I ride the bus to and from work every day, and I get to see and hear all kinds of interesting things. I often wear headphones, both for the music and to avoid attracting conversation from other ridees. I've known for awhile that I needed to write a post about the bus, but I wasn't sure what specific story I wanted to tell. Today I finally had "the experience" that I needed to write about.
I was on the bus home today, and my iPod was dead. I decided not to fake listening, so I didn't put the earbuds in. There was a guy who was trying--only somewhat successfully by my estimation--to flirt with a woman on the bus. This woman did not seem wooed by his discussion of why Christianity is wrong. Perhaps it's best to ask somewhat about their views on religion before launching into a controversial topic. Well, she still remained somewhat engaged in the conversation.
At the downtown transfer center another guy got on and sat across from the original guy. This started a conversation that went something like this:
--New Guy: I'm curious about your shirt..."Burn it where you buy it." (I'm guessing he was hoping it was a drug reference.)
--Original Guy: Very long explanation about the emerald ash borer and how they are trying to stop the spread of it by telling people not to move firewood.
--New Guy: A few weird detailed questions about ash trees and the insect, including whether it is edible or toxic. (Who asks about edible bugs???)
--Original Guy: Answers the guys questions...there are millions of ash trees, the insects are neither tasty nor toxic, the insects are beautiful.
--New Guy: Asks about preserving these beautiful bugs in some type of epoxy.
--Random Unbathed Punk Girl: "That's what's in my ears!" She pulls out her disgusting gauges, which has a spider preserved in it. "Do you know a lot about bugs??"
--Original Guy: "Well, I am a PhD student in etymology."
--Random Unbathed Punk Girl: "Do you know what kind of spider this is?? I've always wanted to know, but I can't figure it out." She reaches to show it to Original Guy but says, "Don't touch it! It smells from being in my ear." (GAG!)
--Original Guy: Says some words about not being a spider expert but having some ideas about what kind of spider it is.
--New Guy: Takes the disgusting gauge. "This is really cool."
--Random Unbathed Punk Girl: Thanks them both and pops the disgusting gauge back into her ear.
Sadly, we then reached my stop, so my education on ash trees (used for baseball bats and houses), emerald ash borers (metallic green on their backs and metallic purple on their stomachs), ear gauges (smelly), and spiders (more difficult to preserve than insects) ended.
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Flashback: Day One
There is a lot of activity in GL today, especially a loud teenage girl who has threatened to "tell your mom" and called someone a "m-f-er," which is an unusual combination. Despite the activity today, there is no succinct story for today.
Instead, I decided to share the story of our first day in GL.
Lizzy and I moved here without ever seeing the place. My mom had visited it, taken pictures, and advised us against moving into this apartment. Against her better judgement, we moved in here, mostly because it was cheap and close to a bus stop. We had a service deliver our stuff in a semi, and we paid some guys from Craigslist to unload the truck.
Gina's leg was in an air cast that day (and other days). She propped open the front door with a stool and sat on it smoking while the movers went in and out. Her cigarette smoke permeated the entire building, and she asked the movers numerous questions. Despite the fact that they told her repeatedly that they were just the movers, she did not seem to understand that only Lizzy and I were moving in. After we introduced ourselves and explained that the guys were movers only, she directed more questions toward us, but she still had questions for the movers.
I remember us being amazed that we had selected this building in this neighborhood. It smelled bad, it was relatively dirty (not compared to our last apartment when we moved in), and we clearly had interesting neighbors.
Instead, I decided to share the story of our first day in GL.
Lizzy and I moved here without ever seeing the place. My mom had visited it, taken pictures, and advised us against moving into this apartment. Against her better judgement, we moved in here, mostly because it was cheap and close to a bus stop. We had a service deliver our stuff in a semi, and we paid some guys from Craigslist to unload the truck.
Gina's leg was in an air cast that day (and other days). She propped open the front door with a stool and sat on it smoking while the movers went in and out. Her cigarette smoke permeated the entire building, and she asked the movers numerous questions. Despite the fact that they told her repeatedly that they were just the movers, she did not seem to understand that only Lizzy and I were moving in. After we introduced ourselves and explained that the guys were movers only, she directed more questions toward us, but she still had questions for the movers.
I remember us being amazed that we had selected this building in this neighborhood. It smelled bad, it was relatively dirty (not compared to our last apartment when we moved in), and we clearly had interesting neighbors.
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