The Bus Baby

You know how every now and then your brain just goes crazy and starts losing sight of all reality and all of a sudden anything is possible? If you don't know what that is like, I will do my best to describe my experience to you so you get the feeling. Ok, the other day I was driving my bus and I had this crazy idea. "What if I found a baby on the bus?" People leave stuff on the bus all the time, gloves, hats, ski poles and the like. But what if somebody just got caught up and left a baby?!? I'd have to take it in and raise it as my own and give him some awful name like Bubba and explain to him how he was found on a bus and I'm too young to be a father of a bus baby! After worrying about this for an hour or so, my fear was somewhat realized when an odd looking couple got on the bus with what you ask, a baby. A little one. Still in arms and tiny and I knew, if I was ever going to accidentally become a father it was in this moment. So from the moment these two and their baby got on the bus I was watching them. I wasn't gonna let them sneak off without that child! Luckily for me (and the child) when they got off the bus the baby went with them. I breathed a sigh of relief and went on my way. Of course I realize now that if someone left a baby on the bus that I wouldn't have to raise it, I could give it to the police, or something and it wouldn't be up to me. But for a moment there I really thought I would have to keep it like some weird roll of the dice of fate and bam! Dad. Luckily I dodged that bullet for another day, but I still get a little suspicious any time someone gets on the bus with a baby now...

The Almighty Bolo

The other day I went skiing with my padre, he was in town for two days and we decided to go to Deer Valley Ski Resort. I had told him before about the power of the Bolo Tie, but he got to witness it first hand. I will back up a smidge, by working for the City of Park City we are entitled to number of privileges. One such privilege is that we are able to check out ski passes to different resorts. The pass for Deer Valley is a Bolo Tie. I did a little bit of research on these unique passes and found out that the only way to get one is to have property in DV (multi million dollar homes) or you can straight up buy one for five grand and it acts as a season pass, but fancier. So when the lifties and other DV employees spot a Bolo they believe that you are some kind of high roller. It is oodles of fun for me. So, there we are, skiing the day away when padre loses one of the baskets on his pole. Since we are staying off of the groomers it is kind of important to have one of those. So we ski down to the nearest ski check and I take the pole in, I kindly ask if they have an extra basket lying around (flashing Bolo as obviously as possible) and the next thing you know they have three guys working on finding one! In a matter of minutes we were back on the lift laughing about our good fortune. All in all it was a grand day!
And if you think I'm kidding that it is an actual Bolo Tie, here is the proof.

Majestic

So Fancy

Lookin Good

Bolo For Life

Why I Like Skiing

Whether you are a skier or a snowboarder, you'll probably know what I'm talking about when I say how much fun it is to be out on the mountain. First of all, let's talk about chairlifts. What an amazing thing!! Seriously, some guy thought to himself, "I'd really like to be on top of that tall mountain so I can slide down the snow on these slippery planks on my feets, but I hate hiking." Boom, the chairlift is born. They do in minutes what it would take the average person hours to do. I think chairlifts are half the reason I like skiing as much as I do. 

Moving on, the riding itself. Yesterday was a powder day, so much fun, so free, like cutting through the clouds, floating on air. It is hard to get that feeling anywhere else. 

When it comes to shredding, I like the trees. One of the best things about being out there is getting into nature. There are times when you can be in the middle of a patch of trees, snow falling all around you and there is this mute tranquility that completely surrounds you. The trees and snow muffle everything, and for me, it is one of the most peaceful feelings in the world. Yesterday I was carving my way through some trees, enjoying the serenity of it all, when a little mink ran across my path. I don't know why, but I really liked that little guy. Sadly I couldn't get a picture of him but this is what he looked like.

Pretty adorable, right?

Lastly, the people. I ride alone. So almost every time I get on a lift it is with people that I have never met and will probably never meet again. Yesterday I was doing laps on one of the older lifts, it's just a two seater and it doesn't move very fast, but it is worth the ride. So I was lapping thing lift and I got paired up with a skier. We sit down, as usual we do some small talk and like many people I ride with, he is on vacation. A pretty cool guy, from Virginia, fifty-two years old, only his second time to Park City. So he asks where the good snow is and I do my best to point it out to him, after pointing out a few different areas he asks if he can just follow me. I say sure, we get to the top and he follows me as I traverse over a ways to get to the untouched pockets of powder. After seeing a spot that looks good I dip off and carve my way to the bottom, laughing and loving every second of that mystical ride down. I get to the lift line and here comes my skier buddy, a huge smile on his face. We get on the lift together again and he is raving about how good that run was. He starts telling me all about the first time he ever rode powder when he was seventeen and how he felt so free and he had been trying to get that feeling back ever since then. Apparently he had just found it again, thanks to me and he couldn't have been happier. I ended up doing two more laps with this guy, each time we hit the pow he was like a kid in a candy store and when we were on the lift you could tell he was having a wonderful time. Interactions like this act as a reminder to me, every single person out there has a life of their own, their own stories, thoughts, feelings and adventures. And for a moment in time two complete strangers shared in an experience like we were two old friends. 

