Early Bird or Night Owl?

Buses at night are more comfortable, or is that just me?

Hey Guys! I have had the most amazing week. I hope you had a week at least half as amazing as I did. But anyway.

During the last week I got up early every day (it gets better, just keep reading). The reason for getting up early was that I was doing a project with one of the societies in uni (I shan’t tell you which one, I don’t know any of you). This project required me to be at uni at 8:15. This is the earliest I have ever been at uni in my LIFE. But I have found something.

I love buses in the morning! And by ‘morning’ I don’t mean school run, or going to uni. By ‘morning’ I mean being on the bus at 7 am. I love it. I can sit in my favourite seat (oh my, I can feel your judging eyes burning into me now!), you don’t get annoying businessmen who jabber into their phones, not even hyper children.

Another thing I have noticed was that a similar phenomenon (ok, maybe I’m exaggerating a little) happens in the evening. I often get the bus late in the evening (again with the judging eyes, no I don’t go clubbing THAT often). Like in the morning, I find getting the bus at night quite a relaxing environment. Barely anyone there, quiet, plus London at night looks a whole lot better than by day.

Having found this out, I ended up thinking about whether maybe I should make it a habit to get to uni earlier and leave later. But then the end of the week came (dun dun duuun). I had Friday off, and thought, you know, get up early and get some work done. Well, that did NOT happen. After getting up a 6 every day of the week, I ended up so tired that I slept ‘til ten. But you don’t care about that. But having realised how tired I got, getting up that early every day, I would die of tiredness. So I shall just have to enjoy the quietness of the bus when I get the chance.

So what have you found? Do you prefer the bus in the morning or the evening?

Friendships on the road

The expression of a typical person in morning rush hour. WARNING: Never talk to this specimen!

I am not the sort of person who makes friends easily, however I do feel that I can read people, (talk to them when I have to, but only when forced). I often feel like I know the people who take the same bus as me in the morning, simply because I see them everyday, probably at their worst. You know, with dark shadows under their eyes, their hair in a mess, and possibly in the worst mood they will have all day. I have never spoken to them (mainly because many of them look like they need another 10 hours in bed, but then so do I), and yet I feel that there is a sort of connection between us.

  The people I am about to write about are undoubtedly what I will miss most about when I finish uni next year (at least I get another year to watch them). I have never spoken to them, so maybe I should.

On the bus that I take to uni, there is a family. They take the same bus every morning as part of their school run. I noticed this at the beginning of my first year at uni. The two children are amazingly well behaved, something which struck me. On the same bus is also an elderly lady. I haven’t quite worked out why she takes the bus, as she is clearly above retirement age, but I’m determined to find out sooner or later. Anyway, I digress. It is these people that I blog about today, because over the course of the two years I have now taken this bus, the lady and the two children have formed a sort of bond. Every morning when the children get, she greets as though they were her own grandchildren. Before you ask, yes I am quite certain (well as certain as you can be with people you barely know) that she is in fact NOT their grandmother. 

Their interaction made me wonder how it is possible to forge such strong relationships with people that you only have one thing in common with, other than the fact that you have to take a crowded bus every morning. I also wondered how they were able to build such a relationship in the morning rush hour in London, where the most important rule is to ignore anyone that dares to look at you. And if someone so much as opened their mouth to talk to you, you must of course, whip out your phone and seem extremely busy.

All in all, I have decided to make at least one ‘bus friend’ as I shall refer to them from now on. Mind you, perhaps I should make sure that they aren’t serial killers (you never know, it’s the quiet ones you have to be careful of). How do you find out if someone is a serial killer, without knowing their name? 

This is me... and why can't this be my bus?

Why can't this be my bus?? Picture by Google Images

I should introduce myself before starting. I'm Anna, and I'm a teacher (well, nearly). As part of uni life, I decided to embrace the horrendous delays, extortionist amounts of money to be spent and general frustration that is public transport in London. Ok, who am I kidding? I was just too lazy to move out, and now I have to commute to uni every day. Not my best thought out idea.

Recently, I worked out that I spend 4 hours (roughly) per week on public transport. Doesn't sound much. But when coupled with the screaming babies, deaf teenagers (I don't mean literally deaf, I mean teenagers that feel the need to put their music on loudspeaker in a packed bus, and then proceed to sing along. Deaf because they can't hear how off key they are) and obnoxious bus drivers amongst others, 4 hours a week quickly become an eternity in hell.

But public transport isn't all bad. In the last year, I have witnessed random acts of kindness, friendships forming and hilarious mishaps on the bus. I love being able to sit near the back of the bus, and observe people. On that note, an quick thank you to everyone who sits on my bus in the morning, you (possibly) helped me develop my observations. It always amazes me that friendships can form so quickly on the bus, simply because they happen to be catching the same bus everyday.

What started this off?
The idea for this blog came was I was sitting (predictably) on the bus, on my way from uni. That was last year. Between then and now, I continued to think about having a blog, but it was an ICT lecture about blogs that started this off. Also, I needed to stop complaining to my family about my journeys.


So what are your experiences on public transport? Please leave a comment...