss of Matt's campaign (still sporting my buttons, folks), I have to acknowledge that it was damn close, and for him to have pulled off such a rock-solid effort in only a few months, against a political machine which outspent him 10 to 1, and who was endorsed by such Dem biggies as Clinton and Gore, is highly impressive and extremely heartening.
Alas, I aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1070921138640119562003-12-08T14:05:00.000-08:002003-12-08T14:06:22.513-08:00It's election day tomorrow folks, and the producers of this blog would like to remind you to GET OUT AND VOTE!!!
Matt for Mayor! Woohoo!!
Harris for DA! (thought slightly more luke-warm)
Which reminds me....For those non-residents of San Francisco, there is a heated mayoral campaign going on. It's Gavin Newsom the yuppified puppet of the current mayor versus Matt Gonzalez, the Green Golden aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1070572511325706382003-12-04T13:15:00.000-08:002003-12-04T13:15:51.110-08:00Yesterday was PangPang's birthday, and we celebrated with wine, pizza and the OC last night. That Peter Gallagher really is one scary dude. Anyway, I woke up this morning with a cold--the exact cold, I believe, that everyone else in town has. Groaning, I sniffled my way out the door and to the 38 stop on Geary and Arguello. As a general rule, I enjoy the bus. I have seen some gross stuff, aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1069799805117413412003-11-25T14:36:00.000-08:002003-11-25T14:37:15.763-08:00Today I got on a 33 with only one other person on it. I did a double-take before realizing that it actually was NOT the weird lady from the Old Navy ads, you know--the one with the dog and huge round glasses, but may well have been her twin sister or at the very least, her stunt double. About the same age and coloring, she had the same round glasses and an enourmous orange basket with her, out aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1069456805453561862003-11-21T15:20:00.000-08:002003-11-21T15:20:32.420-08:00THIS JUST IN!
PangPang called to report it took her over an hour to get from Polk Street to California and 4th Ave. on the 1 California line today. (For readers who may be unaware, this usually takes about 15 minutes) The reason? An intrepid Jetta tried to squeeze in front of the bus and got mangled up in the bike rack. Silly Jetta.
Just more proof of the adage, "You mess with the bull, aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1069451651568407782003-11-21T13:54:00.000-08:002003-11-25T14:14:50.543-08:00aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1069378221305409262003-11-20T17:30:00.000-08:002003-11-21T10:39:16.560-08:00The nose-picking disgustoid was on the N again recently. And she remembered me. I had the ill fortune of finding a seat right across from her, and as I sat down my heart sank realizing this. No matter that I promptly placed my own nose in a book--the knowledge that HER nose with her finger crammed up in it was not three feet away sickened me. She continued her vile program of examining the aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1069136086360232822003-11-17T22:14:00.000-08:002003-11-17T22:15:09.733-08:00Aloha, friends--that is, if anyone out there is even still reading this after my lapse. But I've been in Hawaii for a while, and when I wasn't there, I was working 12 hours a day preparing for Hawaii, and when I wasn't doing that, I was fretting in my sleep about Hawaii. (I was sent there by my job to perform a magic trick). Anyhow, I'm back, and I'll be on the 38 tomorrow.
The question I'maimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1067990596268110312003-11-04T16:03:00.000-08:002003-11-04T16:03:14.893-08:00My life has been pretty much a non-stop action adventure flick these past few weeks, so blogging has been demoted on my list of things to do. Sorry for any inconvenience this may pose.
A small tidbit, though, that made me so happy but does not include anything related to the bus:
Yesterday, certain business drew me to the Peninsula. I was in San Bruno and starving, so I paid a visit to aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1067392581329955732003-10-28T17:56:00.000-08:002003-10-28T17:56:20.906-08:00I. Am. So. Tired.
And I even went to bed early last night. But working half a day and then chaperoning a field trip for 10th-graders and then coming back to work to finish up will take it out of you.
Continuing on in my quest to dismantle the ruts growing in my life, I walked down to Fulton today and took the 5 Fulton all the way to work. Such a nice morning here in San Francisco....for aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1067031453350507382003-10-24T14:37:00.000-07:002003-10-24T14:37:31.750-07:00A note about honking....
Horns should have their own licenses. People should have to go through horn training courses along with their driver's ed, and have to pass both written and real-life tests in order to have a horn installed in their cars and the ability to use it.
Example of good horn use: You're driving down the freeway and notice the person in the next lane is asleep at the wheelaimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1066941858262251182003-10-23T13:44:00.000-07:002003-10-23T13:44:17.800-07:00Feeling the walls of a rut forming around me, I decided to take some action and switch up my routine a bit. On Monday I took the 21 Hayes home, and on Tuesday I took the 6 Parnassas. Far from revolutionary, I know, but Rome wasn't built in a day.
