I’ve come to the conclusion that my readers have a love/hate relationship with the rant lists.
On one hand, I get told that I’m whinny & b*tching about ‘first world problems’. So I tried writing about important topics like women in the working world & travelling, but didn’t seem to get as much feedback on those. Maybe my ramblings are like a train wreck & you just can’t look away? Well, there’s no such thing as bad publicity.
If I could walk everywhere, I would. I love walking, more specifically walking & getting to reflect on things while listening to an awesome playlist. Unfortunately, I can’t walk to my Optometrists office on Scurfield & my in-law’s house in North Kildonan.
It’s also Winnipeg. Making the bad decision to walk instead of using a heated means of transportation could result in you freezing to death.
Top-secret employer also pays 30% of the cost of a bus pass. That seals the deal for me (Haha seals. Get it?)
Hmmm, let me see, should I pick an unlimited transportation (within transit schedules) for 30% off, reduce my eco-footprint & engage in a lot of walking to keep me in better shape?
Or should I spend at least 10 grand on a decent car that makes me lazy & forces me to pay for the vehicle itself, gas, insurance, repairs & parking? Ho-hum…
My friend Bryce says a vehicle would improve my quality of life referencing that we could more easily go shopping, transport any possible future babies & make purchasing our reno materials quicker & easier.
I disagree. I think that driving would make me more fat & more impulsive. Being a planner & time manager, my own two feet, the bus & the occasional taxi works fine for me.
That being said, some people seem set on being miserable and making everyone around them equally as miserable. I’ve already touched on my immense, burning, Hitler-style hatred for people who sit on the outside seat of the bus & leave the inside seat empty. Here are some other Daisy don’ts from my experiences with Winnipeg’s public transportation system; the bus:
People blaring shitty music
Oh geez, you’ve got long, greasy hair, weird perfect circle sunglasses, a goatee & a trench coat. I had no idea that you liked shock metal, thanks for clearing that up pal.
I appreciate that I can hear every word of the music in your headphones even though I’m 5 rows away. Same goes for you rap guys & gangsters. I don’t mean to be stereotypical, it’s just that I’ve never been annoyed by a middle aged career-woman blaring her ‘calming’ Bach or the hipster with a bob-cut playing Fiest.
I often think if I’d be as annoyed if they played a song I like. And the answer is no, I wouldn’t. In fact if I overheard one of those beefcakes getting on the bus close to the Y & blaring Blondie, I’d be thoroughly entertained
Unfortunately, the world is not here for my entertainment. I always seem to be on the gangster/rap/ heavy metal/techno trance bus.
Please don’t be a dick. I just really, REALLY hope that you are too stupid to realize that your music is so loud/your headphones are so bad that the first 30 people around you can hear it.
Before I became familiar with my headset, I’d just play the music on a volume I liked, then take the headphones off of my head to do a ‘noise check’ & ensure that I’m not being a douche.
Sitting beside people to sob & ask for change
Without naming any names, I really, REALLY hope someone out there gets my reference.
Anyways, yes, please get a hold of yourself.
Do not walk by the driver without a second thought to paying the fare that no one else is exempt to. Do not go from row to row blathering inaudibly about Bullsh*t & sobbing without shedding any tears.
Do not sit beside me & repeatedly ‘talk’ to me while I have my headphones on lest I turn up my Michael Bubble so loud I become one of those blaring headphone douches in order to make a point to you.
Don’t ask me for toonies. Just don’t.
What makes you feel that you have the right to ask me for money when you just got on the bus for free? And what’s worse, what makes you think you have the right to ask for a SPECIFIC amount?
I might be a jerk but I don’t have a lot of pit for panhandlers, or more specifically, career panhandlers. This is a first world country & there are countless organizations designed to help these people get employed. I have no sympathy because I feel that life comes down to choices & that MOST people in that position in Canada anyway, are that way by choice or by a series of bad decisions.
This makes me mad because there are other people around the world in third world & developing countries, and for that matter, children & animals who have no choice in the matter & no resources to help them out. Sigh. Sorry about the rant. Don’t be the toonie lady.
People who don’t give up their seats
Oh well Lou-dee-doo look at me I’m the physically capable young to middle aged person, I feel like sitting in the handicapped seating rows instead of going to the back, and what’s more, I don’t feel like moving when an old granny comes on. I’m too busy blaring my Tiesto.
Come on people, don’t be a hatin', get up for the old bitties. Also get up for people with small children & obviously people with crutches/a cane/stroller. Give the old foggies their way to the Bay some faith in the next generation!
On a side note though, I do love to watch the showdowns between the seniors/disabled/women with strollers when there's not enough room for all of them. “I’m more entitled to priority seating than you” “No, I’M more entitled!” Hilarious. But on that note…
Huge strollers
What ever happened to baby harnesses?
I’ve given a lot of thought to this section, because, like I said, I’m all for owning a bus pass over owning a car, but must say that things get more complicated when you have a baby. However, I have seen some pretty cool baby transportation on the bus.
I’ve seen a couple with what looked like toboggans on their backs with babies against them in a big hood.
I’ve also seen adorable baby slings moms wear over their shoulder & across their waist.
Also, the typical ‘hangover’ style harnesses on a parent’s chest or back. Heck, in the summer I saw a hippy-looking mom & dad just come on the bus carrying their baby normally & sitting with the baby on their lap. I do wonder what they would have done if the bus was packed & they had to stand, but guess what, THERE WAS TWO OF THEM! That’s the beauty of it!
In any case, some of the strollers these days take up 3 seats. They take forever getting on & off & greatly reduce the number of space for seniors, the disabled or heck, the other moms with smaller strollers.
I do understand that when I have a baby, it’ll be important to keep them warm, comfortable (lest they spend the whole bus ride wailing) & to travel with all of the baby stuff (diaper bag & whatnot). But guess what? That’s what Mr. Ford is for! Come on ladies, where’s cho man?
And finally: Expecting the driver to know where you live
I have a lot of respect for transit drivers. They don’t make much but they work all kinds of weird split shifts, they deal with crazy drivers & crazy passengers alike, and if they are either a minute early or a minute late, sometimes for things out of their control, they’ll be hearing about it from passengers who just assume that they were sitting around drinking Tims.
What really grinds my gears though, is when people expect a driver to know where things are just because it is in the neighbourhood the route passes through.
That sounds weird, let me further explain,
I witnessed on a #47 bus (downtown, Regent & Kildare) a lady ask the driver to get her close to an address on McMeans. The driver said he didn’t know where that was.
A couple of minutes later, I suppose the lady decided that he would have magically became familiar with the entire neighbourhood & asked him again to tell her where to get off. Then she let him have it “Yadda yadda yadda, you’re an idiot, you should know the route you drive, I’m reporting you". ARGGGGG!
For one thing people, a driver follows a route on a map, parallel streets are not something they have to know. For another thing, don’t assume that a driver does this route every day. Things don’t work that way. That driver could be on a rotation, filling in, or starting a new route.
I can’t understand why people relinquish all personal responsibility & expect someone else to tell them both where something is, how they can get there & what times they will leave/arrive.
There’s a magical thing out there, it’s called a website. The websites have these magical things called maps. Please take some initiative for yourself instead of leaving your life in someone else’s hands.
Happy Friday everyone, love Chevy & Bob J
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