ok. i know i started this job with a positive attitude, vowing to smile at everybody and deliver a memorible bus riding experience to all who enter my bus, but those days are gone. sure, i still smile at everybody provided i'm on time, nobody stinks to high heaven, i haven't had to load a wheelchair, and nobody's pissing, vomiting, or desecrating on themselves or others. let me tell you about a little route i do on thursdays and fridays called route 64.

first, points of interest listed on my route sheet
TUSTIN
-tustin civic center/ library
-larwin square (a little shopping center where homeless people shit themselves and eat chinese food)
SANTA ANA
-santa ana zoo (no, that smell doesn't go away once we pass the zoo, sorry)
-DMV (need i say more?)
-santa ana transit terminal (a hub where you can catch a bus you could easily catch a block away and save me 5 minutes)
-santa ana civic center
- santa ana artists' village ( re-stucco'd buildings that still smell like someone pissed and shit on them)(bed sheet curtains are alive and well in the windows)
-county courthouse (you can only imagine the people this little landmark brings my way)
- ronald reagan federal courthouse (raspberries)
-santa ana high school (actually a sight for sore eyes in comparison of the other points of interest)
-vietnamese library (they sure as hell aren't learning english)
-goodwill (i have yet to see a goodwill but will keep my eyes peeled)
GARDEN GROVE (has no points of interest)
WESTMINSTER
-asian gardens ( a series of strip malls and traffic signals spanning 2 city blocks that takes 10 minutes at any time of the day to get through) (note-for every 50 asian persuasion cars that go in, 2 come out.)
-little saigon (asphalt hell fueled by acuras and hondas)
-westminster mall (surrounded by at least 20 unnecessary traffic signals)
-westminster memorial park cemetary (at least dead people don't drive or ride the bus)

points of interest not listed on my route sheet
- social security office (try it on the 1st or 15th of the month, it's super fun)
- homeless shelter (score a cot and some crack!)
- various mobile home parks (is there a hurricane chant or dance i could learn?)
- newhope street (a light i spend a lot of time looking at)
- lee's sandwiches (so totally packed all the time that i'm ready to invest or something)

so, for two whole fun-filled days a week i have all these cultural goodies to soak in numerous times a day.

last week some one-legged crazy dude got his wheelchair stolen from him as he drank a 40 behind 7-11. he literally crawled onto the bus like that weird monkey guy in "shallow hal". it was horrible!

today it rained. today people stank!!! today i had 2 wheelchairs (one of which was a monk that refused to pay and couldn't even fucking push himself around. i nearly broke my leg scaling the wheelchair lift to get to the sidewalk to help him). today 5 people out of a few hundred spoke english to me. today i had 8 minutes to scarf down a vending machine sandwich and smoke a cigarette.

so, forgive me if my change in attitude disappoints you. it's ugly and stinky out there. i'm still as nice as i can be given my current circumstances. thanks for reading!

is just what i need after a week of not working due to the strike. it sounds like the union is really doing it's part to resolve the issues quickly while the OCTA is standing firm and not willing to budge on the key issues (according to the union hotline). oh well. i'm going to eat, i'm going to drink, i'm going to a wedding, then i'm going to eat and drink some mo'. sweet vegas, i'm on my way!!!!

day 4 of the OCTA strike. it went into effect literally hours after i got my final certification and was hired on. i have not passed the picket line due mostly to intimidation and fear of the not so savory looking coach operators staring me down and waving their signs in my face. i tried to go to work this morning and the same thing happened but luckily 2 of my trainers were on the line and had a cornucopia of information for me. they told me that 3 of my fellow classmates had crossed the line and are now eligible for a 15 thousand dollar fine and a 20 year suspension from the union as well as a career of ridicule if they don't get terminated first. linda and ed (my trainers) also said that none of the coach operators would return to work until every last coach operator, including me, was rehired. so i plan to show up every morning, call the window to let them know that i'm there, ready to work but cannot cross the picket line, and go back home. this morning i signed the union sign-on sheet at the base so there will be no doubt that i was there and informed both the company and the union of my presence. if the strike continues through the end of the week i will start looking for other employment. i've been a nervous wreck but talking to the trainers made me feel a lot more confident about my decision not to cross the picket line. the company and the union have been in negotiations since 1pm yesterday afternoon and are still at it. hopefully they can resolve the issues and let me get back to making money transporting hookers and homeless people.

 

Kate Bush:  Cloudbursting

Add to My Profile |   More Videos