an open letter to MUNI...

i meant to write about this yesterday but got distracted by my cooking class (!!!) & a few glasses of wine...which meant i went to bed immediately upon arriving home last night.

anyway, so i am really impressed/excited about SF MUNI deciding to incorporate new electric hybrid buses into the lines that don't run solely on electricity - including the 27, which is what i take to and from work every day. the buses are nicer, cleaner (at least for now), and generally the ride is smoother which is great for me & my crossword puzzle-doing ways. NERD.

oh, and they're like, better for the environment and all that jazz. hippies unite! haha.

i do, however, have two complaints about these new buses:

1) the top part of the windows that actually opens up & allows air in is way too high to do any good. the interior of the bus is slightly different on these hybrid buses in that the front part is lower than the standard MUNI bus, and then there is a second tier that sits higher - so only the back of the bus gets good ventilation. this is lame. and slightly claustrophobic. (or as paris says "causterphobic". heh.)

2) the exit door system is whack. there are apparently sensors in the door that you just have to touch to get it to open, but they don't seem to work very well. (for the non-SF, non-MUNI riders out there, on the other buses you either step down on a sensor to get the door to open or push one of the metal poles affixed to the doors.) i have seen, more often than not, people push the door - as directed on a sticker in both english and español right on the door - and then nothing happens. and then they holler at the driver "back door!" and then the driver yells back "push the door!" and of course they're all "i did!" and disgruntled mumbling/swearing/chaos ensues. bah! this seems to be way too much trouble just to exit the bus. and trust me, this has also happened to me and i think i am a fairly intelligent person who knows how to operate things like a car and a computer and am also able to post things on the internets. i'm no dummy!

anyway, that is my review/rant about the new buses. i can't believe that the manufacturer of these motorized public transport vehicles did not notice that these would be issues. but who i am to judge, i listen to music all day and order tee shirts and troll the internets for a living. heh heh.

the simple things.

why is it that, when i see a cute boy on MUNI it (almost) makes my whole day? it's pretty comical.

i think it's because the MUNI line that i take regularly - which weaves its way through the tenderloin and provides a myriad of interesting, shall we say "characters" of which to observe (this is where the anthropology degree comes in handy - see mom?!?) - doesn't really afford me the opportunity to see cutie patooties who bathe and use the bathroom indoors. mostly just crackheads and men who rather fastidiously pick at the gross scab on the back of their head (seriously, i've seen him three times in the last week - sooooo so wrong). so yeah, attractive young men are a welcome distraction from the monotony of my 27.3 minute commute...

i thought about this last night when i was on my way to the of montreal show. i was staring out the window, listening to my iPod, and turned my eyes back to the inside of the bus...and accidentally made eye contact with a cute boy who was sitting near the front. eye contact with strangers makes me uncomfortable, if you don't know that about me. yes - i am (semi)shy. i know YOU don't believe that, but it's true. it's the reason i can't go up and talk to boys at bars or shows or parties or the grocery store (seriously, people don't actually do that, do they?) - i'm a dork. anyway, i was like "crap crap, that cute boy thinks i was staring at him and i wasn't!" and got all weirded out. uh huh - no wonder i don't have a boyfriend! I AM A TOTAL NERD.

then, this morning when i was waiting on MUNI there was another cute boy waiting at my stop. two in a mere 12 hour time period? that's like winning the cute boy on MUNI lottery! haha. and when the bus came, he waited and let me go in front of him - le sigh, how gentlemanly! i think we should totally get married. if i can find him again and actually speak...but who am i kidding, we all know i'm never going to do that. little miss nerdy mcdorkster strikes again!