Out and about

My goals for November, each very simple, are interlocking. I suppose I did that on purpose.

Today was a two-fer: "Find something to do outside the house" and "Don't take the car out of the garage." (Three-fer if you count this as "Write something daily that's not job-related.")

This morning I got out of the house and left the car by riding with The Wife on the bus.

The Wife takes the bus from our house to Rancho Cordova, a ridiculously long trip whose only redeeming values are (1) she doesn't have to deal with traffic and (2) she gets to spend the time reading books.

I rode with The Wife as far as the Starbucks at Morse and Arden Way. I camped at Starbucks until noon, working on my laptop.

It would be nice if it had been a four-fer -- "Run at least five days a week" -- but The Dog barked.

About 3 a.m., The Dog entered my bedroom and made plaintive noises. Something like "I need to go outside" in dog whining. When I didn't respond she barked, "Now!"

I go to bed around midnight with my alarm set for 6:15 a.m. I run in the morning for 2 or 2.5 miles depending on the whim of the moment, shower when I return and then help The Wife catch her 7:24am bus.

Being awakened at 3 a.m. cuts short my sleep, and I've learned from painful experience that running without enough sleep will destroy my concentration when I finally settle down to work.

I was not happy to have the dog mess up my interlocking plans, and I was telling the beast exactly what I thought of her whining as I tossed the covers aside and rolled out of bed.

"Don't put the dog out," The Wife said from under the covers on the far side of the bed. "She'll just chase cats and bark to get back in."

"What am I supposed to do?" I asked.

"Tell her to lie down," she said.

I barked at the dog, "Go lie down" and climbed into bed.

When the dog returned 15 minutes later whining to go out I told The Wife it was her turn.

The Wife worked her magic on the dog and we made it through the night.

Since I didn't get to run, I walked. Or at least that was the rationale when I set off n a hike from Morse and Arden to Watt and Butano.

Actually, I was having a bad day bus-schedule-wise. I misread the Google Maps transit instructions and missed the bus at Morse and Arden. I didn't want to sit around another half-hour.

The walk would be good exercise, I told myself. And I certainly couldn't complain about the weather. It was ideal.

When I was near Watt and Butano I checked Google Maps on my Blackberry. The directions said I had 10 minutes before the next bus home would arrive at a nearby stop.

And then I saw the bus arrive at the stop.

I don't run for buses. I shrugged off the missed connection and decided to walk to the Starbucks at Watt and Kings Way. From there I could either catch the next bus or walk home.

But the bus didn't leave the stop as I crossed the street and approached. As I got closer, the ramp went down and a wheelchair rider got off. Another wait and then an elderly woman with a walker departed.

I was just 10 yards from the bus when it rolled up its ramp and pulled away from the curb.

Well it attempted to pull away. Traffic was backed up from El Camino all the way into the Butano intersection. The bus didn't get more than a foot from the curb.

Run?

Catch next bus?

Run.

I reached the door to the bus and knocked on the glass with my ARC student bus pass in hand.

The driver tried to ignore me but realized the stalled traffic wasn't going to let him escape. Finally he opened the door. I thanked him for waiting as I took a seat.

That was enough adventure for the day. Tomorrow I've got a lot of work to keep me at home.