I love progress.
Today I earned a free drink at Starbucks. Yesterday my Tri-Met HOP card registered a month pass for the remainder of February. I made it to church on time. With healthy snacks. I caught my buses to the Max Station to meet my daughter and the Schnood with less than a 5 minute each line. I ate reasonably sized, healthy meals, keeping on eye on my carbs and sugars.
I think I am starting to get the hang of this thing called life!
A little discipline goes a long way. My Code of the Piano Ninja can be adapted to my life!
A ninja is courageous. And in that spirit I am trying something new! I am talk texting this blog!
My brilliance knows no measure! Although sometimes it takes me awhile to catch on.
The reason this is so brilliant, is that I spend so much time on the bus or waiting for the bus, that I try to use my time wisely. I often blog on the bus or waiting for the bus but typing on this little tiny cell phone screen is a bit of a pain. So I decided to try the talk text feature.
O.K. True confession - it was my daughter's idea. She saw me typing the other day and said, "Mom why don't you just talk text?"
I said, "Because I'm a fast typist. Duh."
She laughed at me.
"That's kind of low-tech."
That's me. Most low tech am I!
So here I am at the Fisher's Landing Transit Center in Vancouver.
I just got dropped off by the Parkrose express.
It was amazing timing. I left my church about 12:15 and I arrived in Vancouver at 1:30.
The next bus doesn't arrive for 30 minutes to my daughter's house, so she and the Schnood are picking me up and we're going for out for lunch at our new favorite Vietnamese restaurant: Pho Star.
I like this talk texting I feel like I'm talking to you, my beloved reader. Isn't that sweet?
After lunch, my daughter the Schnood and I are going back to their trailer to hang out. I can hardly wait! I am going to read all our new books to the Schnood!
I love books. I really love books! In fact, if I hadn't ended up being a piano teacher, I would have become a librarian. Although my mom nixed that idea early on.
O.K. Here's a confession. I have a strange disorder. Whenever I go into a library or bookstore I get so overwhelmed with excitement at the possibility of reading all these books the smell the side of the books the endless possibilities of knowledge, that I have to find the nearest bathroom.
Oy! That was really embarrassing! But it's the truth. So my mom suggested I not go to school to study library science because of my book related IBS.
She's probably right. But I do love books. I suppose I am a bit of a book hoarder. But I really do read them. And I'm excited to pass this love of books onto my grandbaby.
Oh! Here they are now! I'll check back in later...ttfn!
Later (8:30 p.m.)
I'm back in Portland. On my way home. I had a wonderful visit with my daughter and my grandbaby. She loves her books!
And I managed to get the last bus from Vancouver to Parkrose at 6 p.m.
I've been catching my buses on times today!
I had a couple of interesting encounters with people on the bus. I know several of my readers enjoy my bus stories. And I enjoy telling them!
I got off the bus from the Parkrose Transit Center and was waiting for the #14 Hawthorne bus. It was dark starting to get really cold.
A skinny, scruffy looking man came up to me. He was about my age. He asked me if I knew what time the bus was due.
I checked my phone and told him the #14 was due in 7 minutes. The #71 pulled up. He was about to get on. I asked him which way he was heading.
He said, "Just up to 82nd", he said.
I told him to wait for the #14. It went down Foster to 82nd. The #71 doubled back to 122nd.
He thanked me, smiling a crooked shy smile.
As we waited, shivering in the cold, he started telling me about his life.
He haf just moved here from Alaska. He told me he thiugyt Portland was a bigger scarier city than he was used to.
He said he'd run into some trouble with some shady people. I must have given him a strange look because he said, "I know I look kind of shady, but I ain't a bad guy."
Again that shy, lopsided grin
I told him he didn't look shady and that he seemed like a nice person. And yes, Portland has gotten kind of rough lately.
We chatted a bit through chattering teeth. Then the bus pulled up.
We hooped on. I tapped my HOP card in the scanner and settled into a warm seat. My new friend told the driver he lost his bus pass but he was just going about a mile up to 82nd. The bus driver said he could just pay a dollar. He thanked her and sat down across the aisle from me.
The bus was warm, but empty. Except for the three of us.
He talked about moving from Alaska and how he had run into some bad luck.
S.E. 82nd came pretty quick. He was heading to Stark, so I pointed him to his next bus stop.
He smiled his big, crooked grin and waved as he stepped off the bus.
"Thank you ladies for your kindness and for listening to me!"
I waved back and smiled.
It just warmed my heart to have brightened his evening. I could have just ignored him. That would have been easier. The bus driver could have denied him a rude without proper fair.
But instead, we chose the path of kindness. And I think we all were lifted up because of it.
I went to catch my next bus and it started to pour down rain. And the wind picked up. I got out my batlight and sloshed my way to the bus stop. My umbrella is big and sturdy, but it early went inside out when a big gust of wind whipped up.
I managed to get my umbrella under control when I noticed a man standing at the bus stop. A very wet man maybe in his early 40's. He was just wearing a sweatshirt and jeans and holding a big bag of Popeye's chicken.
I felt sorry for him. He must have noticed me looking at him. He glanced my way.
I said, "It looks like your chicken is getting wet".
He said, "It's okay. It's packaged up."
I said, "Well you're getting wet and it's awfully cold".
I walked over and put my umbrella over his head and we talked until the bus pulled up. He talked about work. He works at a Wal-Mart. He said Portland has gotten rough. They get so many shoplifters, but the staff are afraid of getting stabbed or shot and they don't have enough security there to deter the shoplifters.
He told me that is why they closed the Fred Meyer on SE 82nd and Foster- they were losing so much money from shoplifters in that neighborhood. That, and he told me he heard the building was filled with asbestos.
Just then, the bus pulled up. We chatted a bit more until his stop came up. We waved goodbye like old friends.
Something about cold rainy nights in Portland on the bus. It seems to create a bond between strangers.
We certainly aren't required talk to each other but it sure makes it a lot nicer when we do.
And on that note, I am almost home, I will say goodbye for now.
Talk text to you tomorrow!
Love,
Zita
P.S. Here is today's hooping video. Day 247!
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