Metro Journal: May 7 Get On the Bus or In Front of the Bus?

Yesterday (Wednesday the 7th) was just not a good day. I woke up achy and thus somewhat distracted, and somewhere between getting on my first bus and my second bus, I lost the plastic badge holder in which I keep both my employee ID and my bus pass. I didn't find this out until I was reaching for it in the pocket of my bag I keep it in while getting on the second bus, and it wasn't there.

Fortunately I had correct change. I sit down and go through every single pocket in my backpack at least 3 times. It did not magically appear at any point. I went through the normal stages of grieving, except maybe not in order. Disbelief, acceptance, then I went back to denial and went through the bag again.

Gone.

Having had one prior experience with the Metro lost and found, I know that my chances of every seeing it again (dude, free pass bus!) are overshadowed by the likelihood of my winning the lottery on the same day I get struck by lightning.

So, I got to work and got a new ID (they charge you; the woman asked if I wanted a new picture, and as crappy and stressed as I felt, I told her I didn't think I really looked any better this time than for the first picture). The RideShare coordinator was out, though, so I'm not sure what to do about the pass. I'll just buy a day pass today. I won't even begin to tell you how crappy the work day itself was. I also left my laptop on my desk when I left (why is my bag so light? Oh...) I totally lost my patience at some point, and I'm not sure I didn't also lose my mind.


In the evening, while waiting for the DASH, a co-commuting co-employee told me that he also had an experience with damaged Metro property the night before. He takes the Metro Red Line (light rail), and apparently one of the two tracks was damaged, so they could only run trains in one direction at a time. They sat for 25 minutes on an overfull train at the Hollywood and Highland station waiting for the southbound trains to pass. Fun.

While I was waiting for the 780, I saw someone stick a current day pass in the scaffolding that covers the sidewalk at the stop and walk off. (They're building enormous luxury apartments over the Hollywood & Vine Metro Red Line station. They've been digging at least a year, and the only structure so far is of some steel girders.) He was apparently done with it but nice enough to leave it for someone else. I had my $1.25 in my pocket so I left it for someone else, I read my book a little, looked up, and it was gone.