Yesterday was the first day in months that I did not ride the bus at all. Not once. I had to drive to work, so I drove home, too, and when I was aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1066780879531842472003-10-21T17:01:00.000-07:002003-10-21T17:01:19.650-07:00So, today, another bone the N did throw, but I, being a louse, didn't catch it. The bone sailed right past me out the sliding door and tumbled away somewhere along the subway tracks.....
Oh, well. Think I'll go take some photographs of spiderwebs instead....
Yes, there's a longer story, and no, I'm not going to share it. The moral is this, though--when you see a cutie, and you're feeling aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1066690134449400982003-10-20T15:48:00.000-07:002003-10-20T15:48:53.950-07:00Today on the N lots of exciting things happened. There was the disgusting person across from me who picked her nose all the way to Montgomery Station. Not discreetly, either. No, she was quite open about her shoved finger up inside her nostril, wiggling it around into the deepest corners, the didget inserted up until her second knuckle. She would occasionally take it out, examine the aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1066430417257553472003-10-17T15:40:00.000-07:002003-10-17T15:40:16.846-07:00Leaving my house today in no particular hurry to get the office, I decided to walk a goodly portion of the way there. It was a sparkly morning, gorgeous and autumnal. Besides, I had to return "Mystery Train" to the video store. Fabulous movie, in case you're looking for one. I watched it three times this week, and found it more and more brilliant each time. Greeting the sunlight, I decided aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1066075086645486512003-10-13T12:58:00.000-07:002003-10-13T12:58:05.960-07:00This past week I have had a very good friend in town, and we've been out on the town, so to speak, every single night. Last night we thought we'd take it easy and have a scant four or so beers at the 540 Club on Clement. We walk in just as the premier viewing of "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" is being cued up on the big screen. Neither of us having seen it (the original, mind you--not some weird aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1065827044850807242003-10-10T16:04:00.000-07:002003-10-10T16:24:27.940-07:00Having just read this entry by chuckles at the chucklehut, I am filled with a sick weight: I am a bad, bad person and am truly ashamed at myself for seeking out a freak show when all that would turn up would be a man living out a life harder than I could ever imagine or would even be capable of. I'm off to flog myself now, and edit my posts that have included this brave man.
aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1065822007330648702003-10-10T14:40:00.000-07:002003-10-10T14:40:06.913-07:00Today I got on the 1 California and offered a chipper, "Good morning!" to the driver. He replied with a grunt and didn't even look at me, nor my fast pass. Whatever. That's fine. So you're rude and happen to be driving the bus I'm on. I can deal. As I moved down the aisle, however, I noticed how entirely quiet the bus was. There were a lot of people on it, too, but I found a seat next to aaimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1065730857935933212003-10-09T13:20:00.000-07:002003-10-17T11:30:33.000-07:00aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1065654641885506472003-10-08T16:10:00.000-07:002003-10-08T16:27:43.620-07:00Before I was at my current job(s) I worked as a case manager at a housing program for HIV+ adults in San Mateo County. Once in awhile, I had to go on home visits for clients who were too sick to come into our office to see me. On one such home visit, I entered my client's room where he lay, bedridden, and the second I did, I was smacked in the face with the smell of death.
Have you ever aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1065555811400219562003-10-07T12:43:00.000-07:002003-10-14T15:12:36.646-07:00While waiting for the N train, I observed this note scrawled in pink chalk on the sidewalk next to the bus shelter:
This is me moving on--
your way Rebecca
Nokia--N--Gage
Anyone. Anywhere.
What the eff? I thought. How bizarre. People have interesting motives for their actions, and I'm sure that note had great significance and value to its writer....But who the heck is Rebecca and is she aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1065473251217992452003-10-06T13:47:00.000-07:002003-10-07T17:13:38.763-07:00More hilarity on the 33.....
So, I was riding over to the Haight with two friends last night. At Haight and Stanyan a dude got on with his backpack and this very large, gnarled wooden walking stick covered partly in leopard-print fabric, and took a seat right across from me. Perhaps he was just now getting home from Burning Man?
"Cool stick," I said, meaning it. You don't just see a stick aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1065211803681653712003-10-03T13:10:00.000-07:002003-10-07T17:13:46.560-07:00Today as I waited for the N Judah I talked to my friend T-Bird on the phone. He lives in the lovely city of Grand Rapids, Michigan. I was complaining to him about how cold it has been here this week, and he laughed and said, "What's 'cold'?"
"Oh, it's been in the 50's I think," I replied.
Laughing, he informed me that it has already snowed there, and the current temperature right that aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1065126295506609862003-10-02T13:24:00.000-07:002003-10-07T17:13:58.060-07:00And now, dear friends, gather round for a bit of shameless self promotion....
My pals Pat and Matt write for Bike Magazine, and have been on assignment following the "Heavy Pedal Tour" (I know, I know--tres clever). They crashed with my roomies and me for a few days last month and you can read about it here. That is, if you care to.
Moving onto public transportation issues....
