4 Bloomington Bus Drivers

Bus Driver 1 (my nemesis): This bus driver usually runs the #4 bus in the evenings. His demeanor is fairly aggressive and dull. My cards, including my student ID card which serves as a bus-pass, are held together by a clip (the kind with the black clipping section and metallic grips (sorry for the crappy description)). I use the smallest variety. Bus Driver 1, no matter where I situate the clip on the cards, cannot seem to make out without considerable effort whether I am in fact showing him a student ID card. He has told me on several occasions that I have to remove the clip for him to see the card (even if the only part of the card that is obscured is the bar code at the bottom of the card). Is this man being difficult for its own sake? Is he really so dull that no object can be attached to the card lest he cannot recognize it? What does he do about people's thumbs that might cover the so important barcode at the bottom? Once I got into a fray with this man over this issue, but the outcome was at best a draw.

Bus Driver 2: This bus driver, also running the #4 (or #5) clearly hates me. Whether he drops me off near campus or at home, he does not provide ample time for me to exit the bus. He has on a number of occasions closed the door on me. Not only is this very uncomfortable (the doors pack quite a resistant wallop), but it is hard on garments. This bus driver also is prone not to stop at my bus stop even when I pull the wire to alert him that I would like to be dropped off at the next stop. This I cannot understand. When you pull the wire, you are to be dropped off at the next official bus stop, which brings me to the next driver.

Bus Driver 3: This bus driver, same route as bus driver two, today inquired if I wanted to be dropped off at the intersection of Mitchell and Maxwell, the next stop, or at Maxwell Terrace down the street. Now, I don't know bus driver logic, but I thought that the default position was this: when the wire is pulled, you stop at the next stop. You should not have to ask if the person actually meant the stop after the next one. Think of how chaotic it would be if pulling the wire meant that you wanted to be dropped off in two stops!

Bus Driver 4: Bus Driver 3 reminds me of a fourth bus driver who does not really merit a whole section since her primary deficiency is related to that of bus driver 3's. If I pull before the stop sign 100 or so feet before my bus stop, she gets angry and tells me, clearly irritated, that it is unclear whether I want to be dropped at the stop sign (i.e., the traffic sign) or the actual bus stop. The last time I checked, there was a reason why bus stops were not marked by octagonal red signs that say 'stop' and it was probably to control for this very confusion, but perhaps she sees the word 'stop' and gets confused. Perhaps her brain is wired to stop at the first sign that says 'stop' after the chime.

Checklist of Upcoming Extravaganzaaaaaas!

Extravaganzaaaaaa! #1: Nov. 17 at 1 pm will witness one of the most anticipated battles of that week. In one corner, the Centennial Scourge, the Devil of Selection, the Duke of Trout: Mad MattDanDunn. In the other corner, coming out of a 5-year hiatus from talks, defender of truth, justice and g, the Key to Validity, the Prince of Novelty: S.Brian Brain the Hooooooood. These two longtime foes (roommates, actually) will go head to head in an awesome battle over Brian's most recent dissertation section: Validity and Scientific Realism. Brian thinks he settled the question, Matt thinks Brian is uncharitable to his opposition and that either way, Brian's position is vaccuous. Life at the S. Mitchell house will never be the same. Heads will roll, dogs will stink, and crickets will invade.

Extravaganzaaaaaa! #2: APA Dec. 27 where Brian will NOT get a job on the basis of his paper "Validity and Scientific Realism".

Extravaganzaaaaaa! #3: Spring Break (March 12-17) in Amsterdam where I will present my paper to a group of methodologists, one of whom I attack, though ultimately defend, in my paper "Validity and Scientific Realism". While there, I intend to gorge myself on Japanese Pancakes.

Extravaganzaaaaaa! #4: May and June in Tbilisi where I will do nothing related to my paper "Validity and Scientific Realism". There I will show my skills as a premium dancer, eat khachapori, drink cha cha, and get stuck in a kwevri (shout out to my didi kartveli megobrebs).