Bus Misadventures all over the place.

So, this morning I took a dry run to work at the time that I'd normally need to go, and after extensive research and much frustration (this city is retarded, I swear) I figured out what I needed to do

So I got up early, ate a Breakfast Of Champions (miniwheats!!!!!) and headed out the door.

I got to the bus stop all nice and early because I didn't want to miss my bus, but getting there nice and early is a bad idea when it's -15C out, let me tell you.

But I waited, and the bus arrived right on time. It was fantastic.

The ride went exactly as planned, and I arrived to the LRT station right on time. The train came 1 minute (literally) after I arrived, and I took it Century Park like a pro.

Then I got a starbucks!! And I'm really jittery 2 hours later.

Back to the LRT I went and took it back to Southgate, and then the real challenge stared me in the face: which bus out of the billion there did I take home.

I knew that my route was either 32 or 33 (both go past my home at one point or another) so I strategically placed myself in the middle of the two so I could see which one came first.

Bus Route 33 came first, and it said Meadows on it, which is the route that I took to get to southgate yesterday, so I was all stoked thinking that I was about to be a champ and get on the right bus the first time.

Wrong.

The bus driver stepped out just as everyone was boarding and I was like "meh, whateva, I know how to get home, I'm the master of the bus routes." So I just sat down and looked official and read my book (Lord of the Flies by Golding. Freaking intense book, btw). But, lo and behold, when I looked up I realized that I was driving past my chiropractor's office. Which is on the other side of town from where I lived.

And I was like, "...oh crap."

So I got up and talked to the driver, who just so happened to be the driver from the day before! The one who was really nice.

I said "So, at this point I'm guessing I took the wrong bus if I wanted to get to Riverbend, right?"

And he laughed at me.

He LAUGHED at ME!

So I laughed too, thinking that if I was nice to him he'd help me get home.

So he told me that I was on the wrong bus, right route.

You see, one bus goes east, and the other goes west.

I needed to go east, and I went west.

Not the best idea.

But he told me to stick around because we were going a little further west, then we'd stop back at Southgate, then we'd be going East (which is home for me).

So I took a seat, and Gary the Bus Driver and I had a jolly good time, talking about everything from God to Mexico to Real estate to popcorn.

It was great.

An hour and 10 minutes after I had first boarded the bus, I was dropped off at my stop.

A ride that was supposed to take 20 minutes took a lot longer than that, but I learned a lot and made friends with someone who has worked on that route for 20 years.

I felt like it was a morning well spent.

I have to leave to go to training at work in a little while, and Gary the Bus Driver even helped me plan my route for the day and told me how not to get lost.

So now I TRULY am Master of Route 32 And 33 (yes, that's now my official title.) and I feel ready to get to work and home safely every day.

This is great.

Now I just need to learn how to get to other places. Namely church.

Maybe tomorrow.

Don't Panic.