bugsii

Ramseyer

I’ve been riding the bus a lot lately.  I decided not to buy the ridiculous $300+ parking permit for OSU.  To get to campus, I only have to ride one bus, straight down High.  It comes about every ten minutes.  Last year, I would sometimes drive, sometimes ride the bus, but since parking is so terrible on campus, I would have to park pretty far away and walk, so it really didn’t save time (versus riding the bus).  And we all know that I don’t ride my bike anymore… Long story short, I’ve been riding the bus.

So today, as I was seated and reading an article on the bus (efficient, no?), this girl about my age started seizing.  She had been standing and she just fell to the floor and was shaking.  I yelled to the bus driver to call an ambulance, but then she snapped out of it and stood up.  She had no idea what happened and then she said that she was pregnant.  I told her that she was seizing and that I think she should go to the hospital, but she didn’t want the bus driver to call.  She said her brother was waiting for her at Wendy’s (a few stops down) and I told her that she should really have her brother take her to the hospital, but she didn’t seem to agree.  She said she didn’t usually have seizures either.  I think if she would have seen herself seizing, she might have thought differently.

This really freaked me out and it made me sad too.  I know I make fun of the bus because it’s kind of stinky and there are crazy people on there, but it really makes me sad.  There are elderly people, physically handicapped people, mentally handicapped people, and mothers trying to carry groceries, who apparently have no other way to get around.  Where are their families?  I choose to ride the bus and all, but it’s really not that fun.  Especially not when it’s cold or raining, or it doesn’t come on time, or you have to make a transfer (which can take FOREVER), or you need to go somewhere not close to a bus stop.  I only have to walk a few minutes and then ride the bus for about ten minutes, but it can still be kind of stressful.  It makes me want to start a service where I pick up the elderly or people that need groceries and drive them where they need to go.  I can handle the bus a few days a week, but they shouldn’t have to.  It’s just not right.

Speaking of families, I overheard a classmate from England tell someone that he hadn’t been home in two years.  Wow.  Even though I get stressed out having busy weekends, I can’t imagine how much more stressed I would be if I didn’t get to see my family for that long.  I feel kinda lucky today.  Lucky and sad.

This morning I got it in my head that I was going to take the bus to work. I had been looking at the bus schedules for a couple of months now, so I knew the routes. And I was tired of paying $6 a day to park downtown. It was kind of impulsive though because I didn’t decide until I woke up that I was just going to do it. So, I took the #4 on the way to work. The stop is literally 20 feet from my front door. I knew the bus would come sometime between 7:09 and 7:17 (from the bus schedules), so I stepped out at 7:13 and the bus pulled right up! It was quiet and not too scary. I was pleasantly surprised. I used my BuckID, so my ride was free (my favorite price). I got off at the corner of Broad and High, just two blocks from ODE and I was at my desk at 7:30! A 17-minute commute, no money for parking, and no getting hit by cars on my bike! The bus rules.

After work, I had to get from downtown to Ohio State. For this, you take the #2. I was worried about how long this would take since the #2 makes a million stops all the way down High. I left work a little early and caught the bus at 3:42. The roads weren’t too busy yet and the bus wasn’t very crowded. I even saw a friend from the morning bus! Anyway, what I guess I didn’t realize is that buses have to stay on schedule, so if there isn’t very much traffic, they can’t just charge ahead. So, the bus was sort of crawling between stops and pausing even though there was no one to pick up. That was kind of annoying, but it’s also nice to just ride and not have to pay attention to traffic or Ohio State students darting out into the street. It’s kind of like having a chauffeur… albeit a chauffeur with a slightly dirty, slow, smelly vehicle that you have to share with strangers and crazy people. Anyway, I got off of the bus right in front of Ramseyer Hall (my building) at 4:30! An 18-minute commute! See, if I drive, I have to park about a half mile away, so the whole trip takes about 30 minutes. This is an improvement.

Now, I was a little more worried about the bus ride on the way home after class because it would be dark and I didn’t know how safe I would feel. It was the #2 again. Weird, but at this time (6:53), the bus was the most crowded it had been all day (and the smelliest). At first, I didn’t have a seat, but then someone left and I sat down next to a lady. The bus was a mix of students, normal people and a few shady people, so overall, I felt okay. The couple in front of me decided to have an argument over whether giggling is the same as flirting. It was riveting. I got off on 3rd street and walked two blocks back home. The streets were pretty well lit and there were people out jogging and walking their dogs, so I felt pretty safe. Who knew the bus could be such an adventure? I think I’ll ride it again on Wednesday!