BBF (Bus Best Friend)

I made a post earlier in the year talking about the bus crew. A bus crew is basically people who travel together on the bus and are best friends. I ride the bus a lot, and there are a few people who I see all the time, and I know when their stops are. I never once thought that those random people, had become my bus crew.

There was a specific incident that set this idea off in my brain. It was Wednesday morning and I was in what I like to call zombie mode (Zombie mode happens when your brain shuts off and you just go through the motions of your day. Interesting side note, I'm in zombie mode right now) School was the main reason I was in zombie mode. Trying to complete assignments that are due the next day, and studying for exams will put you in zombie mode real fast. So when my bus came that morning all I wanted to do was sleep.

I got on the bus and the seat in the very back corner was open. I knew if I sat there i would fall asleep. I hesitated to sit there, on one hand it would be nice to catch some shut eye, on the other if I fall asleep, there is no way I'm waking up in time to catch my stop. Eventually my body made the decision to sit in the corner seat. Within two seconds of siting in that seat I was fast asleep.

I'm sure the bus ride went as usual. Getting stuck in Osborne village because of traffic, taking sharp turns downtown too fast, and slamming on the brakes when the bus gets to a stop. But none of that could wake me up, I was out cold. I woke up to an old man standing over me, the same old man I ride the bus with every morning, the same old man that gets off at the same stop as me. He was shaking my shoulder and this is no word of lie what he said to me.

"Time to get up sonny . This is our stop"

I was instantly transformed into a child again. I wanted to hug him and say thanks daddy, but i just stuck with a simple thank you. When I stood up the two other guys that get off at our stop (Green hat, and red jacket) were waiting at the door looking at us. That was the moment it dawned on me. These guys were my bus crew. We knew when they got on and where they got off. We might not ever talk, but by god we are a bus crew!

Vintage Bus FTW!

As i got on my bus to head to school, i was surprised when the door opened and i saw stairs leading up. I walked up them slowly towards the bus driver, and when i turned the corner i realized i was on a vintage transit bus. Memories quickly came back to me as i sat down.

Memories like the first time i was ever on a bus. I was twelve years old (i know, i was a late bloomer for transit) and a couple friends and i were going to the mall. None of are parents could give us a ride so we decided to take the bus. We had no idea what bus we were suppose to take, i figured every bus was going to take me where i wanted to go. So we went to the bus stop and waited for the first bus to come by. Obviously it took us the opposite way we wanted to go, so as soon as we realized we weren't where we wanted to be, we got off. Instead of calling someone and getting help, we decided to take another bus home. Too make a long story short somehow after hours of driving around we finally got home. Now that i think about it, we never made it to the mall that day.

Another memory it brought up was not one of my favourite memories. Looking at the back door gate i remembered the first time i had a door malfunction. I think i was around thirteen and i was heading downtown to visit my dad. This time i knew what bus i was suppose to take, and i even knew where to get off when i got downtown. When i finally reached where i was suppose to get off i pulled the string and walked to the back door. When the bus came to a stop i opened the gate, but the door didn't open. I was terrified, what was i suppose to do now? The bus started moving forward, so i pulled the string again. When we got to the next stop, guess what? The door didn't open again. Eventually i went to the front and got off there. Then walked around big bad downtown for a while. For a long time after that i was terrified of the back door, but I'm happy to say that I'm over that fear now!

So hopefully you get to ride a vintage bus some time soon, and hopefully it brings back some good memories.

Don't be scared of the back!

After waiting in the cold for 10 minutes because my bus was late, the last thing I want to do is stand. I got on my bus and there was a mob of people clogging the front of the bus. I looked around them and there was at least 5 empty seats in the back. Seriously people you can go to the back of the bus, it's not that scary. I guess because they were scared it meant I could have a seat, but to get to them I would have to awkwardly squish my way through this mob. One of my least favourite activities is rubbing against strangers so to get to the seat was a problem.

I eventually made it past the mob by using my backpack as a bartering ram. I found a nice seat and enjoyed my ride. I looked around a bit and I couldn't figure out why people would be scared of the back. Sure it smells a bit weird, but the whole bus smells weird. It really makes my life much harder when you insist on standing in the front. If we're ever on the bus together, please move to the back. Thank you :)