Agency 1, Intelligence 0

I was dead-set on figuring out how to get home from work through public transit.  Again, language!  Re-starting.

I was bound and determined to figure out how to get home through public transit.  Even if it killed me.  Dang it.  Moving on.

My office is about a 1/2 mile from one of the six stations of the one rail line in Austin.  The Red Line.   Optimistically named for a color, possibly with the thought that others would follow*.  The Green Line.  The Yellow Line.  The Fuschia Line.  The Orange-Yellow Line.  Not to be confused with the Yellow-Orange Line.  Though I was always confused by those two.  If Crayola is to be believed, there are potentially 128 possible rail line names.  And possibly a weird little hole that will sharpen the trains.  But I digress.  Which, if I was re-starting my blog, would be the perfect name. And since it is likely I will again lose the ability to log in someday, bookmark butIdigress.blogspot.com today.

So, half mile walk to the Red Line. That was my starting point.  Then a 45 minute rail trip to way beyond my house.  Then bus #383 back toward my house, which would deposit me an hour later within a mile of my house.  About 2 1/2 hours of transit, a mile and a half of walking exercise (a mile if I catch the 300 bus to the Red Line), and it only set me back $4.75.

I regained my agency.  I can successfully get my ass home on my own.  In one additional way, besides friends, family, and the Wall-E service.  But I am re-empowered.  And wet, because it was raining today.  A glorious, victorious rain.  Like from that movie.  Flash Dance?  No, Chariots of Fire.

But agency doesn’t trump stupidity. [I will let you parse the political meaning of the last sentence, depending on your own persuasion.]. On my long, long, circuitous bus ride home from way past my house, I had lots of time to review bus 383’s route.  They have these helpful maps! [Said the privileged middle-aged white guy on his first bus ride.] After traveling from damn-near Waco back to near my house, the bus actually keeps going.  It terminates (I know, language) at a transit center less than a half mile past the Red Line station I started from.  Meaning, if I had walked an extra 4/10 of a mile, bus 383 would have taken me straight home, in about 40 minutes.  For $1.25.

It’s important in science to be clear about your research question and assumptions going in.  Just because you are near the Red Line, doesn’t mean your plan must include it.  Also, look at a map.

The experience did provide one additional opportunity to mess with a twin.  Abby told me she would text me today when she got home from work, in case I needed a ride.  I told her that I was going to take mass transit for the better part of the evening and wouldn't need a ride.  She said she'd text me anyway.  She forgot to text me.  When I got home, I was very clearly wet.  An empowered wet, but very non-dry.  I knocked on her door, and she apologized for not texting as she opened her door.  She was stunned to see her wet, bedraggled dad (I was faking bedraggled).

"Where the hell were you?"

I didn't let her suffer for long, but that was way too easy too pass up.

* Being a native Austinite, I can tell you with 100% certainty.  No other rail lines will follow.