Slept like a baby

"I slept like a baby" I told Ron "'Up every two hours".  Ugh.  I blame the caffeine laden headache pills. 

I dragged my butt out of bed half an hour before our pickup and did the bare essentials.  We went to work.  I did what I'd come to do. 

However, it was easier.  This time, they delivered our sandwiches in a box, instead of on a rack.  The rack is very bulky and inconvenient, and hit Ron in the head last week (it fell).  This time, I could stock and simply throw the box away.  So.  Much.  Better. 

I do think we need to cut the order back.  We have an awful lot of sandwiches. 

I drank a fair amount of caffeine but it didn't seem to affect me much. 

After work (Ron wasn't abusive, but he was very gloomy and negative, has been, all day), we went to Walmart. 

Going to the work, we had a "shared ride" of over an hour transit.  Going to Walmart, same thing.  We discussed the fare change policy and I said "Basically, all the nice neighborhoods will cost you two tickets ($2.50), all the ghetto you can ride with your pass or one ticket."  The driver got that. 

The company has issued brochures, clearly explaining the policy.  If your location is on or near a bus line, you spend one ticket or use your pass.  If it is not, then you have to use two tickets.  There's a guy at work who rides, and I know for a fact he is out of the area, so he will be paying $5 a day to go to and from work.  I'm sure it's going to be a big shock for him when it happens. 

They're just trying to keep their heads above water.  They cover a huge area, more than they have to, and their expenses are not totally covered by the government.  Not to mention, they have a lot of people riding, who in my opinion, don't deserve to. 

The rule is, if you cannot ride the bus, you get the service.  Ron cannot ride the bus by himself.  However, I see many people with minor issues riding because it's "cheaper than driving". 

I don't deserve, and don't get, service, because I can ride the bus by myself.  I can walk to the bus stop, board, disembark, and transfer as needed.  I can go pretty much anywhere in the Metro Houston area.  I can't go places like Cypress or far NW, but as of yet I haven't really seen a need to. 

I make enough now that I could call the rare "short trip" cab if needed, like when I was sick and went to the doctor.  I really did not want to go on the bus in the freezing cold, taking two buses and waiting on a transfer, if I could just reach in "my" pocket (Ron paid for the cab) instead.  So, I did that, and I don't regret it.  In my opinion, money well spent. 

People can't imagine how I live without a car, but I have my eye on the long road.  Ron will die eventually.  I will lose paratransit riding as his caregiver (and I help him a lot so I feel OK about that).  I need to live on an active bus line.  My current line runs nearly 20 hours a day.  That can encompass pretty much any job, should the need arise. 

When I was a teenager my grandmother, widowed at a young age (by the time she was my age), told me to always have a backup plan to support myself, not to rely on my husband only as a sole support.  She really emphasized that. 

Of course going to work for Ron kind of shot that in the head, my current skills are caregiving and vending, if someone else provides transportation, and they won't.  However, I could go work for the bus company doing customer service.  Or retail, if it paid well enough.  Aldi seems to treat it's people pretty well. 

But I'm never going to drive.  My mother fried that part of my brain and I have to live with that.  It's actually a lot easier for me having this congenitally - from birth - rather than "she got in a wreck when I was 28 and gave me a head injury, rendering me unable to drive".  That would have been horrific to have the freedom and mobility, only to lose it because of her carelessness. 

If that's you, you have my sympathy.  It's a lot harder to walk that road than the one I have. 

Ron feels the same way about being blind.  In fact, if you ask him, the hearing loss is the worst thing.  It seems to be worse lately, I find I have to shout at him sometimes "DO YOU WANT A TACO?" just to be heard.  Second worst would be the right-side paralysis he has as a result of the accident, then his back, and the neuropathy. 

I can see why he is so negative at times.  It must be really hard to have all those physical problems and no remedy. 

He did opt out of a trip to the liquor store today, which made me smile.  He chose to do that on his own, without my input. 

I just hope, when he goes, he chooses "mild" beverages instead of the stuff that makes his colon bleed.  I really don't want to see bloody tissues in the bathroom trash can unless I'm having my period!  [grin]