The Wheels on the Bus

I'm a public transit commuter. I can walk to school, but I often take the bus (on account of running late). I also can walk to/from the skytrain station, which I do sometimes, but I have to take two skytrains to get to work two days a week no matter what (I've also cycled there once). The commute to work is what I'm writing about today; in total it takes 50 minutes if I'm bussing it to the skytrain station, and about an hour if I walk.

I was excited to start using public transit when I moved to Vancouver. My home town does not have a very reliable transportation system, so your options are really walking, cycling or driving, all of which I did regularly. Here in Vancouver you have so many transportation options you don't need a car (unless you ever hope to get out of the lower mainland, but that's another story). So, I moved here, got my mandatory upass, which all university students pay for, and hopped on a bus.

Despite the buses being busy, it was generally a pretty good thing. But then winter came, and with big coats and backpacks I started to notice that my seat was a little crowded when I was flanked by other people. Then the spring came and I no longer had the coat on, but the seat was still crowded. It was me. I was crowding my own seat with the amount of space I was taking up.

Why post about it now? Because today I noticed that when I sit on the seat I fit comfortably in the centre area that was meant for people to sit. I don't hang over the edges. I have two siblings so I know how important it is not to cross that line between the couch cushions (or bus seats in this case), and I am now able to comfortably not do this. I'm so happy because for the past year I've been holding my arms in front of me, squeezing every muscle I can think of (and control) in so that I am not imposing on everyone else, and now I can sit a little more comfortably. Woot woot!