Morning commute from East Oahu: iDrive!

@postaday 46; #postaday2011

After years of humble pie on theBus, I got to drive to work today for the first time. It was civilized. Granted, I was the only one on board, but, it was great to not be surrounded by commuters who hack, cough, sneeze, belch and fart as though they were alone.  Many of you might recall how I’ve mentioned here or on Twitter how my fellow riders either don’t bathe, wear too much perfume, or both. How many carry the stink of cigarette smoke on them, or harbor little critters in their hair. A few pay for just themselves, but get on board with legions of demons. It can get kinda sketchy, no matter what time of day it is.

Not to really disparage theBus, much. It’s known as the best-run system in the country. Except for that sketchy first week when drivers play musical bus routes,  most of the time the buses run on time. And mostly I took the Express bus, and got to know fellow riders from Hawaii Kai. We get on, we say good morning to each other, we touch base, we let each other know we’re going on a trip, or vacation, or changing schedules or jobs. Why? Well, when someone doesn’t show up, we read their obituary in the newspaper. Not that anyone can give you a head’s up that they are going to die over the weekend, but it is always with shock and sadness that we realize the regular friend who sat a few seats back has clocked out for good.

I told a few people yesterday that we acquired a second family car and so I would now be driving in to town. That’s what I did this morning. With an HMSA commuter mug with my first morning mocha (home-made luxury!), I left the house at 6 a.m., slipped into the traffic flow toward town with NPR news as my companion, and parked on the 4th floor in the Keeaumoku Ross Dress for Less structure at 6:25. The van fit comfortably beneath the 5-foot, 10-inch ceiling. I know I’m not the only person driving who ducks like it would make a difference, LOL.

Some people remarked that my not riding theBus would mean no morning tweets from me on Twitter. No updates on Facebook. No blog drafts on my iPhone. Didja miss me? How nice!

I really thought that getting to drive would mean that I could sleep in a little longer and not get up at 320 for my butt-crack-of-dawn workouts. But, alas it does not. Even if I were to leave the house 15 minutes later, traffic builds incrementally, so I think for now I’m going to stick with that morning routine. What I do hope happens is that we Benderettes will get to bed earlier. I for one will sleep more soundly knowing John is driving home. I could even send him a message to pick something up at the store on his way!