![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
an old song
Dec. 2nd, 2003 04:38 pmMy commute usually takes about an hour. If I'm feeling energetic, or the weather is good, or I'm confident of getting the timing exactly right, I walk into the town center to catch the slow bus that stops a fair distance from where I work. (Well, ok. Sometimes I take that route because I want to stop at the pastry shop in the town center.) This morning, I woke up cold and stiff, sore and miserable. If I absolutely HAD to go to work at all, in the first snow of the winter, I wanted the shortest possible commute, minimizing both my own effort and my time outdoors.
So there I was, waiting for the bus that would take me to the subway station to catch the express bus to work. The overall travel time is usually pretty similar, but when the wind-chill is significant, waiting in a subway station is nicer than waiting outdoors. The problem was that the bus didn't come. I waited for 80 minutes without seeing ANY inbound #77 (usually every 5 minutes) or inbound #79 buses (every 12-15 minutes.) I did see a couple of buses that don't usually go near my neighborhood at all, but they were packed full and not stopping...I suspect their drivers were seeking alternate routes "home" around traffic jams.
I finally walked to the town center to catch my non-express bus, worrying all the time that a bus would turn up behind me and I'd miss my chance to ride in and take the express bus. I need not have worried about that. I had another hour's wait for my non-express bus, on which we tried to pack 3 times the usual number of people for a trip that took 3 times longer than usual. (NB: Do not attempt to read _A Suitable Boy_ in a strong wind or on a crowded bus. Removing one mitten does not help that much.) The whole commute ended up taking almost 4 hours. I was woefully underprepared for the whole mess. When I looked out the window before leaving home, it had looked like only a dusting of snow and bit of wind...Now I'm afraid to venture out without my good snowboots and heated mittens before spring.
So there I was, waiting for the bus that would take me to the subway station to catch the express bus to work. The overall travel time is usually pretty similar, but when the wind-chill is significant, waiting in a subway station is nicer than waiting outdoors. The problem was that the bus didn't come. I waited for 80 minutes without seeing ANY inbound #77 (usually every 5 minutes) or inbound #79 buses (every 12-15 minutes.) I did see a couple of buses that don't usually go near my neighborhood at all, but they were packed full and not stopping...I suspect their drivers were seeking alternate routes "home" around traffic jams.
I finally walked to the town center to catch my non-express bus, worrying all the time that a bus would turn up behind me and I'd miss my chance to ride in and take the express bus. I need not have worried about that. I had another hour's wait for my non-express bus, on which we tried to pack 3 times the usual number of people for a trip that took 3 times longer than usual. (NB: Do not attempt to read _A Suitable Boy_ in a strong wind or on a crowded bus. Removing one mitten does not help that much.) The whole commute ended up taking almost 4 hours. I was woefully underprepared for the whole mess. When I looked out the window before leaving home, it had looked like only a dusting of snow and bit of wind...Now I'm afraid to venture out without my good snowboots and heated mittens before spring.
