Friday night I was feeling philosophical while waiting for a bus on a chilly night.
I stood around for 20 minutes, and during that time it occurred to that I might be slightly more entertained at this moment if I was a smoker. I could do more business with my hands and manage to look cooler, like the punk-looking bunch smoking close by. Instead, I jammed my Oliver Twist-esque mittens - complete with holes in fingers - into my coat pockets, and shifted my feet from side to side, trying to keep warm.
Bus "A" finally came around the corner. I hopped on then quickly realized that it was actually not going the route that I had intended. Dang! I mentally reconfigured the plan to get home. A few stops later, I spotted a bus ahead that WAS going to route I had originally intended. When bus A caught up to bus B (the one ahead), I made an executive decision to quickly jump out and to run my ass off toward bus B (which was momentarily sitting there). I ran with the speed of one who has a heavy, awkward knapsack bouncing on her back, and just as I was gaining on the door, the bus veered away. I called out, "Hey! Wait!" but in vain...Vroom. Bus "A" had taken off too. Some dude looked at me sympathetically. I shrugged & smiled. It was a risk I had taken and missed it by seconds really. I thought, "Fuck it. Maybe I needed to walk anyway, burn off some of those cookie calories," then trudged along.
As a trudged another *test* presented itself onto "Grasshopper" (yes, a Kung-Fu reference). I spotted another bus (bus "C") that also followed the route I had originally intended. I watched it roll up to the stop, happy that I was finally at the right place, at the right time. Once on it, I realized this could take me all the way to the ultimate destination with no skytrain to take, no other bus transfers, just another 40 minutes or so of riding it in patience. As the "sure thing" bus C ambled along, it stopped by a skytrain. I quickly did the transit math: if I hopped off now, I would walk to the skytrain, the train would be @ 15 mins, then I'd walk another 10 to get home. Bus C would take a bit longer and was a safe bet- but the trip would consist of only ONE thing with no variation, a long trip on an old bus that felt warm already, which would require a bit more patience.
But I like variety. And I lack patience. I'd rather have the exchanges, the dashing for the bus here and there, the awkward transfers. These little extra efforts to get somewhere make me feel more alive somehow. "Road Less Travelled"? I have probably taken it out of stubbornness, a sense of adventure, or curiosity. I need to feel I have earned what I have manifested, and I like to see the trail of work I have put into something, leaving a veritable popcorn trail of sorts along my travails.
In the transit decisions I made, I realized I had rarely taken the 'safe bet' bus to anywhere, usually opting to take risks and move toward the unknown bus with a certain commitment (the kind of commitment it takes to run for a bus that's leaving any second!). Every opportunity offers some pros and cons, different options to consider, different connections to make to ultimately get to the same place. But what kind of trip do you want to take? That is the key to the kind of traveller you will choose to be.
So I hopped off comfy but tedious bus C. Walked to skytrain, sat waiting on a cold metallic seat, took train, and walked home, kept company by some MP3 songs which made me happy.
moral of this story: Traveler, go which way you will, be prepared to think on your feet, and... always have your ticket handy ;)
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