Annie Samuelson
Date of Observations: September 2, 2009
Commute to class, West Campus Bus
September 2, 2009
10:04 AM
The west campus bus eases around the corner, I quickly dart through my gate to make it on the nus before it pulls away. I rush across the street, dodging cars. As I ease onto the bus, a blonde girl shouts after me “Hey! You dropped your wallet!” I sprint back across the street, snatch my wallet with a rushed thank-you and make it back to the bus just in time to squeeze through the closing rear doors. I sit down next to a girl with caked on make-up and clothing that is a few sizes too small. As I plop down the rush of her pungent perfume fills my nostrils.
“Ding, STOP REQUESTED” flashes onto the screen above the bus driver.
The girl sitting next to me gets up to leave. Girl with UT Tennis shirt fills in one seat away from me.
3 people get off, 2 people get on.
“Ding, STOP REQUESTED”
Girl with Tennis team shirt leaves and boy with baggy shorts comes on and sits down next to me. He straddles two seats and files through his iPod library.
1 person gets off, 5 people get on.
“Ding, STOP REQUESTED”
The bus is half full.
2 people get on, 0 people get off.
“Ding, STOP REQUESTED”
We stop at a stoplight, everyone avoiding eye contact. People appear preoccupied with school reading, text messages and iPod playlists.
0 people on, 1 person off.
“Ding, STOP REQUESTED”
0 people on, 1 person off.
10:15 AM
Ding, "Approaching San Gabriel and Whitis"
We start to enter UT campus.
Pedestrians and bike riders surround the bus. Blonde, wobbly biker leads the pack. She appears unsteady as she tries to read a piece of paper, while pedaling.
No-one gets off in front of Dobie, several advertisements flash in front of the bus window.
“Ding, STOP REQUESTED”
People motion for their bags, shoving textbooks and notebooks inside as they prepare to exit the bus. Doors open and they are off. The majority of the bus exits.
1 person on.
UPS truck crosses in front of the bus, we screech to a halt to let the truck pass.
Ding, "APPROACHING SAN JACINTO @ 23RD"
People continue to play with their phones, texting.
“Ding, STOP REQUESTED”
3 people off, including me.
10:23 AM
Commute from class, West Campus Bus
September 2, 2009
6:16 PM
I approach the West Campus bus stop, and sit on a nearby bench. A map of the West Campus route looms overhead. Javier and Daniel cruise by on their bikes, riding home.
Ayham, sits down to talk. He is waiting to leave for his Soviet Avant Garde architecture class. Ayham motions towards his text book, flipping through the pages.
City buses whiz by, they make loud extinguishing noises as they accelerate past. Wait on bus bench with girl in peasant skirt, reading "Lord of the Flies".
The sun is beginning to set and blares into eyes.
Man on electric scooter passes by with man wearing neon yellow Air Force One shoes.
West Campus bus approaches with "NOT IN SERVICE" flashing across the front. A steady stream of cars pass.
8 people off, 0 people on.
Girl wearing pajamas stumbles off the bus clutching Biology textbook.
12 more people off, 0 people on.
A second West Campus bus approaches with yet another "NOT IN SERVICE" sign flashes across the front of the bus.
23 people off, 0 people on.
The bus driver shouts “everybody has GOT to get off, I am no longer in service.” A group of displaced bus-riders gather around me. All the people appear to be annoyed and frustrated.
Girl in flannel and glasses sits between me and girl in peasant skirt. Takes out journal and starts writing.
People look around confused and gather into clusters to talk. Lone people take out phones and books to pass time.
A bus is not expected to come for quite some time. “The schedule slows down at six”, a nearby person reads aloud from the bus map.
6:24 PM
Girl in glasses checks the time at the same time I do. Both girls sitting next to me and another man nearby get up to get on a connecting bus which reads "WM CANNON".
Fat man in tight spandex strolls by clutching a rolled piece of paper.
Nearby a man with a feminine voice shouts into his phone, calling the person on the other end an “inconsiderate bitch!”
Less cars are around and there are virtually no bikes in sight.
People begin to grow agitated with the wait, more frequently checking their phones for the time.
A slight breeze rolls through and it becomes noticeably cooler.
I pull out my “Kashi Honey Almond Flax” bar out of my bag, peel back to wrapper and take a bite. It sits dry in my mouth.
6:30 PM
No sign of the bus.
Girl nearby gives up and starts walking home.
A cowboy in offensive graphic t-shirt strolls by with his keys attached to his belt loop, jingling with each step he takes.
Bus driver gets off of FOURTY ACRES bus and crosses street to take break, disappearing into the trees.
Fourty-ish woman sits down next to me, strewing her books across the bench. She quickly gets up to check out the posted flyers on a board nearby.
People gather further down sidewalk to ensure spot on the bus.
Man with nipple piercings and long hair runs by, shirtless and sweaty.
Woman returns back to the bench with a flyer she ripped off of the board.
I see the WEST CAMPUS bus easing up, I move to get on it and see my backpack is unzipped, I retrace my steps to make sure I didn't drop anything this time.
6:36 PM
I enter through the rear doors and assume the same seat I was in this morning. But not after having to part the crowd gathered in the bus. I sit next to a preppy looking man who is quickly texting on his phone.
“Ding, STOP REQUESTED” sounding faintly over the loud chattering.
Man with feminine voice talks to girl above about the women’s basketball team advertisement located on the roof of the bus.
The bus slows due to heavy congestion at the stoplight.
Girl in pajamas chats inaudibly pointing to her biology textbook.
6 people off, 0 people on.
The bus clock reads 6:01 PM, wrong. It is 6:40 PM
“Ding, STOP REQUESTED” it sounds less faint that the last time.
A black backpack gets shoved into my face, the words "THE NORTH FACE" are one inch away from my eyes. The preppy man next to me still voraciously texting next to me.
Bus driver yells “anyone getting off?” The string was pulled but no one gets off.
The man with the feminine voice motions to his friend asking if they get off at this stop, she motions to the map correcting him, oops.
0 people off, 0 people on.
I pull the string. “Ding, STOP REQUESTED”
The girl in her pajamas is still blabbing and motioning towards her textbook.
14 people off, including me.
6:44 PM
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