A Tale of Two Smells

I waited after work for my 54C so I could go pick up my kid from daycare.  I waited and I prayed silently that the goofballs who chortled and swore on the same corner as I were waiting for a different bus. No such luck.

I get on the bus and am greeted with this...smell.  It was acrid and overwhelming and undoubtedly urine. I swear I almost looked for a litter box. Instead I found my seat near the front and tried to ignore it.  I wondered if the seat I captured had been open only because the urinater had previously occupied it. I felt no moisture, so I stayed in that spot.

I wish I could have told each newcomer onto the bus, "hey, I inherited this smell, it ain't me". 

One of the newcomers came with a new smell though. Cologne. The smell itself was fine. It's just that the amount that the guy had used was ridiculous. I wondered if maybe some part of him had been on fire, and he'd tried to douse it with the cologne.  He sat down right in front of me.

As much as I normally abhor too much scent in too small a space, it was way way better than the urine. I came to enjoy the respite for my nostrils.  Then Cologne Man moved to the back end of the bus. Perhaps he could not smell the cologne, but could smell the urine, and thought it was me.

Regardless, I was saved.  Cologne Man had somehow eradicated the urine smell.  Maybe Cologne Man is a kind of disregarded super-hero that every major metropolitan area needs. 

Here We Go!

I'm a single mom of one, and up until now I have been a driver. As a matter of fact for almost all of my twenty plus years of adulthood, I have been in possesion of a vehicle.

That has come to an end.

The transmission gave out on my 207,000 mile van. I refuse to fix it. I will not put another dime into that monstrosity just to have something else break in a week. a month, or whenever.

So I ride the bus.

It's not that bad. I live and work in Pittsburgh, so I can get to most everywhere I need to go via bus or foot. I can rent a Zipcar for the other things. The whole deal between rental fees and bus passes comes just under what it would cost me to buy a decent used vehicle. BUT. I do not have a payment (which is important in case my job gives out next month). I do not have repair fees. I do not have to visually scour the terrain for an open parking spot.

I'm still getting used to sharing my commute time with others though.

It's proving rather interesting.