Nekrosys' Nekropolis

Daily Twitter

2009-11-12T04:55:06Z

Jenn:

18:08 really would like a piece of pizza right now. Really. #
18:25 thinks a nice dark beer would be good too. #
18:26 @rrachelmullinss *hugs* #

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Daily Twitter

2009-11-11T04:55:10Z

Jenn:

16:46 reports from the short bus that she is still not used to this time change. It gets dark so early. #
20:13 is in quite a bit of pain at the moment. Not sure why her leg and foot are so jacked up. #

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Daily Twitter

2009-11-10T04:55:09Z

Jenn:

07:14 reports from the short bus that she thinks Gein is seriously off his meds. She is seriously freaked. #
07:44 has never been happier to be at work! Towards the end of the ride Gein was arguing outloud with himself all Gollum like. #
17:13 should not be thanked for using MetroAccess since she doesn't really have a choice - at least not one that's monetarily feasible. #

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Daily Twitter

2009-11-09T04:55:06Z

Jenn:

09:19 is going to Church and then the Church bazaar. God help her. Too much socialization upcoming. #
11:53 wishes her Church's choir didn't sound like the soundtrack of a 1950s Disney movie. #
11:57 is feeling tremendously socially overwhelmed. #
20:27 @CatNight Hey, I'm Eastern Orthodox. Small world, eh? #
20:29 is going to go to bed now. Working has caused her to develop the sleep schedule of a grade schooler. #

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Daily Twitter

2009-11-08T04:55:06Z

Jenn:

03:09 is going to burn up. #
03:25 might need to start wearing pajamas. #
13:43 is listening to her iPod on the Metrorail because she's cool and urban like that. #
18:48 words cannot express how much she loves SUPERNATURAL! #
20:14 This made me snort laugh - Supernatural Herpexia Commercial 5x08 - bit.ly/3nPu71 #
20:20 @Bippy We had our 2nd 3am fire alarm in my apartment building in the last month. I imagined the firemen dragging my naked butt out. #

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Daily Twitter

2009-11-07T04:55:08Z

Jenn:

06:49 waits for the short bus. Sigh. #
06:50 @Bippy Ugh, never a good way to start a Friday. #
16:34 is really glad it's the weekend. #
17:15 reports from the short bus that she is on her way home! #
20:44 wonders when she hit menopause. *snort laugh* She loves Supernatural! #

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Daily Twitter

2009-11-06T04:55:14Z

Jenn:

18:09 is really happy that her Facebook friends can give her servings of food on Cafe World now. Yes, her life is *that* exciting. #
18:13 is glad her commute was only an hour tonight, as compared to the 2 1/2 hours last night. Evil traffic light gremlins - bit.ly/2DMW4z #
18:41 throws up a little in her mouth, thinking about _Criminal Minds_ and eyeball eaters. #

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Daily Twitter

2009-11-05T04:55:10Z

Jenn:

06:57 reports from the short bus that she has Gein again. Pray for her. #
07:47 was told by short bus driver Gein that he doesn't need to wear a coat because he has "a second skin under this one." She isn't surprised. #
17:53 reports from the short bus that she is stuck in traffic and is extremely sleepy. #

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Daily Twitter

2009-11-04T04:55:06Z

Jenn:

16:33 got Halloween candy at work. #
20:36 was so sad that Betty Crocker Warm Delights Hot Fudge Brownies (bit.ly/3zWZ65) taste like they were made in an EasyBake Oven. #

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Daily Twitter

2009-11-03T04:55:06Z

Jenn:

07:10 reports from the short bus that she has Twitch 2. Where do they get these drivers? Serial Killers R Us? #
08:23 was asked by her driver, henceforth known as Gein, if her company was hiring. *shudder* #
16:45 reports from the short bus that she is really loving this leaving work at 4:30 thing. #
17:51 is thankful she got away from this morning's short bus driver with all her skin still intact. He was a creepy one! #
20:17 needs to write something like 2000 words a day to meet her NaNoWriMo goals. Today? Umm, 663 words. #

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Daily Twitter

2009-11-02T04:55:05Z

Jenn:

09:19 might do NaNoWriMo. #
15:26 thinks it's mildly unfair that people who don't know how to work iPhones have them, while she would love to have one but can't afford it. #
19:26 is the proud owner of Gimpy the 7-Legged Spider. #

