the wheels on the bus go round and round

last wednesday was my first trip on the cta (chicago transit authority) to commute to work. i decided to take the cta to work not because i wanted but because i had to get roxy's, my murano, oil changed.

my day started at 4:30am. i definitely did not want to miss the bus or the train or the second bus to work. after i left roxy at the automechanic, i made a short walk to the bus stop. i waited with a guy selling the daily newspaper, a little boy going to school and your average joe making his everyday commute to work.

we all boarded the bus. approaching the stop, my gut feeling told me to get off the bus, but of course i just figured i would wait for the bus to make its designated stop. well, knowing my luck, it did not stop, and i had to get off at the next stop and walk to the cta. i ended up missing the transfer to the blue line train. at the stop, i checked minnie to see when the next train was coming. i ended up waiting only ten minutes, but that ten minutes made me miss the transfer to the bus to my work by three minutes.

this transfer and wait was quite interesting. from me waiting on the wrongside to catch the right bus to forgetting to buy my fare card minutes before i had to get on the right bus, i people watched many of the "regulars." i definitely would categorize myself as an "irregular" at this stop. i made sure to keep my eyes on minnie and my lips zipped.

FINALLY, i was on the right bus at the not so right time to get to work. pulling out of forest park onto the ike, i almost had a heart attack. i was disarranged of which direction the bus was heading and finally realized i was still going to make it to work without any more delays.

i made sure to pull the alert to make my final stop. i was at work and only 45 minutes later than anticipated.

as the saying goes, "you live and you learn." well, i am still living and i definitely learned a lot for future cta commutes to come.