Buses and Books

Waiting and Waiting and Waiting
(photos courtesy of Justin Ramos)

Half the month is already through and somehow I have only managed to post once. The time seems to be FLYING by these days as I scramble to read as much as possible for class as well as keep up with news around the world. Without a t.v. I follow up on the news via BBC, NY Times, and of course AZ Central- because I can't live without news from home. However, no matter how scheduled and organized I try to keep my day, as I crawl into bed I can't help but start putting together my to-do list for the following day. I know I'm not the only one who feels this way but *sigh* it sure would be nice to complete an entire to do list one day....
Moving on!
I have always been blessed with good time management skills and an over-achieving mind set so when it comes to reading, I have come to learn to take advantage of the hours I seem to spend waiting for and riding on the buses here in London. Although there is now an app (thank you Apple and TFL for partnering up) to tell you when the next bus is coming, it cannot always be relied upon. For reasons that all of London seems to wonder about, buses have a problem with coming right on time. That is not to say that they aren't close to on time, and I appreciate that if the 188 is supposed to come every 7-10 minutes it is generally within that time frame but with every passing minute I get antsy and feel as though I need to make use of my wait times. (I suppose I should also include times I spend waiting on tubes that I miss as I sprint down the escalator and still don't reach the doors before the doors snap shut and the train speeds off.)
Now don't read this and think that I am complaining about the public transportation here. Because I'm not. As much as I miss driving I LOVE public transportation now. Not when it breaks down or fails to show up or when we hit the pot holes in the road that I swear the bus seems to look for but the fact that I don't have to get behind the wheel and fight my way through traffic that could compete with the 405 in Los Angeles makes me happy and again, I am then able to be productive in all my travel times. When I have to drive anywhere at home, I can't be productive! (A quick shout out to my wonderful boyfriend who is always looking for ways to make driving more bearable for me and has now found all 7 Harry Potter books in audio format). I hate not being productive but I am now able to read and even take notes on the bus and tube which makes me feel more accomplished with my time.
During the evenings however, the bus environment changes. There was an article in the Evening Standard the other day that explains it much better than I and also provides a few laughs for anyone who knows of the London Night Buses (Aubrey? Grace?) or who uses public transportation at home. With the last tube times running around midnight and pubs/bars/clubs not closing until well after 2am there really is no way to get home unless you are ready to brave the night bus. It's really an experience and for anyone who visits London I encourage you to check it out....after a few drinks that is. And so with this article: The Night (Bus) Life I leave you for now.

Love from London,
Kristin