Public Transport

Since I sold my car before I went overseas I have started taking the bus to work every day. I used to have massive Fear of Public Transport that comes with being a car owner. Once you get to cruise around in your own ride, listening to whatever you want, singing as loud as you want, busting out car dance moves, eating while driving and talking on the phone, it’s hard to go back to PT. But I did and it’s a massive eye opener. I would honestly say it’s worse than taking the chicken bus in Central America.

Firstly, in Newcastle, waiting for a bus can be decidedly dodge. Especially after work when it’s dark. There is always one or more of the following:

A drunk old man – generally harmless but has high tendencies towards inappropriateness

A bunch of little punk ass biatches – generally between the ages of 12-18 who wear Adidas trackies and do annoying shit like kick bottles, throw stones, swear loudly etc. Low to medium on the scale of dodge but annoying as hell and have potential to be random and unpredictable or roll you for your electronic devices.

Retards – now, don’t get me wrong. I love people with disabilities and am a qualified teacher of children with special needs. But there is something about Newcastle. You see heaps of retards on the bus. They’re generally cool. I say hello.

Single mothers – as above, I was the kid of a single mother and I know how hard it is to raise a kid on your own. But again, Newcastle has thousands of them. All 18 and lugging a pram on and off buses with no-one offering to help them. And the kids are always super cute which is even more interesting.

Dudes in cars – they cruise past, slow down and throw some kind of foul abuse at you either to do with tits, ass, or something else gender specific and derogatory. Sometimes they even stop and ask if you want a lift. I remember when my cousin was 18 her and her mates were at the Cambridge and after the gig they were all chillin on the footpath tossing up where to go next. A car pulled up, opened the back door, a guy pulled her into the backseat and the next day she was found raped and unconscious in bushland in Charlestown. That freaked the shit out of me cause I have stood outside the Cambridge a million times.

The good things about Public Transport are:

It's good for the environment. Sort of.

You can listen to music and use the time to get psyched for the day ahead

You can thank god that you have a job and don't fit into one of the above categories.

This was a very Un-PC post.