I Smell Like Bus

Man...today was interesting.

I didn't go to bed until 4AM here, which is only 1AM back home. I woke up around 10AM (7AM back home) and was just out of it...I'm totally still on pacific time, so I could tell it was EARLY. I was having some really funky dreams, too. Just weird...

I was a little paranoid about sleeping in because my roommate hadn't checked in and I didn't want to be in pj's or still sleeping if she arrived early. So I got up despite being all groggy.

First and most importantly today was to get my butt to the Hyatt in downtown where they were having the Marathon Packet Pickup / Health Expo. I had to pick up my bib and runner's packet and such for the run so I didn't have to deal with it tomorrow.

The marathon staffers for SF AIDS sucked. I was told that shuttle buses to the expo would run from noon-8PM from our hotel, but they had failed to tell us it was a misprint and while the expo was from noon-8PM, shuttle buses from our hotel didn't actually start until 3PM. ARGH.

So I talk to the concierge and he said a taxi would run ~$25, 2o mins, or I could take the bus $1.50, about 30/40 mins. Umm...I was feeling adventurous and had nothing really on the agenda so figured I'd take the bus. The bus driver was no help at all, and neither was this lady sitting next to me, so I was sort of guessing where I should get off. I didn't do too bad, 'tho. I was off by about 3 blocks, and given the weird streets and avenues and things labeled NE, SW and every permutation possible with numbers and other compass directions, I found the Hyatt. Whew.

The expo was great! I got two massages, tons of freebies and met some cool people while standing in line. One lady had her arm in a sling from a stress fracture in her shoulder and she was still going to run! Another man was from NY, now living in Miami and travels all over to run in these things multiple times per year. Amazing.

Returning from the expo was another ordeal. There were no shuttle buses at 3PM like I was told. I asked around and even the official ING reps for the marathon (Miami marathon is actually sponsored by ING. SF AIDS Foundation is just a small subset of the runners) had no clue about the shuttle bus. Argh. There was no SF rep around to help answer questions. So what now? I get back on the bus and head back.

Eh.

While on the bus on the way back there was a minor altercation with this lady and man. The man was kind of a jerk and smelled like alcohol, but in those cases, don't you usually leave them alone? This lady didn't seem to bright and engaged in a small tiff with him. He spit on her and hopped off the bus. Ummm... yeah.

I thought I'd be adventurous and get off at a stop along the way to browse around another area of town, but that was a mistake. When I decided to get back on the bus, I didn't realize the bus would take *forever* to come along. While I was waiting at the stop, there was a very animated gentleman who was harassing everyone. He reeked of beer and cigarettes. Then I get back on the bus to continue back to the hotel. For some reason our bus driver rode right past the hotel, despite people who had rang the bell. Yes, it was the correct bus. Unfortunately, the next visible stop was quite aways away. *sigh*. So I get off, and cross the street to wait for my return bus to backtrack to the hotel.

This also took FOREVER, so I stopped a different bus to see if they stopped near my hotel. I found one who said he doesn't, but he'd stop within a block. Ok. Good enough.

I'm back now, safe and sound. I'm tired and I reek of bus. It's kind of gross. I'm gonna shower before getting up the courage to grab dinner and try out the night life here.

My roomie still hasn't checked in...I wonder where she's at?

More later...