Busses. Who knew?

Growing up in Texas, and being middle class, means one thing: when you turn 16 you get a car.

It also means something else: You have no experience of public transportation. None. Nadda zip. Cuz middle class kids don't DO busses. (Except for a school bus, maybe.) And we ain't got trains in Texas.

So, on moving to Norway, and living in the 'burbs, I found the train system to be very efficient and oh so European. Trains are very acceptable to middle class Texans, as we associate them with European holidays and Eurail passes that we get on our trips over in college. I've traveled in trains all over the world now, and am very familiar and comfortable on rail-oriented transport. Busses? Only when the trains are down.

Now I live in central Oslo. No more burbs. Trains only take you out of Oslo. We do have inner city trams (also acceptable as on rails), which I take frequently, but, which, unfortunately, are not routed all that conveniently for me to take one to work. Busses were my last resort. Busses are scary. Busses just don't register in my mind as a viable, effective and non-crazy people laden alternative to the more acceptable, to my Texas middle class upbringing, rail-oriented public transportation. Busses...well, dammit, I'm just not a fan.

Until. Until I found a stop by my house where I could take the bus to work. Easy distance, they come every 6-10 minutes, and stop practically out side my office. So I manned up and took the bus. Same one, same stop. I didn't venture farther. I used that bus stop for 2 months. I figured, that was the bus, that's my bus, that's the bus I take.

Until. Until Rich showed me another stop by our house, maybe even closer, where, like FIVE busses stop and FOUR of them go to my office. So, I can get a bus every, I dunno, 2 minutes. I found this out on Monday. MONDAY.

Sad thing is, I would never have twigged to that bus stop had Rich not shown me it was there, thus allowing me to be brave enough to go check it out myself one day and discover the whole world of bus goodness that will get me to work even more efficiently.

I don't know that I will ever be a fan of busses. I don't know that I will ever LIKE them. But, maybe, perhaps, I will be more open to them in future. In Europe.

I don't know that I will ever take a bus in Texas (Lee, you'll have to come with me if I ever do.)