Out of Touch

To those who don't know Vancouver well, there are three places to go skiing in Vancouver: Whistler Mountains (where the 2010 Winter Olympics are going to be held), Mt. Seymour, and Cypress Mounatins. The latter two are also street names in the Greater Vancouver area.

Sunday, June 29th
On my way to meet Lisa and Claire at WhineO.
#17 bus Downtown
K: "Excuse me, sir. Do you go to Granville and Nelson?"
Driver: "Not that many buses go down Granville anymore because of the construction, but I go to Cypress and Nelson..."
K: "Isn't Cypress in Kits?'
Driver: "Well, Cypress is one block parallel to Granville. I can drop you off at the corner at Nelson."
K: "I've been away for 4 years, and there have been so many changes here."

While I was admiring the gorgeous sunset over Granville Bridge and feeling a bit sad about how out of touch I was, a voice came up on the Intercom, "The lady in blue, please approach to the front?" I was the only one on the bus in blue.
Driver: "I'm sorry. I got my mountains mixed up. I go to Seymour and Nelson, not Cypress. Maybe I've been away for a few years but don't know it.

Tuesday, Canada Day
#9 Alma (from Broadway Station to Arbutus)
I wanted to find a pair of comfy flipflops that I can actually walk in, so I went down to 4th Ave. When I got on the bus, the driver had a yellow and orange hazard vest over the ticket machine which, logically, meant that we didn't have to pay. He greeted everyone with, "Happy Canada Day." Going shopping on 4th was a mistake 'cause everything was expensive. After a couple of hours, I finally decided to abort my original plan and agreed to meet up with Lisa and Jordy on Main Street.

#9 Broadway Station (From Arbutus to Main)
Because of the previous bus ride, I didn't even bother taking out a bus ticket when the bus arrived. I said hi to the driver and happily sat down in the seat by the window. I noticed the bus driver was looking at me from the rearview mirror, and other passengers were putting their tickets into the machine. I realized the mistake I'd made, so I quickly took out a ticket and went to the front.

K: "I thought it was free to ride the bus today."
Driver: "And why did you think that?"
K: "'Cause it's Cananda Day." (Don't ask me why. I know I should've told him about my previous bus ride instead.)
Driver: "I've never heard of that, and I've been working here for 20 years."
Some other passengers agreed with the driver, talking about the fact that free transit only happens on New Year's Day).
Driver: "You should run for office of the BC Premiere. Then you can implement this law of free transit on national holidays. I'm sure you'll be elected."
A passenger: "I'd vote for ya."