Friday, August 6, 2010
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Transit Pass
Finally bought a Transit Pass for August. I only paid $41.50 under the Low Income Transit Pass program. Regularly it costs over $80.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Costco Steaks
Maicie, Ed and I had steak for dinner. It was medium rare, juicy and delicious! Ed provided the salad, Maicie the brown rice and me the steaks. Yum!
Wrong Bus
I finished work this morning at 7am but stuck around to talk to Ayman and left the building around 7:45am. I walked over to McDonald's and had a Sausage Egg McGriddle and orange juice for breakfast. I headed over to the Central Library to use their computer to print out a copy of my 2009 income tax return and bank statement. I needed those 2 things to prove that I qualify for a low income bus pass for the month of August.
I got to the library around 8:30am and had to wait another 30 minutes before they open at 9am. Some people were waiting around in front so I walked into the Second Cup and bought a small coffee to wait inside and read. The servers were overly friendly with their greetings for some of the customers.
When the library opened at 9am, there was a mad dash for the internet computers. By the time I mosied into the library, all the computers were already taken. I went up and down the library in search of an available computer but no luck.
I was feeling tired and sleepy so I decided to head home. I was falling in and out of sleep when I was suddenly woken up by a Transit Official. He wanted to see my ticket. The lady sitting opposite me became flustered. I politely explained that I am visiting from Vancouver and not sure which ticket he wanted to see. I managed to pull out an old transfer from Aug03 and an unvalidated ticket. The Transit Officer says I was ok after seeing the Aug03 transfer. Today is Aug04. I was lucky not to get a violation ticket. One young man walked up to the Transit Official in a preemptive strick. He tried to explain but they wanted to have a word with him at the next station. I also got off at Lyons Park.
I walked across the street and into the Louise Riley library. Luckily there was one computer available right away. I was able to print off my 2 documents. One older lady and and small skinny Asian man were waiting patiently for the next computer. The older lady was happy that I finished quickly so that she can get on.
I walked over to the other side of the platform and promptly validated my ticket because I saw the 2 Transit Officers issuing a ticket to another young man. I headed over to the Transit Customer Service Centre on 7th Street and filled out the application for my bus pass while waiting in line. I forgot to fill in the details in the income statement line and the male clerk finished filling in the postal code for me. It was relatively a quick process and took less than 10 minutes. I didn't have to buy a bus pass right away and I also had the option to buy my pass at 3 other locations. I might go to the City Hall to buy my pass because they open at 8am whereas the Customer Service Centre opens at 10am. However, the CSC is the only office that processes applications so I had to come here and wait.
While waiting for a computer at the Central Library, I took out 3 books. One book, The Raving Fan, is for Ayman. Not sure if he is the reading type or if he has the time but I think he will find it useful in his business adventures. I read one of the other 3 books while waiting for the 9 Bus back home. In my lack of sleep delirium, I thought I missed the 9 Bus pull up and hurried to catch the bus waiting at the bus stop. After 10 minutes, I noticed that I was on an unfamiliar route/street. I caught the 1 Bus by mistake. I knew the 9 Bus hadn't pulled up because I hadn't heard it. I walked up to the lady driver and explained my situation. To my surprise, she knew her bus routes expertly. She advised me to catch the 72 up Crowchild Trail where I can get off in front of my house. Amazing coincidence that I did not cross over Crowchild Trail. What great timing. I didn't even have to wait a minute to catch the 72 home.
My luck/timing/place has been working in my favour. I don't want to say that I am at the right place at the right time because I used that up in Victoria and I now believe that wasn't the case. It hasn't been easy doing the night shit but overall in terms of money, resources and comfort level, I feel home here in Calgary. Only bad thing? Tons of mosquitos. I have more that 10 bites on my hands, face and back. I can't believe I did not feel the bites coming on because hands and face are suppose to be sensitive. No?
My journey continues....
Cowtown Dennis 201008041756
Links:
Calgary Public Library
Calgary Transit
Low income monthly transit pass
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