i think i like taking transit to work.
now, before you go calling the men with the straight-jackets and padded rooms, let me explain a little. i like taking transit to work. the length and leisure of it isn’t so bad at all. especially on days when the sunrise is so spectacularly beautiful that half the bus stops their navel-gazing to stare out the window at is as we ride across the Lions Gate Bridge. i don’t even mind the long walk from the station into work now that my body’s starting to get used to this whole “moving” thing i haven’t subjected it to in earnest for a far, far too long. i get to listen to music or an audio book on my ipod, people-watch, look at all those buildings i can’t rubber-neck at while i’m driving past or just turn off my head and go to a happy place.
all of this for the low-low price of leaving the house at 6:30 a.m.
of course, when they turn the clocks back in the spring and 6:30 is actually 5:30… well, i might not be quite so positive about the whole thing.
while i kind of enjoy taking transit to work, i absolutely LOATHE taking transit home from work.
oh. my. god. there’s something calm and soothing about transiting in the morning. it is the exact opposite going home. i don’t know if it’s that more people are awake or that they’ve all had crappy days or what, but man… the train is fuller and more annoying. the bus is packed to the gills — sidebar PSA: if you go out in the world and interact with people, don’t stink. please. it’s painful for those of us with working olfactory senses. thank you. — and takes way longer than it does in the a.m. it’s just all-around sucky.
plus, it’s freaking DARK out! ugh. how many months until the sunlight comes back?
so, if i could find someone to drive me home every day — hell, even someone to just drive me to North Van and drop me at a bus stop would work — my commuting issues would be mostly moot. alas, i don’t think i’m that lucky or well-connected.
just for fun, i’m going to try taking a whole different way home today! maybe a train and two buses will be less trying than dealing with grumpy (and stinky!) down-towners.
If you get off at Granville Station, exit the Seymour St. side and then don’t mind walking a couple of blocks to the bus stop diagonal to the library (in front of the Bank of Montreal), you’ll be able to get on the bus when it’s less crowded. It’ll still get crowded, but you’ll almost be guaranteed of getting a seat.
Oy, yes. that is exactly how I feel about it (not that I take transit to work anymore, mind you, because the bus home broke me).
I think another part of it (at least in my neck of the woods) is that in the morning, the buses haven’t encountered anything terrible to throw them off their schedule. In the evenings, everything has gone to hell, and schedules at that point are merely a suggestion rather than anything to adhere to.
But it’s good to hear that at least the “to work” part is working out well!
I think it’s also a case of your mental state, too. At the end of the day, you’re tired and just want to get home. Any delay or slight inconvenience is magnified through the filter of JUST GET IT OVER WITH.
I know that I’m the same way with flying. On the outward journey it’s a lot more pleasant than when I’m coming back and just want to be home already.
I may soon be in the position of doing pretty much the exact reverse commute as you. :-) Although, I balk at commuting anything over an hour, so I’ll likely drive and just suck up the added insurance costs. :-)