Hardly ever boring

I ride the bus a lot here, and most of the time my rides are uneventful and I spend my time reading or listening to music or both. But sometimes I have to spend my time pretending to read while secretly eavesdropping or sneaking glances of the people that board. Here are a few of the most memorable riding experiences so far.

*It was about 5 in the evening and I was on my way to teach dance at the studio when the bus stopped to pick up a passenger right off of a very busy street in Richland not near a residential area. The woman who boarded was wearing pajama pants, slippers, and carrying a pillow. She was not carrying with her however an overnight bag or a suitcase which would've indicated she was headed for a slumber party somewhere. Also please note I used the word "woman" to indicate that she was not a young girl or teen who would maybe just borrow all of her friends items upon arrival.

*It was around 1 in the afternoon and I was on my way to coaching at the high school when a conversation in the back of the bus caught my attention away from my book. I'm thinking the age of the kids speaking were either in high school but skipping at the time or just out of high school without any time to mature. One very boisterous kid speaking in a louder than appropriate voice was telling his fellow bus-mates in the back how he has done shrooms with his mom, gotten high with his mom, and done other various illegal things with his mom. My first thought was "Seriously? There is a mom out there like that? She should not get to be a mom." Before I can be appalled even further he interrupts my thoughts by calling this "mom" on the phone and telling her he'd like her to give him pot for Christmas. I'm assuming this was supposed to impress the people surrounding him, I have no idea if it did though because I was busy trying to control myself from walking back there and smacking them all upside the head and then calling the police to tell on them.

*The next hilarious boarding/inappropriate loud conversation was on another evening where I was headed to the studio teach. Halfway through my ride the bus stops to pick up a man who boards the plane carrying two (TWO!) cases of Smirnoff Ice. Imagine for a second the stereotype of a guy who might carry two cases of S.I. onto the bus, got it? Yep, you're right, that's what he looked like. He proceeds to the back of the bus (I generally sit more front to middle-ish). I go back to reading my book until the loud voice of a girl chatting this guy up interrupts my focus. I have no idea how this conversation got started or why this portion of it needed to be so loud but it was very amusing to me so I was okay with it. Here is what I remember of it in the exact wording as far as I can remember:

Smirnoff Ice Man: I like strong girls who can stand up for themselves.

Loud Over Sharer Girl: Oh yeah, for sure. I definitely stand up for myself, I've been in a lot of fights but not for a while.

SIM: (silence)

LOSG: Yeah, I mean I'm nice until you provoke me and then watch out. I'm bi-polar so you really don't want to get on my bad side.

From here the conversation takes a turn into a weird over-share about her bi-polar tendencies and the group she goes to and how suddenly she can flip her switch to total crazy. He joins in to the conversation with over-shares of his own about people he knows that are crazy and possibly bi-polar. This goes on until we reach the transfer station where they both get out at the same time and I'm allowed a view of her for the first time. Which I'm sure you can already imagine based on what she was talking about at a high volume on a public bus.