As a Christmas present to myself, after a few hectic weeks of work, I took a personal day and went shopping- on the bus.
When I have the time, I relish holiday shopping. I hear "Silver Bells" ringing in my head, "as the shoppers rush home with their treasures." It feels like a privilege to buy gifts for the people(and animals) in my life. And I love visiting shops that I rarely get to other times of the year.
So I walked the few blocks from my house to Bloomfield to catch the 54C to the South Side. It let me off a couple of blocks from the Culture Shop, the Bead Mine(now closed!) and Eljay's Used Books. With a few of those treasures, and a coffee for me, I walked through the snow in the other direction several blocks to the South Side Works for more shopping at Sur la Table, Joseph Beth Booksellers, and Urban Outfitters. This time I skipped REI- the only person on my gift list for REI is me. And I had just a few minutes to catch the 59U from the South Side to Squirrel Hill.
My girlfriend helped me plan the route and schedule for the day- she is a wiz at transportation of all kinds, and has a memory for bus routes and schedules. She is somewhat dismayed(as am I) by the fact that her accumulated knowledge will soon be obsolete when PAT changes the bus names and routes in March.
As I waited for the bus at the stop(it turned out to be a little late), I chatted with a guy in town from Singapore, visiting family for the holidays. He was surprised that so few people were riding the buses. He was doing his shopping via PAT, too. We continued to talk as we got on the bus, and the driver joined in. He told us that the 59U would be discontinued in the new plan, and that it was a federal plan to make Pittsburgh conform to a more grid-like arrangement common in other cities. Right now PAT runs on a "spinal" plan, weaving in and out of neighborhoods on main routes. He also said that it costs PAT $9 a ride for each passenger, though they charge only $2.
I got off at Forbes and Murray in Squirrel Hill very hungry. Nostalgia pulled me into Eat N' Park for a grilled cheese sandwich. Then I continued on to Ten Thousand Villages, Barnes and Noble(also closing!), and the Pussycat. My plan was to get a bus to the North Side to finish up, but the cold and the grilled cheese finished me off first. And I had everything that I really needed. Just as I arrived at the bus stop, the 64A pulled up. Squirrel Hill to East Liberty, then one transfer to home by the 86B.
Four hours, four buses, two transfers, five presents and lots of cheer. A luxurious holiday shopping trip courtesy of PAT. Next stop Lawrenceville- on foot.
** In the interest of full disclosure, my mother was on vacation from work for the weeks of Christmas and New Year's, and loaned us her car from Christmas Eve until a few days after the holiday. Her generosity and a tank of gas made it much easier for us to navigate the usual multiple family obligations of the season in car-free-unfriendly Washington County.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Thank you, Noah Wyle
We were sitting on the couch in the air conditioned home of my girlfriend's family, watching CMT, Country Music Television, when I saw him- a kind, concerned expression on his adorable baby face. Noah Wyle, of TV's ER, was pleading the case for polar bears in a public service announcement for the World Wildlife Federation(WWF). It made me a little queasy.
Nature conservation is WWF's mission, and ripping my heart out is one way they are accomplishing it. Their video of a polar bear balancing its weight on one small slip of Arctic ice was the tipping point in my decision not to buy another car. The world is talking about global warming, carbon emissions and offsets, and all things environmental this week as the 15th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15) meets in Copenhagen, Denmark. While polar bears need someone else to speak up for their livelihood in the face of global warming, many people are speaking out for their own climate justice during the two weeks of the summit. I have been listening to their stories on Democracy Now!.
Their stories are our stories- if not now, then soon. Our US government has been slow to warm up to fully acknowledging how carbon emissions from fossil fuels effect the climate, and to effectively act on the threat that global warming presents to animals, all people, our health and the economy- both here and worldwide. Maybe they think that Americans can't or won't deal with changing the status quo, like the corporations and industries that lobby Congress daily.
All of this made me think about my own carbon footprint. According to carbonfootprint.com, our carbon footprint is "a measure of the impact our activities have on the environment, and in particular climate change. It relates to the amount of greenhouse gases produced in our day-to-day lives through burning fossil fuels for electricity, heating and transportation etc."
You can calculate your share on their site. Mine is 7 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. That is for the year, taking into account that I drove for more than half of this year, flew across the country round trip once, am mostly vegan, and sometimes try to buy things with the least amount of packaging. It's smaller than the national average, according to the footprint graphic on the site, but much larger than the worldwide sustainability goal.
How much do I owe the world for my energy consumption? How do I justify creating more than my fair share of carbon dioxide, now officially recognized as a dangerous gas, according to the EPA , when the people most burdened by its effects are responsible for so much less of its production? How do I look a polar bear in the eye?
Nature conservation is WWF's mission, and ripping my heart out is one way they are accomplishing it. Their video of a polar bear balancing its weight on one small slip of Arctic ice was the tipping point in my decision not to buy another car. The world is talking about global warming, carbon emissions and offsets, and all things environmental this week as the 15th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15) meets in Copenhagen, Denmark. While polar bears need someone else to speak up for their livelihood in the face of global warming, many people are speaking out for their own climate justice during the two weeks of the summit. I have been listening to their stories on Democracy Now!.
Their stories are our stories- if not now, then soon. Our US government has been slow to warm up to fully acknowledging how carbon emissions from fossil fuels effect the climate, and to effectively act on the threat that global warming presents to animals, all people, our health and the economy- both here and worldwide. Maybe they think that Americans can't or won't deal with changing the status quo, like the corporations and industries that lobby Congress daily.
