Embarking on a new adventure!

Hi! My name is Terra. I ride the bus! Wow! Good for me! I know. I'm special! I decided to start taking the bus for a number of reasons.  

1.  Save miles on our precious van! This is the absolute number one reason!!!!  That van is my family's lifeline to the outside world!  It takes us everywhere we need and want to go, and that is a lot of places!  Some of those places are far away. . .like Disneyland!!!  Our van is equipped with a ramp for my husband's electric wheelchair.  That ramp and the bells and whistles that make it work cost as much as another car!  So, our van is like two cars in ONE.  One big payment.  When I try to think about life without it. . .I get very scared!  Like the kind of scared you get when you lose power. . .or you lose your wallet.  So, to say our van is important to us, I'd have to say that is an understatement.  Without it, my husband can't take his electric wheelchair anywhere!  We have a Walgreens down the road.  But life would be really boring if that was the only place he could ever go!  But he really needs to get to work during the week.  I don't think they'd pay him to stay home.  They don't have virtual courts yet.  His clients would not be happy, and nothing would ever get done!  We need his income!  And we need to be able to bring him to watch our daughter's games, lessons, to go shopping, to go on vacations, to go to the mall, the movies, and so forth.

2. Save gas money!  Who doesn't want to do THAT???  Everyone sure complains about the prices!  I remember back in high school, I would go visit my boyfriend who lived 35 minutes away, and I could add gas to the tank so my parents wouldn't know how far I drove, just by reaching my hand into the change drawer and grabbing a handful of "save my butt by replenishing the tank with a gallon or two" moolah for gas.  Yes, I could pay for a gallon or two of gas with CHANGE and it was not an insane number of coins.  It did not piss off the clerk!  Try doing that NOW?  HA!  Now THAT would be funny :)

3. I like the idea of getting to read a book.  Something I haven't done in a long.long.long.long.long.long.long.looooooooooooooooong time.  5 years to be exact.  My daughter was born in May 2007. . .that was the last year I was able to read a whole book in a few days.  I mean, sine she was born I started a lot of books!  I had the best intentions!  But reading the whole novel?  Forget it.  I had better things to do.  Take care my family, have fun, take photos, watch movies (oops!  did I just admit I've been choosing movies over books the past 5 years?  Sorry mom!), clean up dog poop, go shopping, run around in circles, change diapers (not mine), go to tball and soccer games, swimming lessons, go on vacations. . .you get the idea.

4. I like the idea of having the opportunity to stare off into space for 25 minutes!  I never have that kind of time to do nothing!  Nothing sounds great to a mom who works full-time, has a growing photography side gig, and a wife who cares for her husband's needs.  I liked the idea of ME time.  Time to stare at the world passing by, check out other cars to see who's picking their nose as they drive assuming nobody is paying attention to them.  Free time to play on my phone.  Free time to listen to music on my new iPhone.  Time to return emails on my phone.  Whatever!  It would be 25 minutes of time to do all the "nothings" I don't always have time to do at home and CAN'T do when I am usually the one DRIVING!  SO, yay me!  The bus gives me ME time.
"Hello me!   Nice to see you again!  My, you've changed!  Let's get to know one another again." ;)

5.  Oh, and I guess I should mention the environment.  Yeah, that, too!  Of course!  I'm not exactly crunchy granola crazy over protecting the environment.  But I recycle everything I can!  Hey, CAN.  Get it?  CAN?  Recycle?  Can. . .ahem.  Anyhoo, I do respect the environment, so it is nice to know driving the van less will also make a small difference to Earth!  Yo!  Me and Earth go WAY back, man. . .'bout 36 years.  In fact, I am even named after her!  Terra.  My mother loved gardening, and that inspired her to name me Terra.  She drives a Honda and I don't know if she recycles?  But, I guess naming your kid "Earth" gives you a free pass on environmental stuff.  Whatever.  I ramble!  Get used to it if you wanna read this blog!


Wow, I pretty much stayed on topic for once!  Woo hoo!

Ok, so, we made the choice to start taking the bus to work a couple days per week in hopes of making our van last longer and saving a few dollars on gas (more like hundreds of dollars since a full tank can cost around 60-some dollars!). . .hopefully, our van will last us past the time our monthly payments end!  Taking the bus=good for us!  Blah blah blah. . .

So, based on all that. . .taking the bus seems like an AWESOME idea!  A no-brainer.  It will help me accomplish all of those goals.

Sure, it makes ME happy to accomplish those things when I ride the bus :)  But, to my surprise, people think it is hilarious and strange that I take the bus. . .Apparently, I don't fit the mold of a "typical bus rider" in Tucson.  I would blend right in in a city like Chicago!  But Tucson?  Forget it.  Buses are for weirdos and homeless people looking to cool off.  Not people "like me."  I think people would be more understanding if I rode a HORSE to work!  Or hang-glided!

But really, the kind of "bus" people are probably envisioning me riding, is more of the weirdo/homeless party bus with plastic seats, sticky floors, mystery meat rotting under the seat, crumpled up newspapers on the seat next to you that previously served as a pillow to a homeless person, or perhaps toilet paper.  Who knows!  Nobody can tell where the smell is coming from, b/c the meat is smashed into the sticky floor.  But, as far as we know, it could be coming from the wadded up Arizona Daily Star toilet/pillow paper on the adjacent seat.  I certainly don't want to know!  And lucky for me, I won't have to.  No!  The bus I take is an express bus.  It is decked out with nicer, more comfy seats.  They could have given us a bit more leg room, but overall, it is a pretty nice bus!  The only people riding it, are hardworking normal people like me, who work downtown. . .well, most of them.

So, my bus is not your typical Tucson city bus.  (I've heard some wicked stories over the years, since my husband uses one of those buses to go visit clients in the jail--maybe I'll share some of my favorite bus stories in a later post.  My husband has some gems!)  No way!  This commuter/express bus is not weird.  The bus is not stinky.  The bus is not uncomfortable.  It is just an express commuter bus!  And it serves its purpose very well.  So, I am proud to join forces with the other bus people, and officially become a bus lady!  (I do realize my coolness factor just dropped at least 100 points, but heck!  Who cares!  I drive a minivan.  With a wheelchair ramp for the hubs, and a pink flower car seat for a 5 year old princess who tears up the soccer and Tball fields every week. . .it is not exactly like I am sidelining a sporty two-seat convertible for the day to take a bus to work 2 to 3 days per week! Nah, the family truckster gets to rest it's weary bolts while we ride to and from work.  It'll thank me later ;)  I know it will!

Anyhoo, after realizing my bus adventures provide grand amusement to others,  I decided to start this blog.

Sit sit back, relax and enjoy The Adventures of the Bus Lady!!!

This should be GOOD. . .