I'm kind of ashamed of myself.

[Bertha Venation]

I'm looking at the budget and trying to figure out where to cut stuff from. I thought, well, if I start taking the bus to work . . .

I looked into the schedules, and there are two buses that get me within a block of my office. The monthly pass is $195. I'm currently paying $260 to park, and I think gas is running about $120. I could save $185 per month, at least.

But after looking into it, I am not prepared to make the sacrifice. I am a large woman and I am very uncomfortable on the bus - and so is my seat-mate. What's more, I get so car sick on the bus that I always carry a barf bag.

I'm ashamed that I won't make the sacrifice, but there it is. :(

Not really looking for any comfort or validation. Just had to get it off my chest. if you have criticism, fire away.

[rug]

1. I'd do the same thing.

:thumbsup:

[JitterbugPerfume]

2. no criticism here , Bertha!

As I grow older I put a huge premium on comfort . Those seats on busses, planes, and trains are made for anorexic teenagers.

[Mr. Ected]

3. You are who you are.

You can't make lifestyle decisions based on someone else's lifestyle.

[LynneSin]

4. Taking the bus to work would have been $15 a month

And I live 2 miles from work. I figured it costs me about $100 a month with driving & parking to work too.

But I would get something fierce with the car sickness too.

It is what it is - don't feel bad about it.

[applegrove]

5. Never hesitate to vent Bertha. I know about feeling self conscious on the bus.

[raccoon]

6. Because of the car sickness alone, I'd say I don't blame you.

Getting nauseous all the time can't be good for anybody.


:hi:

[Roon]

7. I am large too, Bertha and I take the bus everywhere

The shuttle going from Denver to Boulder is one of those greyhound type coaches and the seats and aisle are TINY!! So I always sit in the handicapped seats so I can have some room to breath.(always prepared to give them up to the elderly and hadicapped I hasten to add)

Don't worry about not taking the bus,it's just not for some people. I live close to downtown Denver and I can hop a bus and go anywhere I need. I have been in accidents and gotten tickets in cars and I just don't want the hassle anymore. (plus I can't afford the insurance on a car anyway)

[KamaAina]

8. I can't imagine how long that would take

being as far out as you are. I'm actually surprised there even is a bus that goes all the way out there!

I devoutly wish I were not transit-dependent. I won't stand, for one thing, so some days I watch sadly as two or three human sardine cans go by. And inevitably there's at least one clueless tourist who holds up 50 or 60 people to ask, "Does this bus go to Waikiki?" just as the two-minute-long light is about to change. :grr:

I did, however, have a really nice session with Mama Calico down the block from work this morning. Purrrrr... :loveya:

[LNM]

12. Sorry about that.

I was that clueless tourist. :silly:

[Bertha Venation]

21. Mama Calico?

Tell me more. :)

[KamaAina]

26. Mama is my "significant other"

she lives across the street from a homeless shelter down the block from work. The women who hang around there all the time have sort of adopted her (and several other ferals as well). There's always dry cat food scattered on the sidewalk, plastic water dishes, etc. I call her "Mama" because there are a few other calicos and torties, and a couple of orange tabbies, so it appears as if she is the progenitor of the brood. She is a veritable riot of color, with some gray tabby patches mixed in among the brown and black ones. The tip of her right ear is missing. She meowed at me this morning for the first time. I even get to pick her up for a few seconds at a time now! :loveya:

Of course, I really need for a human female to be my significant other, but, well, you know... :(

[Bertha Venation]

27. The tip of her right ear is missing?

Chances are she's been spayed. That's the signal used by people who care for feral colonies: they tip the right ear so that they know, "okay, this one's already fixed."

As for your human female . . . :hug: I wish I knew of a good single one to send your way.

[KamaAina]

29. And here I was thinking she'd been in a cat fight

it certainly would be nice if someone were caring for these guys. A while back there was a skinny little tuxedo male. Since he was scrawny, part black, part white, from Hawai'i, and I loved him, I named him "Barack". :-)

[noamnety]

9. I don't see a reason to feel ashamed about that.

I'd just consider the motion sickness a medical condition and be grateful you have a way to keep it under control that doesn't require taking meds for it daily.

As for the cost, if I were feeling nauseous everyday to the point where I needed to carry a barf bag, and the medicine to keep it under control cost $185 a month, if there was any way I could afford it I'd pay for the medication and I think most of us would.

[Spacemom]

10. Life is hard enough

take comfort where you can find it. You'll find no judgment from me. :hug:

[Kali]

11. dang

I have trouble fathoming paying so much to park. On the other hand I can only dream of a handy bus to Tucson from here, or even from the next little town.