Can loud aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1065037327414797442003-10-01T12:42:00.000-07:002003-10-14T15:09:09.133-07:00This morning I went back to high school....
and it really wasn't as unpleasant as I remember it being. I started my 826 Valencia volunteer gig at Galileo today, working with sophomores on their composition and editing skills. This is all very new and exciting to me, the least of which being that I have to take a new route to get there. I boarded the 47 Van Ness this morning at about 7:20, aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1064951368428489982003-09-30T12:49:00.000-07:002003-10-25T11:26:12.493-07:00aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1064950899859997262003-09-30T12:41:00.000-07:002003-10-14T15:10:37.710-07:00Well, there really wasn't anything very exciting going on today on the N. Except hordes of people dressed in orange and Giants gear. It was actually rather endearing to see the camaraderie of the fans--everyone was so excited and giddy. An old man and a gansta-dude were chatting together, a business man was explaining the play-off system to an indie rocker, the dude next to me was glued to theaimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1064904713116470362003-09-29T23:51:00.000-07:002003-09-29T23:51:53.333-07:00well, goodbye cruel world.
or so said my blog at 11:49pm on the sad evening of september 29th.
i don't know what i did.
i had the best intentions....i set out to add comments and now look what i've done. i've deleted my blog.
once i figure out what the hell happened and how i go on from here, i may republish the vignettes. i have drafts of them saved in my journals. but, bloody hell, aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1064904225890324412003-09-29T23:43:00.000-07:002003-10-14T15:06:26.716-07:00oh, aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1064903812939417122003-09-29T23:36:00.000-07:002003-09-29T23:36:52.720-07:00ok.....looks like i got the blog back. but now my name and the time and stuff is missing.
oh, fun.
learning blogger basics on my own....who ever thought messing with a "template" would be so exhausting and exciting all at once? not me, said aimee, at 11:37pm
aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1064903405402493332003-09-29T23:30:00.000-07:002003-09-29T23:30:05.240-07:00holy crap--well, that really sucks.
in my lame attempts to add comments to my page, i have inadvertantly deleted over half my blog. sorry for any inconvenience this may cause the reader just dying to hear the one about fishy/kitty again.....
bugger! i don't know what the heck i'm doing here. let's try all this again.....or just scrap the whole damn thing and start over. any advice and/or aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1064867780120968692003-09-29T13:36:00.000-07:002003-10-10T16:23:49.380-07:00Late-night special
After an interesting evening spent at a Soma art party with a dear friend, she and I hopped on a 38 Geary Owl at Union Square and nestled into seats along the wall just this side of its accordian belt. There was a regular on the bus sitting right across from me. Though I couldn't place him, I know I've seen him before. We gave one another nods of awknowledgement, a sign ofaimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1064616628159358402003-09-26T15:50:00.000-07:002003-10-14T15:14:55.006-07:00A friend of mine wrote me to relay in interesting experience he once witnessed on the L Taraval train. Reportedly, an elderly Russian woman and an elderly Chinese woman duked it out over a seat. This, I can imagine, would be quite a sight to see. I was reminded instantly of an exchange I witnessed last week on the 4 Sutter, headed downtown. We all know that the first seats are reserved for aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1064607058676866082003-09-26T13:10:00.000-07:002003-09-26T13:10:58.690-07:00Dear readers, I do apologize for my negligence in spell-checking....aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1064606898157041202003-09-26T13:08:00.000-07:002003-09-26T13:08:18.210-07:00Lest you think this blog is dedicated only to experiences on the 33 (which, ok, so far, it is), please read on:
I actually ride lots of lines. I can be found regularally on the 1 California, the 4 Sutter, the N Judah, and of late, the 14 Mission (full of crazies!) and the 24 Divisadero. I also hop on the 38 Geary--that slow beast with its accodian belt--and the 5 Fulton from time to time. I aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1064520771562812392003-09-23T12:40:00.000-07:002003-10-14T15:02:57.046-07:00. aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1063827976390355632003-09-17T12:46:00.000-07:002003-09-17T12:46:15.850-07:00I got on an empty 33 today, which is my favorite line to ride. First of all, it has the nicest drivers, and second of all, it has an amazing route which will take one from Presidio Heights to Potrero Hill, offering its riders staggering views and hairpin turns. Anyway, I was chatting with the driver when we pulled up to a stop and a woman in a powder blue polyester pantsuit boarded. She had a aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5822296.post-1063757582641361922003-09-16T17:13:00.000-07:002003-09-16T17:13:02.810-07:00Hey, hello, and thank you, wherever you might be, for stopping in to read some of the highlights of my commuting adventures....This sounds, admittedly, a little self-indulgent, but then, isn't the concept of a blog a bit self-indulgent in the first place? Furthermore, I live in San Francisco, home to both the world's freakiest freaks and nicest people. So....that said, sit back, please don't aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05291499463227812211noreply@blogger.com