It's been three weeks now since I started taking the bus for the large part of my journey to and from work. I'm pleased to find that the morning trip is very consistently a little under an hour. However, the evening trip is another story- while some days have been just about an hour, the past two nights have been about two hours, due to traffic. This is not a long journey we're talking about, distance-wise. When city traffic gets bad, there's nowhere else to go. The other day (not one of the two hour days, even; just a regular evening commute), the bus was going real slow, and I figured that since I was going to the library right down the street, I could get out a few blocks ahead and just walk. So I did- got off the bus, walked over to the library, picked up my books, went back outside and waited about 10 minutes for my bus. The bus pulls up- and it's the SAME BUS I GOT OFF OF. Same driver, same passengers. Things can get ugly.

In addition to slow traffic, a crowded bus is another issue to contend with. I waited about 20 minutes to get on a bus tonight, and when it arrived, it was so crowded near the front door that I just snuck in the back. THAT'S RIGHT, I'M A CRIMINAL. TELL ME SOMETHING I DON'T KNOW. Didn't swipe my (unlimited) Metrocard. If I had waited for a bus that I could walk onto, I would still be there now! Anyway, so tonight the bus is really crowded, because the slower the bus is, the more crowded it gets. Thank goodness I managed to cram myself into one of the back seats (the evil back seats that are so high up that my feet don't touch the ground and just dangle annoyingly the whole ride). We get to a stop and the angry mob outside, frustrated that there's no room to get on in the front, motion to the guys standing just inside the back door to open up and let them in. Bless those guys' hearts, they just stood there and refused to open the door. Bus riding is survival of the fittest! Push or be pushed. If you are ever out in public, and see one of those crabby bitches and wonder, where do those people COME from? The bus, that's where.