If it makes you sick, you simply can't do it. I'm big too, but that part I would find a way to deal with - getting sick? no way - forgive yourself and make your budget cuts somewhere else.

(any way to find a fellow passenger to help the car costs?)

[Tangerine LaBamba]

13. I started getting queasy

when you wrote about "bus," and I could smell the last bus I was on - maybe thirty years ago.

Money is for spending. Be safe and comfortable....................

[taterguy]

14. You squander what I spend every day on beer and smokes just to get to work for a month?

Shame
Shame
Shame

:sarcasm: in case anyone couldn't tell

[KamaAina]

15. Do you get carsick on Metro?

If so, never mind. If not, that might be a nice compromise: drive up to the Green Line and park there.

[Captain Hilts]

18. There IS the "Red Line Sickness." I think it comes from carpet mold.

I've had it - it disappears about 10-15 after you get off.

I was riding one day and a woman standing asked if she could have my seat as she "suddenly didn't feel well." I gave her my seat and told her that that had happened to me. Folks around us said they'd experienced it too.

I wrote Metro and said the carpets are smelly and moldy and a health hazard. They 'wrote' back about my concerns about chemicals. Ugh!

[Bertha Venation]

22. I do okay on Metro, and I have thought of that.

But it takes 45 minutes to get to the Green Line, and it can take 45-60 minutes with transfers, delays caused by people cramming onto a full train and people not letting people off a train, regular train delays, etc. The time constraint isn't worth it.

What's more, the Green Line goes through some very scary parts of town.

[Dystopian]

16. Hugs to you Sweetie,

Bertha:hug:
Please know that there is no shame in taking care of yourself.
Feeling so sick that you'd need to carry a bag with you is no way to travel.
Rest easy, you are doing the right thing for your health and peace of mind...
And please continue to take good care of yourself....you're worth every cent...priceless.
peace~

[Captain Hilts]

17. $195 for a monthy bus pass?!?!

[Bertha Venation]

20. this is a long-range commuter bus

Some of them run 50+ miles one way. Does that make $195 seem better?

[DeepBlueC]

19. Work is bad enough

without having to face the public on a bus before and after it. What you save on gas and parking you will spend on psychotherapy or anger management classes and court fees, believe me.

[Bertha Venation]

24. I agree with you, and LOL re: court fees

:rofl:

[gmoney]

23. Carpool?

Go to your bus one morning, see if anyone rides all the way to "your" stop near work, and if they seem friendly, consider approaching them about splitting a ride with you?

Maybe just ask them to split gas/parking expenses 60/40 (you pay 60%) and you could recover some of the money you'd save by busing.

There may also be an agency that helps organize carpools in your area... I've seen signs along the highway here, like 1-800-CARPOOL (but I'm not sure that's the number).

Carpools can be tricky because everyone has to be pretty much on the same schedule, but you never know, there might be someone on the next block who has a similar schedule to yours who also hates riding the bus!

[pitohui]

25. don't understand why you're "car sick" more often on the bus than in a car

i have motion sickness and i don't think it ever came on in a large public bus on city streets, only in small cars or up to mini van size SUVs on twisty narrow roads -- more common than all these, i get it on airplanes

when i am not drivin, it is perfectly safe to take motion sickness pills and they sure don't cost any $195 a month??? they have generic ones available OTC at walgreens that are quite cheap and the motion sickness doesn't come on every time, after you get used to it, you could taper off, couldn't you? i have dropped from taking the pills every time i fly, to about a quarter of the time i fly, to now...i'd say it's less than 10 percent of the time i fly that i need them...

for $185 a month i freely admit i could take a lot of pain but clearly it's your option of how tight your finances are and how far you want to go

i find it FAR worse to be driving and become motion sick than to be on public transport, i am never going to cause an accident by becoming nauseated/dizzy on public transport -- plus i cannot use the pills when driving because they seem to cause me to feel dissociation and i don't judge distance well (bad experience/long story insert here)

i am not criticizing, just a bit puzzled, clearly there are different types of motion sickness, i have not had any success from the docs in figuring out the cause of mine, it has come and gone and come again for decades since about age 4 (when it first happened in a car, not on a bus or plane)

you should not feel ashamed of yourself for being ill, having said that, yes, i'm afraid i feel the same way, i sometimes experience a lot of shame and get upset with myself that i can't beat this and that here i am again barfing in public, yikes

[mnhtnbb]

28. Bertha, give the bus a try for one week. Think about getting off one earlier stop.

You could save money and get a little more exercise.

Don't try to read on the bus. Sit up front and focus on the horizon.