For the first time in my life I'm taking public transportation on a regular basis. For 2 months now I've been taking the bus and trolley to work. While working downtown is great, parking is expensive and "The Firm" only pays for about 2/3rds of the cost. And that doesn't get me a reserved, covered spot, but just permission to park in a lot. It's more of a fishing license for a well stocked pond. But The Firm does pay for a bus pass that gives me unlimited trips on the bus and trolley. The trolley is a light rail electric train that goes through Mission Valley, down Pacific Coast Highway, loops through Downtown, and continues south to the Mexican Border. It's smooth, quiet, fast, and mostly dependable. But it leaves most of the county to be covered by buses, which aren't any of those things. Luckily I live and work in the perfect spot to use the system. I'm just 1 block from a major bus line and it's a short, fast ride down the hill to the nearest trolley stop. And the trolley just takes a few minutes to get downtown and stops right outside the entrance to my building. I counted it the other day and it's literally 5 steps from the trolley to the door.
The only problem I've had is if the bus runs late, then I miss the trolley I need and waiting for the next trolley makes me late for work. So yesterday when it was getting close to the time I should be getting on the trolley and the bus was still nowhere in sight, I decided to go back for the car and be just a few minutes late instead of 15 minutes late.
But otherwise it was a beautiful San Diego day; bright and sunny and warm. It wasn't bright in a harsh way that washes out all the colors and makes you look for shade. It was clear in a way that lit up everything and warm in a way that wasn't uncomfortable, but just made long pants and enclosed shoes seem silly. At lunch, after walking to the bank, I stopped at the building across the street. It has a very nice deli inside and a large, mostly shaded courtyard in front with tables and chairs and benches. And on Fridays in the summer there's live music during the lunch hour. The rest of the afternoon at work went fast and uneventful and at 4:45 I was out the door, looking forward to the weekend. The two towers closest to the bay were looking very photogenic, but my trolley was right there so I hopped aboard and enjoyed all the tropical splendor sliding by. As often happens, the bus was going by just as I got off the trolley so I had to wait for the next one, but who cares; it's Friday!
Walking towards my building, thinking about going to the gym and planning out the weekend, I glanced in the garage and noticed my car wasn't there. It was still Downtown!
So after dropping off my bag, using the bathroom, and grabbing a bottle of water, I found myself back at the bus stop, waiting to make the trip on the train that I had missed that morning.
It's a good thing I didn't have any dignity to begin with.
