Friday, Part 2

I have to dream that the stations in
Austin look like this. Maybe
someday...

Last week, I had a bit of a misadventure on the train. Once I got back downtown, it was getting dark, and the crowds gathering for South by Southwest were plenty thick throughout downtown. We had found out the previous evening that the buses through downtown were about as fast as walking because of the traffic and masses of pedestrians. Plus, there was lots of energy in the air just because of all the people, the festival atmosphere, and so on, so I decided to ride the bike as far as campus, and get the bus there.

Unfortunately, even though I managed to avoid the headache of taking the main thoroughfare, the buses did not, so I still had to wait. One bus went by that I could have taken to meet Chad (I didn't remember this until the bus had already been gone for about five minutes), but I had the choice of two that were meant to come within 15 minutes. Great.

Except they didn't come.

At least, not on time. The first bus was running 25 minutes late; the second one was behind by 15 minutes (or so said the driver). And as if that weren't enough, the first bus had a bike in both slots on the rack, meaning I was unable to board. So I sat back down to wait for the next one, which-- I bet you can guess it-- also had a full bike rack. Sigh. I was about to give it up for a bad job, when a passenger got off and removed his bike. I refrained from doing a dance of joy, because I had to load up my bike and get on.

That's about the end of the adventure-- I got off at my stop, had about a five-minute ride to meet Chad (about 45 minutes late, but at least I got there), and that was the end of it.

Kinda.

He was going to play basketball after Toastmasters, but I was tired and also was unsure about whether we'd meet up with a friend who would be able to haul the bike back home after basketball, so I declined to join him and was going to take the bus home instead. Someone at Toastmasters offered me a lift, so we were both all set, and I headed home-- to find out at my door that I was locked out. Yep, I had taken my key off the ring when I went running earlier in the day and forgot to put it back on. And the after-hours officer wasn't answering the phone. So I pulled out a book and sat on the front step waiting for Chad to get home after basketball. I probably won't be making that mistake again any time soon.

That last bit doesn't have anything to do with my public transport adventures, of course. So, best-laid plans? Or best-laid pantsing? Share yours in the comments.