Today's interesting commute

I probably jinxed myself in the morning today by changing my routine around, but whatever the reason, today’s commute was a bit more interesting than usual. I usually shower right when I get out of bed, but today, I decided that I would wait and shower just before leaving the house. The only reason that’s relevant is that my hair was still wet when I got to the bus stop, and it was so cold today that part of it froze. It was actually crunchy when I got on the bus. Luckily it all still seems to be attached to my head.

There were some very interesting characters to watch on the bus. There was the girl who twirled her hair from the time I got on the bus until she got off about 30 minutes later. There was the woman putting on various kinds and layers of makeup while the bus bounced around … it was like watching someone play some strange video game. There was the grandfather letting his granddaughter brush his hair in various crazy directions, none of which came close to his intended hairstyle, I’m sure. That’s what grandfathers do, and it was very sweet to watch. There was lady dressed in fur from head to toe: hat, coat, gloves, pants (not technically fur, but leopard print), and fur tufts on the tops of her boots. Finally, there was the fellow who was very animated at the bus stop, waving vigorously for the bus as if it would pass him by for sure.

After I got off the bus, I walked my usual route across Liberty, in front of the Culinary Institute, where I can usually see the chefs-in-training either preparing breakfast for one another, or all sitting together to eat whatever breakfast one of them had made. When I turned onto Strawberry Way, there was a huge crane in the alley, and I had to walk under the enormous counterweight that keeps the crane from tipping when it’s boom is extended. If walking under a ladder is bad luck, I’m surely in for it.

I never know what manner of interesting smell will be coming from Wiener World. Today, as I approached, it was immediately apparent that the aroma-du-jour was ammonia.

I decided on the way up the USX entry escalator to treat myself to a scone from Starbucks (say all the bad things you want about their coffee, but I do like the scones). The line was quite long, so I got to people watch for a while, which is one of the things I enjoy about being downtown (couldn’t you tell?). Ironically, there wasn’t much out of the ordinary, just the usual bluetooth headset people having their conversations into thin air (slightly hypocritical, as I do this at the grocery store on occasion), and the suits flirting with the female Starbucks baristas. I guess I used up my interestingness karma on the bus ride.