The regulars.

Today's lesson: checking the weather report before leaving the house on bus-to-work day is extra important. This means if it's going to be a blustery day, you do NOT wear a wrap dress, especially if you do not also wear a slip.

Live and learn.

But it was exciting to be out in the wind and the cool temperatures made for a pleasant walk both ways. A young father and his toddler daughter rode with me in the morning, and they talked to a woman who had brought an empty stroller onboard. He told her that he was a computer science student. She explained to him and his confused little girl that she had left her own baby at school so she could go home and finish her master's thesis, entitled "Parents' Perspective on an Autism Diagnosis." (Yes, lady. I was totally eavesdropping and taking notes--'cause y'know--I have a bus blog, and you're my material.) After the pleasantries she retreated into her smartphone and the father and daughter launched in to a rollicking rendition of "The Wheels on the Bus" with their own special verse: "The dinosaur on the bus says 'It's too tight! It's too tight! It's too tight!'" It was cute enough to rot your teeth.

Walk to work: lovely, quick, and got there two minutes early. When I walked in, the mail clerk lovingly pulled a seed pod out of my hair. A gift from the beautiful big trees lining my walking route.

After long hours sitting at a desk and breathing office air the walk back to the bus is a joy, even in strong winds. Well, it was a joy as soon as I got past the busy street and onto the sleepy lane so that my wrap dress flashing my underwear was less likely to catch attention.

The father was on the return bus, too, this time without his daughter, and intently reading for his classes. He failed to pull the stop request line, but the driver apparently knew where he usually stopped and so it was only when the bus slowed down for the stop that the man looked up and gathered his things and hopped off, calling "thanks, Ralph!" to the driver. (I like the driver, too, and am glad to know his name. A jolly and helpful one.) I hope that cast of characters will make regular appearances on my Tuesday rides. I'm fond of them already.

Heck, maybe someday I'll even strike up a conversation.

A beautiful ride.

I fell off the wagon. I blame it on Tax Season and gardening season and that evil Heartbleed bug that had me in a panic last week. I had to get time-sensitive stuff done a couple of evenings, stayed up too late, and didn't want to get up underslept to ride the bus, so I drove instead, and therefore today was only my second day riding the bus to work. The prior time I was taking a route I don't expect to take often, because that day I needed to drop off my sick car first. Today I took my preferred regular route, which starts just a half block from my apartment and winds me through some of the prettiest suburbs in the valley--the Avenues and the Harvard/Yale area and the classier part of Sugarhouse. It really was a joy to not just take a pretty, roundabout route to work, but to have the luxury of really looking at things, which is dangerous to do when you're driving a car. From my high perch, like an Indian princess on her elephant, I surveyed the well-tended yards filled with spring flowers, the buds on the big trees lining the streets. I had brought a book to read, but I quickly put it down and just watched the beautiful world go by.

The first bus picked up a quiet lot of people: many students listening to iPods, a lady in leopard skin print reading a book, and most of these, like me, exited at the University of Utah. I thought I was being clever getting off a stop earlier than I'd been told to, not realizing that the connecting stop that normally would have been across the street had been removed for the construction of the new law building. So I ended up getting a good three-block sprint in as I tried to find the next stop down. It wasn't ideal, but it's just part of learning the route and it meant I got to work with a lot of energy. 

The second bus on this route leaves the university and heads south, dropping me four blocks from my work, about a 13 minute walk through a neighborhood of little houses with nicely kept yards. No sidewalks, but it's not a problem because the street is wide and not at all busy. I do have to cross a busy street at the end, but the city has recently added crosswalks and a signal to stop traffic (and even Rocky Anderson's orange crossing flags), so it works really well. The only problem I can see is that both coming and going that walk will have to be a fast one: even if the bus drops me off on time I have to walk briskly to get to work on time, and I have to leave work exactly at the buzzer if I don't want to miss my return bus. Maybe I can work something out with my boss to have a five-minute grace period at the beginning of work if my bus happens to drop me off a few minutes late. Or I can just plan on sprinting on occasion if necessary. This route to work is shorter and so much more pleasant and beautiful and involves a lot less walking than the alternate routes--I want to make it work.

The return trip was just as nice--no reading, just breathing deep breaths and thinking deep thoughts while my chauffeur took me on a leisurely tour of handsome old neighborhoods. The return transfer was also super easy (this time I followed the directions!) and a few minutes later I was dropped just a half block from my front door in the lovely warm evening. I loved this day. Let the experiment continue as planned.

Logistical considerations:

--Today I just wore my walking shoes to work and didn't bring anything nicer to change into. We're supposed to dress fairly nicely at my work (no jeans and the men are in ties), but I hope that if the rest of my outfit is nice my walking shoes won't be frowned upon. I'll probably explain what I'm doing to my supervisor--I think he'll be fine with it if I explain to him that I'm trying to avoid poisoning his children and killing polar bears. How can he say no?  :)

Observations: 

--With all my whizzing by in a car I'd failed to notice that right by my work there is now not only a dog washing business, but also a dog gym/spa business. I find this simultaneously hilarious and irritating. Pet worshipers: my pet peeve.

--Lots of younger, single men reading books on these bus routes. I'll be married in no time, if I can just get them to put down their books!

I've got to get a decent camera. This blog looks boring. Too many words, not enough pictures. I wouldn't want to read it--why are you?