Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Another One Rides the Bus

When I'm not commuting by foot, cycle or carpool, I take the MAT bus to and from work. Good old MAT. Awesome!

By now, you've probably figured that I have a slight tendency toward neurotic/obsessive behavior from time to time. Scratch-scratch. I tried to weed that undesirable trait out of my life years ago, but it just turned into a downward spiral of obsessing on obsessing. So I gave up on trying to root it out and just let it be. So, I'm a nutjob; tell me someone who isn't.

Instead of struggling, I enjoy making healthy concessions to my neurosis. One of these happens to be in taking a log of every MAT bus ride I take. I record the bus number, date, route, and comments about its state of cleanliness, disorder, etc.

I should note that this logging trait runs deep in my family as I picked this idea up from Murphini, who diligently logs every business flight he takes. Thanks, Murphini!

While I've been riding the bus for nearly seven years, I started taking a log only a few months ago. Here's some highlights of what I've recorded so far:

  • I've ridden 46 different buses at least once
  • Most rides on a single bus: I've ridden two buses 6x each (2015, 2016)
  • Nearly one of every five has at least one cracked window (2004, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2022, 2030, 2034, 8022, 8041)
  • About 5% have advertising on the exterior
  • Two have multiple cracked windows (2011,2014)
  • One had a broken Air Conditioner (8026), which made for an interesting ride one hot summer day. The smells were extraordinary!

    My personal favorites are the #9500 series. MAT picked up these rigs this past summer for a total of $100,000 at some sort of used bus auction from Gainsville, FL.

    These buses are a sensational delight. They come in a rainbow of colors: green, blue, red, yellow even mauve. They have exotic fabric patterns & colors on the seats, resembling a cross between where the Brady Bunch meets Miami Vice. Groovy! The fabric itself is this heavy industrial grade poly-blend of recycled automobile tires. But take note: MAT is not responsible for friction burns.

    They also have this funky mildew smell, warmly reminding me of summer vacation motels. Breathe deeply. Hold for four seconds. Exhale....

    While I've ridden 9502, 9507, 9508, 9514, 9516 and 9517, last night's ride on #9506 has been the best till date. 9506 has a navy blue exterior and a warm peach floor to ceiling interior with maddening orange, red and blue swirly-patterned seats. But what I liked best about it was the sound. An audiophile's dream! If only George Lucas could have recorded this bus for his pod racers. It was amazing. It begs one to wonder, how does a transmission get racked enough to sound like that?!

    Indeed, the 9500s are a superb sensual experience, with vibrant pleasures for all the senses.

    Yes, I love riding the MAT. Not only a great public transport service, it also provides wonderful entertainment and a healthy channeling of a trait I gave up dropping long ago.

  • 8 comments:

    1. Aahh!!!

      So that explains the use of a blackberry as I was going over Old Yellers new parts to you. If I were a crazy obsessive blogger, I would have taken a pic of you journaling on your PDA since that is something out of the ordinary. The pic would have shown a very concentrated tidy-like Brady using a stylus on his fancy mini-whizbang machine in front of a messy toolbench backdrop with greasy shop rags and wrenches strewn about.

      ReplyDelete
    2. Well at least you're not a kook.

      Oh, wait ...

      ReplyDelete
    3. crank:
          8mm cap; allen
          get crank tool - LBS $15
          Octal..both unscrew to front
      --bike log on brady's blackberry

      Bryan, coming from you, that means a lot. thanks, i'll wear it with pride.

      ReplyDelete
    4. actually, I think it's pretty cool. There are times I wish I made lists like that. Then there are times I'm glad I don't. But the bus thing is interesting.

      Do you take notes for bike rides and runs like that, too? Is it only buses? What else do you make notes for?

      ReplyDelete
    5. Yes. I note # of comments in the past week:
        9 Bryan..........A+
        5 Munson........B
        1 Fredcube......D-

      I take notes on the bus because I'd go insane with boredom otherwise. I have a love/hate relationship with the MAT. It's nearly always late, filthy, and have you seen the people that ride it? Oh...that would include me. Really, I'd much rather be running or cycling, but some days you just can't. Plus, I have this neato blackberry thingy that I use for one more thing than catching up on algomaha news.

      Sometimes I take notes on runs and rides if something out of the ordinary catches my attention:

      Date: 1/6/2006 11:30 AM
      Weather: 35 F. Sunny.
      Comments: 9 mile levee run at lunch with the big boys. Saw a police car, a green Dodge Intrepid and a United States Post Office mail truck down by the trees and river east of the levee at the base of Hickory St. Looked, but did not stare. Nothing to see there! Also, saw a dead rat in Gene Lehey Mall. SSDD.

      ReplyDelete
    6. on Brady's obsessions, I have no idea where he gets them, but I did just so happen to ride SW Plane # 665 last night from San Antonio to Dallas--what was unique is it was the first dumpster I tagged... I mean plane I logged back in July of 1998. It had been almost nine and a half years since I rode it last. Since July 1998, I have ridden on 264 different Southwest Planes, on 373 legs/sorties. Some up to 6 times.

      Again, don't know where Brady gets these habits...

      Someday when I AM COOL ENOUGH to blog, I'll post the ENTIRE LIST.

      ReplyDelete
    7. Braggart!

      correction
        9 Bryan..........A+
        5 Munson........B
        1 Fredcube......D-
        1 Murphini.......D-

      murphini: your participation score is really hurting your grade. However, extra credit can be earned for showing your work next time

      ReplyDelete
    8. I've got nothing that can compare to that. But I knew the exact mileage of every single pair of running shoes I owned for about a 4-year stretch. Now ... hell, I don't even know which pair is newest.

      ReplyDelete