#258. I Avoided Doing This Super Easy Thing for Five Years (!)

Metro Transit. So easy, even I could do it.Her symptoms were serious, but vague. Check engine light on, tire pressure notification blinking. And then there was the fact that I'd been avoiding an oil change for a bit too long.

I had to bring the Jetta in for a check up.

I dropped her off first thing in the morning. She was okay, but the mechanic needed to order a part that wouldn't arrive until the next day. Which was fine, but meant I was stranded at work. It was no big deal though. I could just take the bus home.

Except I've never done that before.

I've bussed it downtown Minneapolis a lot of times, but in my real life, I walk, bike or drive most places. Sometimes I splurge and take a cab. Sometimes when I feel super fancy, I Uber. I weirdly felt very ballsy at the prospect of bussing home.Since I had no idea how to get from my office to my home, I Googled it. I was shocked at the results: Catch the 12 literally .5 blocks from my office. Ride for 15 minutes. Get off the bus literally 1.5 blocks from my house.

I didn't even have to transfer! Why had I NEVER done this before?!

At 5:24pm, I walked to the bus stop. Two minutes later, I boarded the bus, taking the only seat available: next to the guy with super loud headphones who was, of course, sitting like this.I spent the next 18 minutes texting, buzzing around the Internet and just hanging out. All of a sudden, we were at my stop. I got off the bus, walked for three minutes and arrived at home.

In total, it was about 25 minutes.

So easy. And I could text and do all sorts of other things that I can't normally do when driving.Because I like to run errands after work, can park for free and it only takes me about 15 minutes to drive to the office regularly (plus, I think it would actually cost me more than driving), I don't see myself being a regular bus commuter. However, this experience did illuminate a few things:

1. How complacent we can get in our day to day lives.

Honestly, how have I worked in this building for years and never even bothered to look up how I might get here by bus?! What else am I simply not seeing because I am so locked into my routine?!

2. I love the flexibility of driving, but feel more connected on public transportation.

Sure, the ability to go wherever I want before or after work is nice. But it's also great not relying on a car. It's freeing. You see a lot of things you'd normally miss and feel more connected to your city and community.

3. I could probably get away with not driving for awhile if I tried a little harder.

Which is a Hey Eleanor challenge that's just around the corner! Yikes. Wanna pick me up?

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PS there's been a lot of car talk on this blog... surprising, since I know little to nothing about them. There was the time I bought one (and the time I talked about it in my first standup comedy set), the time I put air in my tires, the time I jump started my car.