Last week I started thinking that I'd like to do an experiment. When NE and I went on our little road trip, we took my car. Which meant that my gas tank is much lower than it normally is for this time of month. I did go ahead and add $10 of gas to it on Sunday just in case I didn't like the results of my experiment.

So .. what was my experiment? Riding the bus to work and back home!

Today was day 1.

I caught the bus that goes within a few blocks of my home about 7:35 a.m. That's only ten minutes earlier than I usually leave in the car.

We got downtown at 7:49 ... according to the person I spoke with last week, the bus should have gone on to the bus garage. That person was wrong.

At 7:51 we left with new passengers .. at the first stop I checked to make sure he wasn't going to the garage. He wasn't.

So I got off and preceded to walk roughly 12 blocks to work. I arrived about 8 minutes late.

After work I debated my options. I could catch the inbound bus at 5, go to the transfer center, catch the bus that goes within a few blocks of my house and then be home by 5:40 or so. Little walking involved.

Or I could catch the outbound bus two blocks away from work a bit after 4:45, take it for five or six minutes, get off and walk about ten blocks home.

I chose option two - and got home about 5:10.

Tomorrow I'm trying again - this time I'll start out with the bus that is about ten blocks away from me (nine blocks inbound) and will end up being early for work. However, I will be wearing my tennis shoes and carrying my heels in my bag!

I'll have to leave the apartment by 7:15, which is about 30 minutes earlier than my car time, but I'm also getting in a good bit of exercise. Two birds, one stone.

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I am SO frustrated with the afternoon dispatcher at work. Today I had at least 3 people calling me asking me about a particular bus route. The bus wasn't showing up on the locator screen, so I tried calling dispatch to find out what was going on. It just kept ringing and ringing and ringing. So I had to tell the people that I didn't know what was going on. Ugh.

Finally a 4th person calls and I try again - get the dispatcher. I ask him if anything is going on with that route - he mumbles one word that sounds like yes, and then hangs up on me.

I get that he was probably uber inundated with the drivers calling in, etc., but I have to have information to work with to handle callers! It made me (and our company) sound idiotic to not have that info. This isn't the first time I've had this issue with this particular dispatcher.

I told the office manager what happened - making sure she knew I didn't want him to get into trouble, but that we have to figure out some way for me to be informed of accidents (which is what happened) and other disruptions on the routes fairly soon after they happen. Because people DO call!

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I also had this one caller today whose phone kept cutting in and out and was difficult to understand. So I thought I figured out what he wanted, and gave him the info. Later he called me back and accused me of lying to him! I was flabbergasted! Told him that I hadn't lied to him, but had misunderstood what he was wanting.

Seriously!

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I made a good number of sales on the FB garage page this weekend.

Crockpot - $5
Rice Cooker - $8
iPhone portable charger - $10
Inflatable couch/sleeper - $40

I think there was something else too ..

I also had my share of head shaking moments. One person who was "in line" for a friend - said her friend would be here by 2. Then by 3. At 3:40 I messaged her and told her the friend hadn't shown up. She messaged friend, and told me 'she passed." Ugh!

Then another item that had six people in line for it - first one passed *after* I agreed to lower the price. Then the next 4 ignored my PMs. The 6th one told me she was at a graduation and would get back to me - then did, and asked me my location. (which was posted in the ad - general location) When I told her it, she said she worked on the other side of town and so couldn't come get it. Come on! Reading comprehension, anyone???

I'm going to give the items another go on Tuesday (3 day waiting period to bump posts.) Hopefully some more go!