God Gave Me A Time Out - 2/24/12

Friday - 2/24/12

I don't use an alarm in the morning. I have my iPod start playing my morning playlist a little before it's time for me to get up.  That wakes me up. The playlist is made up of songs that make me feel warm, comfy and loved. Normally this works exceptionally well for me. I wake up easily, gently, happily and feeling loved. This morning, though, I just didn't want to get out of bed. Now, I'm ready to leave except I can't find my hat.  It was cold last night so it should be cold now, in the pre dawn.  I definitely want my hat.  I finally tell myself I have to leave anyway.

I'm leaving, concerned that I might be late. It will definitely be close. I'm comforting myself with the fact that I think I could catch the next bus and still get to the yoga center in time. I've done it before, but then for my 2nd bus I managed to catch an earlier bus that was running late. There is definitely no guarantee of that happening again! I'm half a block away from the bus stop when I see the bus go by. I stop trying to rush, get to the bus stop and sit to wait. The next bus isn't for forty more minutes. I'm listening to music the whole time. There isn't anything I can do to speed the process.

This bus is a lot more crowded than my regular bus. Forty minutes seems to make a big difference in who needs to get where. I hoping that I'll once again be able to catch the 43 bus right after we get off of this one.  In the meantime, I'm working on my blog, using my phone.  I think I figured out why my previous attempt didn't work.  I think I have to take it out of wi-fi mode and leave it out of wi-fi mode while I'm riding the bus.  We'll see.  I'm crossing my fingers (well, mentally anyway), because I don't want to have to go back and re-create it.

The 43 bus I'm scheduled to take next is running a late. I sit and breathe. There isn't anything else I can do. I had been hoping it would make up the time from being late.  Sometimes they do that.  Hordes of people get on and off the bus at every stop. I think thirty people got on at that last stop. With all these people the bus definitely isn't going to catch up any time, it might even become later.  It is nice though that it can provide transit for so many people.  The thing that seems to slow the system down the most is when people pay with cash, especially with dollar bills. They stand there unwrinkling them and often have to try the bill in the machine a few times before it takes. I can now see the wisdom behind the new LA tap pass system. If you could get more people to use swipe cards (like my monthly pass), the process would be smoother.

I'm definitely not going to try for the last bus. I'll take the 43 a little farther than normal and use the scooter for the last bit. It will get me there faster than waiting for the bus.

As I'm traveling down 17th street, the 55 bus passes me. Huh. That would have been great to catch! I think I'll start writing down some of the bus stop numbers. The OCTA's has a system that let's you text them with a bus stop number and will text you back with the next three scheduled buses and times for that stop. They won't tell you if the bus is running on time or not, but it still might be worth trying for times like this.

I'm here! At the Yoga Center. Right on time too! I wouldn't want to do that very often. Too stressful. I have this weird thought that sitting at the bus stop for 40 minutes might have been God giving me a time out. Anyway, I think I've learned something... If something that's not absolutely mandatory is misplaced, then I leave without it!