I work in a city that's only supposed to be maybe 15 minutes away, but one of the aspects of living here I'm still not quite used to is the traffic. The stoplights are set up to essentially turn red as soon as another turns green, and it's all very stop-and-go. This leads to a lot of waiting in line, as you can imagine--we've tried doing it in downtown Seattle on weekends, and it can indeed be much worse than this, but I also didn't find that very pleasant!
Marcus is nice enough to come and get me on his way home from work most days, and I enjoy the time to talk with him on the drive. Still, I don't really want him to feel like I depend on him for a ride, so I thought it was about time I explored my options in public transportation. My first try was a disaster, and I ended up walking way further than I needed to and missing the bus I was supposed to catch the rest of the way home. I was also paying with cash vs. an Orca card because I hadn't received it yet--for the record, that makes it way more expensive! Orca card is the way to go, which is why mine is now attached to the other side of my work badge for next time.
Today, one of the older men who'd seen me last time asked me if I was adjusting to it better and told me not to feel too bad--he said the first time he tried riding the bus home from work, he didn't realize they don't have paper transfers and ran out of money! I told him I felt silly, because I'd taken the bus around Flagstaff a lot and used the subway and trams fairly often when I was traveling in Europe, and so (I thought) was at least somewhat familiar with what I was supposed to be doing. He just laughed and said the only way to figure it out when you're trying new routes is to get lost. He was also nice enough to call one of the employees at Kent Station to see when my other bus was coming. They tried to get the driver to wait for me, which I thought was very nice, but unfortunately we got caught in traffic and he had to leave right before our bus arrived. I ended up having to wait about another half hour for the next one, which would have been fine had it not been very cold! I had a nice time chatting with the people nearby, though, and the driver was friendly. Someday, I hope I can be as helpful to someone trying to learn their way around. I find that a lot of people get impatient with you when you're new at something like that, which is...different, because I imagine almost everyone's had a first time and worried about getting off at the wrong stop or being short on fare or something. I was lucky to find nice people today!
I made it home around 4:25, which is a little later than I usually would if I took this route every day--I guess this bus usually doesn't run that late. Basically, if we get caught in traffic, it looks like the only choice is to wait the half hour. Otherwise, I'd get home closer to 4:00. I'll just have to bring something to read!
There was my first successful commute home--and now for a brief word on the outfit! Poorly planned as it was for today's weather, I was still very happy with it.
This was one of those prints I couldn't decide if I liked. I'd see it in some pictures and think, "oh, how beautiful!" and other times I'd wonder if it was a little too busy. Eventually I ordered it, because sometimes the only real way to tell is in person. I had it all packed up to send back, and then I changed my mind. I can't say why, exactly, because I don't typically enjoy a lot of white, but it grows on me the more I look at it. One of my coworkers said it reminded her of Alice in Wonderland. I was thinking the colors reminded me of circus flags!
Slowly, I think I'm getting used to the longer skirts, too. My first instinct when I got my first Jenny skirt was to hem it because I felt overwhelmed by it, but I don't really think that's the case anymore.
Anyway, that's it for me--I've got a yogurt and some granola with my name on it!
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