Metro

I made it to Houston to visit some friends in one piece. Well, kinda. Even though Brent and I get flight benefits because of his job, it's a catch 22. The catch is that we have to fly stand-by, meaning sometimes you get on the flight and sometimes you don't.

Well, my first attempt toward getting to Houston Hobby was unsuccessful yesterday morning so the second attempt was for a direct flight into InterContinental that arrived two hours earlier and an hour drive further away. I had a few options for making it to the southern part of Houston: a taxi ($60 or more), a shuttlebus ($35), or Metro ($2).

Being the cheapskate that I am, I took a chance on Houston's public bus system. The first leg of the trip was fairly smooth. I got off at the corner of Milam and Jefferson, downtown Houston, with a rumbly in my tummy. There was a Subway 5 blocks down on the right.

After trekking to the restaurant and back I sat on the far right side of the bus stop bench. There was a man in his upper 60s or early 70s sitting on the far left side. Once I threw away my sandwich and chip wrappings, he looked over at me and we had this conversation:

The Man: Move over here out of the sun.

Me: No, I like it.

The Man: Oh, ok. You go to Bay Area?

Me: Yes. You?

The Man: Yes. Do you have children?

Me: No.

The Man: Are you married:

Me: Yes. Do you have kids?

The Man: Yes, 10. Two of them live here. The others are in Jordan.

Me: Wow! Is that where you are from?

The Man: Yes.

Me: Are you married?

The Man: My wife died two years ago.

Me: Sorry to hear that.

The Man: (touching my shoulder) You very beautiful. Remind me of my wife.

Me: (pulling away) Thank you.

The Man: (still touching my shoulder) (said something I could not understand)

Me: Oh, ok.

The Man: (making kissy lips toward my shoulder)

Me: (really pulling away) Oh, no!

Luckily two Latino girls that had just gotten jobs came up and started talking to me from this point until the bus came. The rest of the trip was uneventful. I was very glad to see Bridget when she picked me up at the Bay Area Park and Ride!

As a side note, I kept singing the Bus Driver song by Caedmon's Call in my head during my Metro experience. (I know there is at least one person who reads this that will appreciate knowing that tidbit of information!)

After the aforementioned adventure, I chilled at Bridget's over M&Ms for a while before meeting Tracy and Dana at Gringos for dinner. Debs showed up after we finished eating. Great food and catching up!

I spent this morning hanging with my peeps from Greene Elementary. It was awesome getting to hang out, chat, catch up, and be loved on by the wonderful people at the school where I previously taught.

Now I'm with Courtney and Issac. We've spent the afternoon playing, hanging out, making a trip to the grocery store, eating pizza, and taking a walk. The rest of the night will be spent watching HairSpray and eating Ben and Jerry's icecream. Let Girly Times roll!