I know I’ve turned my trips on the bus into a song but, please, bear with me and I promise this will be the last time I talk about them. For the sake of my sanity, I want people to stop doing the following. Spitting. It’s disgusting, gross, unhygienic, annoying, irritating ... I hate the way people just open car windows and toss their spit. I could be on a motor riding by and it lands on my face, hands or wherever. The day that happens, I’ll sue someone and that is not an empty threat. Picking noses, eyes, ears and everything in between. I have noticed that the people who do this are also touchy. So after picking whatever they’ve been digging out, you see them touching headrests and rails, opening windows etc. Then they pay the fare and because you had a big note, the collector hands you coins from someone you just saw picking their nose. It’s the reason I bought a small purse for coins and notes got on the bus and I also make sure that the first thing I do when I get home or back to the office after such trips is to wash my hands. Turning the bus into a Living Room. It’s mostly the guys who do this, spreading their legs and leaving us women to squeeze into very small spaces. We pay the same fare so, please, don’t make our trips uncomfortable. Boarding/alighting at leisure. I’m not such a good time keeper myself but I hate sloppy people, like those who take ages to cross the road and even longer to settle into their seats. Same to those who take forever to alight. Others wait for the bus to pull from the stop and then say they want to get off. And then they pull out a 5 and the conveyeur has to look around for change. By the time I board, my money is either in my right hand or in the side pocket and if it’s a big note, I pay early so I don’t cause other travellers any unnecessary delays. Chitchatting. A guy boards and sees his friend sitting at the back. The rows of seats between them don’t stop them from talking to each other and they do this on top of their voices. The one at the front keeps turning to face his buddy and the conversation goes on until one of them gets off. Just in case they didn’t know, it is annoying. Tacky ringtones. My phone is almost always on silent. A couple of times, it may vibrate and the few times I use a ringtone, it’s none of those outrageous ones but most importantly, it’s not loud. People have weird ringtones and they let their phones ring and ring and ring some more before they finally answer. I rarely take calls in closed spaces like these but if I must answer a call, I don’t shout. Anyone can learn to do that. There’re many other things I wouldn’t want to experience on my journey but I’ll let this matter rest because I’m itching to say something about the Fabio Capello saga. What’s surprising is not that he quit, but that England stuck with him this long. £6m a year? What a waste? I guess some people are just lucky. Good riddance to bad rubbish. He can take John Terry with him. There’s enough money between them to start their own club. Or they can both just retire. We won’t miss them. Enjoy Cote d’Ivoire Vs Zambia. I know I will. To be continued...