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Daily Twitter

2009-11-01T03:55:06Z

Jenn:

22:19 had her first real trick or treaters ever! Sure it was the same kid twice, but he brought his younger brother the second time. #
22:38 is really excited to upload pictures of her daughter, the dead ballerina, tomorrow. #

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Daily Twitter

2009-10-31T03:55:12Z

Jenn:

07:42 reports from the short bus that she'll get to work someday. #
21:05 feels a bit like a pedophile for thinking Jacob Black looks hot in the trailer for New Moon. #
21:14 RT @digg_2000: "Snuggies & Twilight: Todd FTW [PIC]" - digg.com/d218YBO?t1 #
21:17 really loves dark chocolate Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Did she mention that already? #
21:38 would be totally fine with Dean Winchester having a pity party over her. #

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Daily Twitter

2009-10-30T03:55:07Z

Jenn:

16:36 is not sure she'll ever get used to the random work days when she finishes all her tasks early and gets paid to do basically nothing. #
18:19 @sspenguin Jinx, double jinx, until someone tweets your name. #
18:22 got to ride the short bus home with Incense Stick again. Dang, that chick needs to ease up on the perfume. #
21:13 must stop taking Facebook quizzes and go to bed. #

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A Non-Short Bus Story

2009-10-30T00:56:41Z

The following story did not happen on the short bus, but instead in the lobby of my apartment building, while I was waiting for the short bus. It just so happens, through scheduling and random timing, that I often end up around the same group of folks each weekday morning. There is the Front Desk Guy, the Maintenance Guy, one of a few Security Guys, and a slightly varying set of Fellow Apartment Dwellers. I don't think many of us know one another's names, but we exchange pleasantries in the wee hours of the morning as we prepare to either start or, in the case of the Front Desk Guy, end our day. I actually really like most of them to the point that, if I didn't think it would sound either very pathetic or mildly stalker-ish, I'd ask them if they wanted to go out for coffee sometime or something.

Well, anyhow, on this particular morning, one of the Fellow Apartment Dwellers was waiting for a taxi she had called to take her to work. She had requested her ride for 6:30 am. When I came down, at the usual 6:45 am, she was on her cell phone waiting on hold with the cab company, trying to figure out why the cab hadn't showed. The cab driver told the supervisor that he had been right out front for some time. The Front Desk Guy, Another Apartment Dweller, and me all verified in unison that he was definitely not "right out front." We all had an unobstructed view of the entire driveway and there were no vehicles at all, taxis or otherwise. Confronted with collaborating eye-witnesses, the cabbie then admitted that he was actually in front of another apartment building a block away. He claimed he couldn't tell it was the wrong building because "it was raining too hard" and that his "GPS wasn't working."

By the time he did show up, my Fellow Apartment Dweller was going to be late and had called a different cab company. We all watched in disbelief as the first taxi driver, instead of pulling up under the entrance way's nice dry covered archway, parked across the street, got out into the pouring rain, and jaywalked across the busy street to the lobby doors. The Fellow Apartment Dweller commented to the Front Desk Guy, "I'm not going anywhere with him. He looks drunk." Her suspicions were bolstered by what happened next.

The entrance of our apartment building has two sets of double doors. The first set, which leads into a glassed-in alcove, is unlocked. The second set is normally locked. To get through those, you need to do one of three things. Each resident has a key fob that they touch to a security box to unlock the door. Or visitors can call residents on a call box in the alcove and be buzzed in. Or in some cases the Front Desk Guy has a special button he can press to momentarily deactivate the lock. More often than not, residents and non-residents alike default to the third option. They'll knock on the glass and wave and smile until the Front Desk Guy breaks protocol and beeps them in. In truth, our secured entry way is not very secure. But this morning, further shattering any illusion of protection, one of the pair of inside doors was completely propped open. Sometimes this happens when it sticks on the rubber trim of the alcove's door mat. Sometimes it's mechanically held ajar by the handicapped door opener that suddenly decides to work and gets stuck in overdrive. For whatever reason, it was yawning wide in the early morning air.

