Stranded? - 3/18/12

Sunday  - 3/18/12

I'm debating what to do about tonight.  I don't want to borrow Charles' truck.  I don't have other things I need a vehicle for.  It seems silly to go through all the time (it's a 2 1/2 hour bus ride to his place!) and expense (the truck does eat gas!) of borrowing the truck just so I can get home tonight.  On the other hand, I don't want to try riding the bus home.  I'd get home too late for a night when I have to get up early in the morning.  I emailed Jaitri last night, asking if she could take me home.  She doesn't live close, but has said she can take me home when she's there.  I haven't heard back from her.  I'm not sure she checks her email on the weekend.  I'm not sure she will be in class.  I remember hearing her talking about going to visit relatives and don't remember when that was.

It's noon.  I've been studying.  I'm teaching the class tonight.  I have to decide if I'm going to Charles' or not.  Now would be the time to go.  I want to stay home.  I don't want to go.  I call Charles and tell him I'm not going to borrow the truck.  He tries to talk me into borrowing it.  It's nice to have a friend like that.  I tell him I'm almost certain of having a ride home, but ask him to be on standby just in case something goes wrong and I get stranded somewhere.

Now to check Google Maps to see when I need to leave!  Google says I can take a different way down, starting out on the same bus as normal, the 460, then the 290 and then the 1!  I really like riding the 1!  It goes along highway 1.  You get to watch the ocean as you ride.  I'm going to do that route!  Cool!  Something new!

When I'm taking a new route, I always worry about finding the right place to get off.  Not all the stops are announced and you need to pull the cord in advance or the driver won't stop.  The two things together always give me worries.  I'm, sitting on the 460, worrying and trying to watch the little GPS on my phone to see if I can tell when the stop is coming up.  I could just ride this bus to the end and catch the 43, but I don't want to!  I want to try the new route!  That was easy!  They announced the stop!  I get off and wait.

I'm getting worried.  It seems like I've been here, at this stop, too long.  No buses have come.

I've been here at least 15 minutes.  That's long enough that even if the 290 does come, I'll miss the transfer to the 1.  I'm trying to text the OCTA system to see when they think the next bus is coming.  Their system must be down.  I keep getting a message back saying they didn't understand my text.

I'm getting more and more worried.  I don't even think I can get on the next 460 and take that down, I think that would make me late.

I call the OCTA to find out what they suggest.  They put me on hold.

I've been on hold for a good 10 minutes now.  There's the 290 bus!  I don't know what to do!  Should I get on?  The transfer to the 1 won't work any more.  Maybe it would be better to wait for the 460?  I'm still on hold on the call to OCTA.

I decide a moving bus is better than sitting stranded at a bus stop.  I stick my phone in my pocket, grab my things and get on the bus.  I hear the OCTA person answer the phone just as I'm walking on the bus.  She hangs up before I can get to my seat and answer it.  I guess I'm on my own!

Jaitri calls and tells me that she will take me home tonight.  I call Charles and tell him that I have a confirmed ride home.  Now, back to figuring out what to do about getting there!

One of the things you aren't able to do from any of the transit planning systems is tell it you are on a certain bus and need to get somewhere.   You can't even tell it you are where you are, or at the next stop, because they all figure in some time for you to find the bus stop.  It won't ever give you a route for the bus you're on.  It will give you a route for the next bus going by.

I'm trying to figure out if I should ride down to the transfer point for the 1, or if I missed it, and what to do if I missed it.  I can't get either Google Maps or Metro.net to default to a route that uses the 290 (the bus I'm on.)  This is getting frustrating!

I finally figure out how to use my phone to view the schedules for both the 290 and the 1.  The 1 will leave at least 5 minutes before I'm going to get there and is only running once an hour.  It wouldn't get me to the Yoga Center in time.

Now, I'm trying to trick Google Maps into giving me a route.  I look at the GPS on my phone, pick out a major cross street that's coming up and tell Google Maps I'm there and need to get to the Yoga Center.  So far, it's not coming up with options that will get me there in time.  The third try is a charm!  The next major cross street is Beach Blvd and Westminster.  It says I can catch a bus there that will take me to a place to catch the 43 and I'll get to the Yoga Center in plenty of time!  Great!

I get off and am trying to figure out where the bus stop is.  This guy in his late 30s with a large, fake diamond stud in his ear is trying to flirt with me.  I'm flattered, I think.  Mostly I'm just cold.  The stop I need is across the street.  Once the light changes I tell him I have to go and walk to the bus stop.  Everyone here is bundled up and hiding from the wind as much as they can.  We're not used to cold weather here.  The bus comes early.  We all get on.  This must be one of the buses timing stops.  It sits here for awhile.  We're all just happy to be in out of the cold!

This bus driver is really nice.  At a few stops he's asked people if they need to get off on this side of the street, before he crosses the street to the official bus stop.  At my stop, I choose that option.  Several of us get off and walk to the stop for the 43, which is around the corner.  I think it's funny that with all that's happened, I'm ending up on the bus I always take!  There's a young woman with a baby carriage here.  The carriage is totally covered, to protect from the wind and the cold.  When the bus stops, one of the gentlemen helps carry the carriage into the bus.

I'm thrilled!  The rest is easy.  I'll have to use the scooter for the mile from the 43 to the Yoga Center, but that's fine!  I'll get there in time! (early in fact)  That's all that matters!