Who would have ever thought that we’d miss the good old days when oil was only $100 a barrel?  When the price at the pump went from ridiculous to stupid, I had to take action.  I’ve put my car on NOA status (or, No Other Alternative) and am now relying on my own two feet, and the public transportation system to get me around.  My goal is to purchase one or two tanks of gas, maximum, each month.

This should be an interesting summer…..

Riding the bus helps me channel my inner Forrest Gump.  I haven’t yet started philosophizing about life and bowls of fruit, but those insights are sure to come.  I have time for such musings because I spend about 10 times as much time waiting for the bus, as I do riding on the bus.  As a new grad student/part time employee/occasional contract worker, I’m at a point in my life where I have more time than money, so thus far, it’s all working out.

I have to wonder why there are no sitcoms set on buses or commuter trains.  Last week, the riders on Route 12 got to hear the details – and I mean all the details – of a young woman’s first date with Brian or Bernie or Beano, courtesy of an extremely loud one-sided cell phone conversation.   Believe me, none of us were trying to snoop.  It’s just that in order to use a cell phone on a bus one must SPEAK LOUDLY to be heard over the roar of the diesel engine.  Anyway, Brian or Bernie or Beano was a real hottie.  But the date ended badly, because, our girl reported to her friend, “I was just too much for him.”

Riding home, I listened to two fast-food employees talk about how their manager rigs the Employee of the Week contest.  This is a big deal, because the winner gets $20 and an extra free meal.  I left the bus before I heard the end of that story, but I’m sure there’ll be future installments.  And lucky me, I’ll be along for the ride, waiting to hear the rest.