Oh, the humanity

These days, I normally ride the bus to and from work. It's a pretty fascinating experience, in terms of people-watching and getting a feel for one's fellow human beings. This might sound weird, but I've become somewhat attached to the "regulars" on my morning bus (afternoon ride is much more variable): I notice if they're not there, I've observed patterns in their behavior, and so on. It's fun to try to suss out where they're going or what kind of job they have. I'll think, "Oh, that gentleman's carrying a suitcase today," and then when he's not on the bus the next day, I'll figure he went out of town on business, or something.

Naturally, one can witness a lot of negative behavior on the bus. People shout into their cell phones, pick fights with the bus driver, and, my personal favorite, feed crappy food to their kids. But I've been surprised to realize that this kind of stuff (okay, minus the crappy food thing) is actually kind of rare. Even more shocking, perhaps, I've witnessed far more instances of human kindness and helpfulness in the past two months than otherwise. Some of it's small stuff. You know, things like automatically clearing the way for someone whose stop is coming up, or if someone with a stroller or  wheelchair is getting on the bus. Most of us will rummage through our wallet when someone asks for change. But I've also seen total strangers out-and-out pay for fares and help unload strollers. It's pretty heart-warming, to be honest. Makes you feel like you're in one of those pay-it-forward commercials.

I figure now that I've posted this, my bus home will be full of jerks.

In other news, the fall weather trend is definitely digging in. 48 degrees on the sign opposite my bus stop this morning. I'm running Women Run the Cities, a 10 mile race this weekend, and I have to say that the promise of good weather (high of 70 for Sunday?) makes me a little more pumped to get out there. I felt pretty good about my 7 miler last week, and this week I'm just trying to relax and enjoy running. It's been a weird year, running-wise, and I'm a little anxious about how these big races are going to go. Hopefully I'll be able to run well and have a good time.

Per my weekend resolutions, we did watch a movie (To Kill a Mockingbird, which frankly, is kind of boring) and I did manage to start Great Expectations. I haven't read it in several years, and in the interim I've read a lot of Dickens' other work and I'm struck by how different the narrative is. His writing is always beautifully descriptive, but in GE it's so pared down. There are no extra words (at least not so far) and yet the comparisons and visuals are amazingly striking. I know it's cliche, but I really think Dickens was a genius.

Work day's almost over. Let's see if I can maintain motivation past dinner, and get my butt out to yoga. Wish me luck!