~Monday~ I got to the bus stop just as the Wolfline #9 Greek Village bus pulled up, and looking forward to getting back to my daily routine this week. At the third stop, at Gorman and Kaplan, I took an inventory of riders counting 6 out of the 7 riders with ear buds in. At the next stop, the count went to 7 out of 9 people, and at the next one, 8 of 10. Of the 10 people, 6 were Asian, 2 Middle Eastern, and 2 Caucasian. I counted as a Caucasian with ear buds in.
Today and tomorrow at the university are what are known as “reading days,” which are the two days after classes end and before exams begin. Presumably, the students are “reading” (i.e., studying) during these two days. Unless of course like me, they were taking a class in which there is no final paper or project due or a final exam to be taken. For those who aren’t working stiffs (like myself), these two days would be what are known as “play days.”
I had a Monday morning free of meetings, which you can’t beat, and ended my day with a two-hour meeting over in the Avent Ferry Technology Center on Avent Ferry Road, from 2:00-4:00, and worked my remaining hour after that from home.
Today, I got the most excited I’ve been about having a smartphone, as I was able to bring up the university’s interactive website that GPS-tracks the university buses. Those balloons move around as the buses move.
This is exciting as it tells me exactly how much time I have to wait at a stop or if I have time to run to the nearby ATM machine or run back to the house if I forgot something. The city bus also has this, which means when I’m standing there debating if I’ve missed the bus or if it’s just running late, all I have to do is check my phone. Nirvana.
As I waited at the stop for the Avent Ferry bus near the Avent Ferry Technology Center, I was able to tell that the bus was just up over the hill on the other side of Western Boulevard, knowing it would be there in just a minute or two. No time to run back in and pee today.
The prodigal son returned to Planet Fitness this evening—not celebrated with a fatted calf, but it was free pizza night. I did 60 minutes on the cross-trainer burning of 1129 calories, and then promptly ate about 600’s worth on the way out—one slice of cheese and one slice of pepperoni.
I listened to a rare This American Life (TAL) podcast during my workout, rare in that it was uninspiring. The episode was called Babysitting and I only listened to the first act, as I could have sworn I’d heard this episode before. A check now, while devising this blog entry, shows that it “originally aired 01.06.2001,” which undoubtedly was written 01/06/2001 back then, and which means I’ve been listening to TAL for at least nine years now.
Back home, I made my hotel reservations for my trip over Memorial Day weekend, with a first reservation at Hampton Inn for $296, but ending with one at a Comfort Inn for $203.
I had some work that I wanted to do before two meetings tomorrow, and debated as to whether I wanted to do it tonight, or get to bed early and get in the office early tomorrow to do it. I opted for the former, as I just didn’t feel like doing it tonight.