BLATHER REVIEW

ol' Carmine must be mad at me

Carmine is my Chevy Blazer, named for it's color: Carmine Red.

Carmine has some kind of electrical problem that's been making it hard to start it's engine. I have to turn it over and over and over until the battery begins to wear down. When it turns slowly enough it ignites, as if it needs a choking or something.

Anyway, I drained the battery this morning, until Carmine wouldn't even turn over, and the engine never ignited. Luckily I got a ride to work, as it takes a while to get there by bus (12 miles, 2 transfers).
Getting home was the fun part.

I left work at 5:35 and walked to the Mall to catch the bus back to Bridgeport ('tis about a 15 minute walk). The 5:50 bus never showed up, so I waited for the 6:20.

These new buses have a new way of issuing transfers: by spitting them out of a doohickey by the fare box. They're time-stamped and expire 70 minutes after being issued.
Used t'be that you got a transfer and it was good all day. Not for the next 70 minutes. ALL FRICKIN' DAY!

Checking the bus schedule that I grabbed as I got on, I saw that it takes 50 minutes to get to the hub in Bridgeport where I'll catch the #4 Park Avenue bus. My 20 minute window was cut to 10 minutes when the bus just sat there at the Mall for 10 minutes before driving on. Crud!

So I got the idea to get off at the Milford train station and catch the train to Bridgeport. The train station in B-port is across the street from the bus hub. Cool! That'll cost me an extra $2, but it might save me as much as half an hour! Woo hoo!!

So I got to the train station at 6:40 and looked for the schedule. The previous train left for Bridgeport at 6:09; next one will arrive at 7:09. Dang!!
Of course the train arrived at 7:18, and I'll arrive at the hub in Bridgeport at the exact same time as the bus I'd just gotten off of!! Crappity crap crap!!!

The ticket-taker-guy came by. I said "Bridgeport," and handed him a $5 bill. He put it in his pocket, punched a ticket thingy, handed it to me and began to walk away.

"Uh," I muttered, "it's $5 to get to Bridgeport?!"
"Yep."
"Ho-ly shit."
"Well, on the train it is," he said, "but it's $2 if you get a ticket from the machine."
"Machine?"
"Yes, the big ticket dispenser on the platform. You put in $2 and get a ticket. But if you pay on the train it's $5."
"Well that would've been nice to know."
"Well, it's been there for over a year," he concluded as he walked away.
Well, a belated "happy anniversary" to ya then.

I haven't ridden the train in over a year. I always got on the train and paid the $2. Not five. TWO!! Stinkin' railway robbery, I tells ya.

So I arrived at the bus hub in Bridgeport at 7:35. By now my transfer was no good so I'd be paying another bus fare, but all I had was a $10 bill, and the bus requires exact change ($1.25). So I walked a block to a downtown liquor store to get change, walked back and checked the schedules to see when the next #4 bus would arrive.
The previous one left at 7:10; next one will arrive at 8:10. D'oh!
Another half-hour of sittin' on my ass with bums and losers asking me for a cigarette every five friggin' minutes. The bus was late.

So I left work at 5:35 and finally walked through my front door at 8:45. Three hours and ten minutes to travel twelve stinkin' miles. I could've jogged home faster!

My friend Chris came out to give me a jump to see if I could get Carmine's engine going. Before hooking up the cables, and just out of curiosity (what with having drained the battery this morning), I turned the key in the ignition.
Started right up!!
WTF?!!!!!

Note to G-d: Hey, G-d, I'm an athiest...I don't believe in Y-u...so, please, stop testing me awready!!!!

Posted by Tuning Spork at October 8, 2003 10:56 PM