The Last Word

I know it might be hard to believe, but driving around in circles all day can get a little boring. So I have to come up with creative ways of entertaining myself. This includes singing, talking to myself, seeing how close I can get the bus to things, and my newest game! I call this new game, the last word. It's a very easy game, as people are exiting the bus I'll say something, they respond, I respond and so forth, always trying to have the last word. Sometimes I'll say, "Have a nice day!" And I'll only get a, "you too!" in response. Then I've gotta think fast! Something like, "I hope you enjoy your stay!" or "Sure looks like snow tonight!" Anything to get the last word in. The best times are when people are also playing the last word game with me. I will give you an example of one of my best games yet.

Them: Thank you

Me: No problem

Them: Have a good one

Me: You too!

Them: I will!

Me: That's great!

Them: I know!

Me: Enjoy the snow!

Them: I'm looking forward to it!

Me: I'm sure it will snow tonight! *start driving away*

Them: You think so?!? *tries to keep up with the bus*

Me: YES I DO! *closes door*

Me: heh, winner winner chicken dinner

And that is how you play last word!

Oh I Forgot to Mention...

I realized after my last post that I left out so many thoughts and musings that I had during Sundance. So here are a couple of things.
First off, during Sundance there are definitely people of the upper class there. You know the type, driving fancy cars and eating expensive dinners? Well those people frequent the public transit during Sundance for a number of different reasons. Alleviating traffic, so they can get their drink on, and because there isn't any parking anywhere in the city. One of my favorite things about this, other than seeing high class folk (fur coats, suits n ties) on a bus with the normies, is the look of satisfaction these wealthy people have when they get off the bus at the right place. I always imagine them thinking, "Look at that Gertrude, you can be just as plain as these peasants. Well done!" Or something like that...
Next item of business! Ladies! What are you doing??? It is fifteen degrees out, the sidewalks are sheets of ice and you're in a little black dress and heels? I understand you want to look good for the clubs, but really? I worry for your safety when I release you into the elements, please just bring a coat next time. On a similar note, I'd like to make a shoutout to all the gals who wear Sorells, puffy coats and bright beanies. You are my favorite bus patrons because you are dressed for the weather and I can see you in the bright colored hat. Anytime I can see somebody at a distance it makes stopping the bus on icy roads much easier. So a big thank you to those sensible ladies.
This leads to my next point, people that I despise. The guy who is sitting at the bus stop, wearing all black, with in his hands in his pockets not waving at me. Stop getting mad when I drive past you!! It's eleven at night, it's dark, and you are a stationary black blur against a dark backdrop. Are you really that surprised I didn't see you? I know you see me because I'm a bus! You can hear me coming a mile away, when you do just prepare yourself to be seen. People that do this are a real stick in my craw!
Alright, I think I've gotten it all out now. See you next time!

The Sundance

The Sundance Film Festival has come and gone this year. A whirlwind of visitors, movies and celebrities touched down upon Park City in it's usual fashion. I personally have a pretty good time during Sundance. Ten days of interesting people, celebrity sightings and wide open slopes to play on makes up for the copious amounts of traffic that we bus drivers have to deal with. So instead of rambling on I decided to list off all of the things that I liked or didn't like about Sundance this year.
Let's start with the likes!
1. Nobody on the slopes. (All the hotels are rented out by moviegoers instead of skiers!)
2. Getting to work a ridiculous amount of overtime. ($$$$ yeah)
3. Meeting new people! (Volunteers are my favorite, but some bus riders are really interesting too.)
4. Listening in on funny conversations. (Either most people don't care that I'm listening or they think         I'm not paying attention.)
5. Listening to my coworkers complain about traffic. (Ok, this mostly applies to the rookies. "I was 45       minutes late on my route!" They swap how late they were like war stories."
6. On the busiest night of Sundance there was also a half-pipe competition up at PCMR, there was so         little parking that people began parking anywhere and by the end of the night around 30 cars got           towed. Nothing makes me happier than seeing a high end car being towed away for parking like           a jerk. I was in heaven that night.
7. Most of all, I'm glad that it is over for this year. It was fun but I am happy to have the town back.

Now the don't likes!
1. The promotional Acura taxis. They were literally the most aggressive drivers I have ever seen. It was     like stop signs didn't apply to them, if they were behind you and you actually stopped at a stop sign,       that's a honkin. Change lanes in front of them while using a blinker? That's a honkin. Stop to turn           right at a green light for pedestrians to cross the road? THAT'S A HONKIN!!! God forbid they             actually use blinkers themselves. It was outrageous.
2. Getting the same question 2,746 times a day. I get it that you've never been to PC before, but there         are armies of volunteers to help you navigate, not to mention maps and online resources.
3. Having to leave 30-45 minutes early to get to work because of all the traffic.
4. People complaining why I'm not on time when they can see that traffic is at a standstill. (Seriously?)

That's about all for this year, I worked almost every night so I never go to go see a movie myself, but it sounded like another successful year for the movie industry. Sorry for no pictures! I didn't even think about it until Sundance was over. Anywho, we say goodbye to Sundance this year and won't have to put up with the hordes of movie lovers again until next year!

2014

Merry Christmas and Happy New Years! Ok, we got that out of the way now on to other things. 2014 has kicked off and I'm in an unusual place. Things are very good: the Seahawks are going to the Super Bowl, I got a hair cut, I get to ski for free, my truck is running good, and I seem to be doing pretty good at keeping myself alive again. But some things aren't so good: Salt Lake is having very bad inversions, the snow isn't falling, I'm finding more gray hair than I did last year. But all in all I can't complain the way that things have started. I especially like the skiing for free part.

Ahh yeah

It has been rather warm.

Bolo tie