So what does our hapless taxi driver do? He tries to pull open the closed door right next to the wide open one. When his shaking of the door handle has no effect, he starts pressing the handicapped button repeatedly. When that doesn't work, he starts tapping on the glass and waving to the Front Desk Guy. By this point, all four of us are yelling, "The door is open!" He thinks we are motioning to the call box and, walking right by the open door, goes over to it and proceeds to randomly push its buttons. We, now hysterically laughing, scream in unison, "The door is open!" He shrugs, points to the closed door again, and knocks on the glass. "THE DOOR IS OPEN!" Finally he seems to notice the gaping doorway before him and strolls in like nothing happened.

He walks over to my Fellow Apartment Dweller who says, "I'm not about to get in a vehicle driven by you. You are over a half hour late, cannot find my building, and don't know how to get in a open door!" He backs away from her and retreats towards the doors again. By now they are both closed. He pulls on one handle and nothing happens. He pulls on the other handle and nothing happens. The four of us look at each other amazed and yell out, "Push!" He shoves the door open and scurries away.

So maybe short bus drivers aren't so bad after all.

Daily Twitter

2009-10-29T03:55:05Z

Jenn:

06:50 @Bippy Glad the new chair is good! I love my tilting seat. #
06:51 says, "Yep, it's Wednesday." #
12:50 is a little disturbed her work thermos smells like cat pee all the time. #

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The weekend as I knew it.

2009-10-28T22:53:17Z

So, I'm running the endless reports again. Therefore I'm typing again. I'm sure everyone will grow to look forward to this weekly event. Umm, maybe not.

Short bus rides have been remarkably unremarkable lately. I was asked by my third driver how to get a job where I work. And for the third time I referred a driver to the company website. Of course, I know for a fact we make the same amount of money starting out per hour, but I guess my work environment is slightly better.

This past weekend I accidentally ended up by the Silver Spring Zombie Walk. I've been wanting to be in it for the last two years, but last year I couldn't find anyone to go with me, and this year my parents were visiting for the first time. But on Saturday night, on the way back from eating at a local steak house, we were walking through downtown Silver Spring right when the festivities began. Surprisingly even my mom liked it. I told Ravyn that next year we are going to dress up and show them how to do zombies right though. A lot of the people kind of just smeared some red face paint on and called it a day. But there were a couple very "in character" folks, one of which loomed over me for a good two minutes, before shrugging at my non-reaction and hobbling away. I thought the whole leering zombie thing was pretty funny. It's nice to know my brains look yummy. But my daughters were less than enthused with "that zombie guy freaking over mom." Ravyn said she almost screeched, "Back off!" I think that would've been hysterical personally.

I wasn't in the best mood before that because we had the absolutely most snobby, stuck-up waiter ever. Unbeknownst to us, the restaurant we took my parents to had two separate sections - the bar area and the restaurant area. We ended up in the restaurant area, only to learn that in that section they only served 25 dollar steaks and not the hamburgers we had raved up prior to my parents. (I might add, even disregarding the price, I would most likely choke to death trying to eat a steak unless they shredded it in a food processor for me.) After a lot of roundabout with the snooty waiter, we told him we wanted to wait for a table in the bar area. From that point on, we were an anathema to him. You'd think we'd all developed festering cases of leprosy with the evil looks he gave us until we finally got to move. Another waiter even asked him why he was avoiding serving our table like we had the plague, and our ex-waiter said, "Oh, them. They are waiting for a table in the bar area because they want hamburgers." At least our server in the bar area was nice. And the hamburgers were even better than I remembered them being.

On Sunday my mom wanted the girls and I to meet her and Dad in Old Town Alexandria for the afternoon. We rode the super-crowded Metro to meet them there. (There was some big marathon in DC that was gumming up the works.) The little neighborhood shopping district where we spent the day wandering around with them was not very wheelchair friendly. All the sidewalks were paved with bricks and all warped out of shape by tree roots growing under them. Half the shops had steps to get in, and the ones with ramps were pretty cramped inside. I decided that in "Old Towns" they must drown their cripples at birth so they don't have to worry about such things. Plus, the place was so yuppified, it set my teeth on edge. To add to the ambiance, it was "doggie trick or treat day," so middle-aged people, the kind that treat their pets like spoiled children, were everywhere with their costumed dogs. By the end of the day, I was completely irritated, jostled, sore, and cold. But at least my mom knows I made the effort to see her again before they left.

Nothing much else to report...