All of this made me think about my own carbon footprint. According to carbonfootprint.com, our carbon footprint is "a measure of the impact our activities have on the environment, and in particular climate change. It relates to the amount of greenhouse gases produced in our day-to-day lives through burning fossil fuels for electricity, heating and transportation etc."
You can calculate your share on their site. Mine is 7 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. That is for the year, taking into account that I drove for more than half of this year, flew across the country round trip once, am mostly vegan, and sometimes try to buy things with the least amount of packaging. It's smaller than the national average, according to the footprint graphic on the site, but much larger than the worldwide sustainability goal.
How much do I owe the world for my energy consumption? How do I justify creating more than my fair share of carbon dioxide, now officially recognized as a dangerous gas, according to the EPA , when the people most burdened by its effects are responsible for so much less of its production? How do I look a polar bear in the eye?
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
For Little Things
I am thankful for little things, and don't chronically complain, though sometimes my blogging leads me to believe otherwise. So here is a short list of things that I am thankful for in my new car- free life.
1. The Most Beautiful People Ride the Bus.
Scores of beautiful children every week- eating out of small bags of potato chips, laughing with and at each other as their sneakers dangle over the seat, fighting big tears and yawns as their mothers and fathers and grandparents try to comfort them, or don't. Last month I saw an old man wearing a black top hat and tails on a bus downtown. Elegant and colorful vintage winter coats, braids, wigs and hats. Late this summer on a bus my girlfriend and I saw a young woman whose breasts were popping out of her artful dress- you would have to pay to see that in any other part of the city.
2. Voluto Coffee.
I would never drive to a coffee shop on the way to or from work or anywhere else. Or as a destination- I don't like to hang out. But Voluto is on my walk to work in the first mile. They have some orange lettering out front, which attracted me, as well as their newness. And it turns out they have exceptionally good coffee. My coffee drink of choice these days is a macchiato, and theirs is like liquid burnt caramel- in the best possible way. I am budgeted for one a week, and I look forward to it.
3. Free Exercise.
Walking to work provides me with an efficient way to exercise. I don't have to set aside a time to do it- it is already programmed into my day. And it is free.
4. Little Brown Birds.
At the Penn Mall Station bus stop, little brown birds flock and scatter, poking at crumbs and bits of food and cigarettes that people drop. I've never been a bird watcher, though I like to spend time outdoors in nature. These little guys have connected me with animals and the natural world in a way that going hiking or camping or mushrooming or walking my beast of a dog has not. I marvel at their intricate coloring, their even more intricate wings, and their tenacity.
5. I Don't Have to Pump Gas.
As anyone who has rescued me on the side of the road because I failed to look at the low fuel mark knows, I hate to pump gas. My friend Liz taught me how in high school after I had been driving for a full year. I had my sister do it for me before that.
6. The Blessing of Bus Drivers.
I am lucky to have a wonderful person sending me off to work everyday with a kiss and a smile and a wish for a good day. But when a bus driver says, "You have a good one," or invokes some similar hope as I de-bus, it adds another layer of goodness to my day. It feels genuine, and it brings back the feeling I had departing the school bus when our neighbor was the driver- warm and familiar. It is especially welcome when facing a geometry quiz third period, or a conference call after lunch.
1. The Most Beautiful People Ride the Bus.
Scores of beautiful children every week- eating out of small bags of potato chips, laughing with and at each other as their sneakers dangle over the seat, fighting big tears and yawns as their mothers and fathers and grandparents try to comfort them, or don't. Last month I saw an old man wearing a black top hat and tails on a bus downtown. Elegant and colorful vintage winter coats, braids, wigs and hats. Late this summer on a bus my girlfriend and I saw a young woman whose breasts were popping out of her artful dress- you would have to pay to see that in any other part of the city.
2. Voluto Coffee.
I would never drive to a coffee shop on the way to or from work or anywhere else. Or as a destination- I don't like to hang out. But Voluto is on my walk to work in the first mile. They have some orange lettering out front, which attracted me, as well as their newness. And it turns out they have exceptionally good coffee. My coffee drink of choice these days is a macchiato, and theirs is like liquid burnt caramel- in the best possible way. I am budgeted for one a week, and I look forward to it.
3. Free Exercise.
Walking to work provides me with an efficient way to exercise. I don't have to set aside a time to do it- it is already programmed into my day. And it is free.
4. Little Brown Birds.
At the Penn Mall Station bus stop, little brown birds flock and scatter, poking at crumbs and bits of food and cigarettes that people drop. I've never been a bird watcher, though I like to spend time outdoors in nature. These little guys have connected me with animals and the natural world in a way that going hiking or camping or mushrooming or walking my beast of a dog has not. I marvel at their intricate coloring, their even more intricate wings, and their tenacity.
5. I Don't Have to Pump Gas.
As anyone who has rescued me on the side of the road because I failed to look at the low fuel mark knows, I hate to pump gas. My friend Liz taught me how in high school after I had been driving for a full year. I had my sister do it for me before that.
6. The Blessing of Bus Drivers.
I am lucky to have a wonderful person sending me off to work everyday with a kiss and a smile and a wish for a good day. But when a bus driver says, "You have a good one," or invokes some similar hope as I de-bus, it adds another layer of goodness to my day. It feels genuine, and it brings back the feeling I had departing the school bus when our neighbor was the driver- warm and familiar. It is especially welcome when facing a geometry quiz third period, or a conference call after lunch.
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