Annnnnnd.... buses.

So buses turn out to be awesome.  The things about buses that are weird include:  the bus stops, the irregularity of when buses show up, and that there's not a lot to do when you're sitting at the bus - EXCEPT:  talk to people, clean up, ask what they want in the neighborhood, find out why they're taking the bus in the first place, learn their names, learn about their families and why they live here, what they want our city to be, and a million other things that come up when you have 20 minutes to talk to someone you're just meeting for the first time.  Hey wanna see my bus pass?

It's cool.  So far people talked to me about their doctors' appointments, which buildings they think are getting torn down (next) in my neighborhood, and what their kids did that day.  I have to say, it's kind of bizarre that we haven't figured out a way to put two things at bus stops:  tiny playgrounds and cigarette-butt-disposals.  You have a lot of time to sit and be stressed and/or bored at a bus stop and I definitely would love to see some stuff to play at.  A really nice mom was encouraging her kids to stop playing in the chainlink fence + garbage / mud + cigarette butts "playground" behind the bus stop and I wanted so badly for these kids to have a sandbox at that moment.  A couple calls and we'll see how it goes but, it's kind of weird because the view from the bus stop looks like this:

and you don't even realize that gorgeous, amazing Lake Michigan is right behind you, or that there are a few simultaneous, amazing development projects going on across the street.  Cool things about the bus stop at Sheridan & Washington:  there are nice wind shelters, unlike a lot of the bus stops, and super nice people announce what bus is coming.  I just found out about this by sitting there, but somebody stands up and says "571 ya'll!" or "cinqo seis cinqo ahora" so you don't miss your bus if you're texting/blogging/sleeping/raising kids, and it's really cool. 

The first day, I took the bus to the bike shop to pick up my bike, then rode my bike home, rode my bike to church, and rode it home from church in the rain.  I stopped at a gas station because I was super thirsty and here's where I parked it: 

Yeah, there aren't any actual places to park bikes.  Even at my church, which I love, I locked my bike to a tree.  (I tried to take a picture but it was pretty dark.)  One cool thing is that the sidewalks here are great and I didn't ever have to jump a curb - they all had those little ramps for handicap accessibility / bicyclability. 

So I made it home, ashes on my forehead, kind of snowy and wishing I had better gloves - but I was on time to church and it only took me 11 minutes to ride there, which isn't too long.  The good thing is that carrying my bike up one flight of stairs isn't a big deal, even though it is kind of weird to keep my bike in my kitchen until I figure out a better place.  I got through all of today without driving, and I'm looking forward to seeing how the weekend goes.  I'm thinking Chicago, but we'll see where my bus pass and train tickets take me.