"Ugly:

So, now that I've vented about stupid, endless, barking; how was my morning? 

Pretty awful, actually.  Thanks for asking. 

It started with a large paratransit van (basically a short bus) pulling up.  I got on.  The driver was new, and her trainer greeted me with "You got fat!  Look at you!  You look awful!"  This continued for a couple of minutes, including "You went off the Atkins, didn't you?" [smirk]  "I can tell!  You went off your diet!  You look TERRIBLE!" 

She even made a point of telling Ron how "terrible" I looked, and "She really let herself go, didn't she?  She looks terrible". 

Now, I can understand, if you see someone you haven't seen in a while, you might have a spontaneous utterance.  "Oh, look at you!"  Something like that.  I got "What happened?"  a lot with a meaningful glance.  This time around, everyone knew, so no one asked.  God bless the gossip line. 

Anyway, I thought it was rude and incredibly offensive, bordering on verbal abuse.  The trainee kept looking back at her in the rear-view.  I thought "Go ahead and talk.  You are making yourself look awful.  You are showing who you really are.  Your true colors are shining through." 

I remembered her from before.  She is an ugly gossip, divulging what are clearly confidences.  I got out my headphones.  I love my headphones. 

She got a little aggravated when I put them on, but she couldn't order me to remove them.  Ron had already said "I know you don't like my music, put on your headphones."  He was playing his "Soul Stick" USB drive on his talking book machine, using it as a boom box.  The drivers love it. 

Now, lest you think I'm angry about this; I'm not.  The sad thing, a paratransit driver DOES have a limited amount of power in my life.  If they choose to abuse it, shame on them.  If it is egregious, I will report it. 

This was just petty, mean, and spiteful.  It could have really hurt if I VALUED what she had to say.  I didn't.  Since I already knew she was "ugly" - I didn't accept anything she said. 

I'm realistic.  I'm sure *I* sound "ugly" to dog lovers when I rant about endless barking.  That's my opinion.  I'm not saying YOUR dog is a monster.  I just don't like dogs.  

So, we had a very long ride with the trainee, and this woman.  We picked up another client, and the trainer made sure to put his wheelchair directly next to me, far away from HER.  When his hand started crawling up my leg, I understood.  Every time he did it, she would laugh, implicitly encouraging him. 

Since the guy was clearly "limited" and non-verbal, I just pushed the hand away, then put my backpack in my lap.  He kept touching my knees after that but at least his hand had stopped crawling up my thigh.  He kept vocalizing, trying to get my attention, and I found it very annoying. 

Did the driver know he'd try to feel me up?  She called him by name, sat away from him, and put him next to me, instead of Ron.  She smiled and laughed everytime he tried to grab my crotch.  I believe she did. 

I could have also traded seats with Ron, if needed.  By this time, we had been riding over an hour. 

The driver, by law, can ride the passenger around for up to 2 hours.  Per trip.  Something to consider when riding paratransit, and one reason I am a huge fan of the bus line.   I had to go to the bathroom, but I could only imagine the drama and judgemental comments that would ensue if I made a request.  They are supposed to stop if you are clearly in need, but some don't, just to be hateful, making comments like 'You need to stop drinking so much water". 

Excuse me, I need to stay hydrated.  Lithium is a diuretic. 

I elected to "hold it" rather than beg.  I am a proud woman. 

We got the other guy, and finally got to work.  I unloaded everything.  Ron was a little tardy producing the badge and keys ( he holds them since I got mugged, that way if I get mugged on a Day Out they won't get access to the vending machines), and I told him I was about to pop. 

I didn't have to explain why I hadn't asked the driver to stop. 

I got into work, and faced several complaints in a row!  I tried to pay refunds, and no one was there!  So far, my day had just SUCKED. 

However, the weather was nice.  The vending machines were behaving.  The complaint, regarding the coffee machine, was balanced by the sight of some of the biggest  gossips at work, watching Ron clean it.  I finally got to put out my new value line items, and some of them sold the minute I closed the machine. 

If I "catch" a customer about to buy something, I'll stand nearby, chanting "Buy it!  Buy it".  When the item drops I say "Thank you!"  They always laugh.  Some, of course, don't want the cheerleading and I just smile and say "Thank you". 

Ron loves my enthusiasm for work.  So do the customers. 

So, maybe not such an awful day.  I got everything done and waited on our ride. 

I liked the guy we had to go home.  He's not my favorite, but he's a good guy. 

Finally home.  So nice and quiet.  I decided to take a nap, did so.  Ron and I had a good time sitting out in the garden, talking.  It was great. 

I told him, "I don't want a car.  I don't want jewelry.  I don't want a steak dinner, or designer clothes.  I want this - quality time."  Ron laughed, and said that's about all he could afford anyway! 

A good ending. 

AND the dog catcher came by, I had seen a large, nasty thing running around yesterday.  He had it loaded in the truck.  If it was sniffing around the yard behind us, it might have provoked the barking. 

I hope we have a nice quiet night.