Daily Twitter

2009-10-28T03:55:05Z

Jenn:

06:52 just watched a taxi driver struggle to get through an open door. Suddenly the short bus drivers don't look so bad. #
07:01 is still waiting for her bus. Sigh. #
07:09 is on her way. #
07:45 forgot to put on her wedding rings this morning and for some reason is having a mini panic attack about it. #
08:28 took 10 minutes to get her wallet up on her desk at work this morning. It's going to be one of those days. #
16:44 is really glad even more things are making sense at work. #
17:01 reports from the short bus that it's raining out so of course everybody forgot how to drive. #
18:51 is watching Extreme Paranormal. Extreme fucktardery. #

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Daily Twitter

2009-10-27T03:55:08Z

Jenn:

06:52 admits it's Monday again and waits for the short bus. #
20:10 is going to bed now cuz she's lame like that. #

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Daily Twitter

2009-10-26T03:55:05Z

Jenn:

00:24 is watching Saw III and is pretty sure she'll never eat pork again. #
00:30 RT @digg_2000: "What NOT to Serve at a Kids' Birthday Party (PIC)" - digg.com/d217xJ4?t1 #
00:32 has a strange affinity for Jigsaw. #
10:08 wishes that zombie would've really ate her brains last night. #
15:49 will remember that in the "old towns" they drowned their cripples. #

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Daily Twitter

2009-10-23T03:55:14Z

Jenn:

08:50 was annoyed to learn that the fire alarm that went off at 3am in her apartment building was pulled by some yo-yo adult as a joke. #
13:17 is sorry that she doesn't have all afternoon to play phone tag with you, MetroAccess, but some of us have to work. #
21:49 was smiled upon by God. He made regular-sized Dark Chocolate Reese's Peanut Butter Cups appear on the shelf of her local grocery store. #

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Testing texting post

2009-10-22T23:37:56Z

Move along. Nothing here to see.

Short Bus Log: October 19, 2009

2009-10-22T15:27:35Z

When I rolled up to the short bus in the afternoon, the bus driver looked at me and said, "Do you smell something funny?"

"No, not really," I replied, instantly worried that *I* smelled funny. After all, people never seem to notice when they are exuding odors. It's like they get desensitized to their own BO. Plus I had been farting a lot that afternoon. Maybe there was a lingering post-flatuence stench.

She added, "It smells like something vehicle related. Like car exhaust or something."

I wondered if my gas really smelled like car exhaust, and felt bad for my co-workers if that was the case, as I backed onto the short bus lift. Then I caught my first whiff of the smell too. I cried, possibly a little too excitedly,"I smell it!" But at that moment I was just happy I wasn't the source of stink. It was definitely something related to the short bus.

Once inside the short bus, the smell was even worse. After the driver hooked me down and sat down in her seat, she exclaimed that the smell was even worse up front. She reached into her bag and pulled out this giant industrial-sized can of Lysol and started spraying it around. It didn't do much to help. The burning rubber smell was just slightly masked by the hint of artificial flowers.
Still, I wasn't getting off that bus. Due to prior experiences of being "left behind" by the powers that be in short bus scheduling, I am always happy to be on the bus, heading, however slowly, home. My driver wasn't to thrilled with the prospect of driving all the way back to short bus base to swap out vehicles either. So we both resolved to deal with it by cracking the windows and pressing on.

But the further down the road we got, on the way to pick up another passenger, the smell became more and more pungent. Even with the windows all the way down, the bus was starting to smell like the pit of hell. Sulfurous fumes filled the interior. I tried to breathe through my mouth but just tasted the smoldering brimstone instead. This made me think of Ghost Hunters, and I imagined Jay and Grant going through the bus with EMF detectors and K2 meters. Grant said, "Dude, there is one malevolent entity here! Do you smell that sulfur?!" This then made me think of dead bodies on CSI and how the investigators would rub Vick's Vapor Rub under their noses when dealing with especially ripe cadavers. I wished I had some Vick's Vapor Rub. Or at least some Stride Gum to shove up my nostrils. I think the fumes were starting to get to me a bit.

The driver too was apparently starting to get a little worried because she pulled over to the side of the road and called the short bus base. Maybe her anxiety was peaked by jokes we had shared about the bus blowing up and carbon monoxide poisoning. The stench intensified.

The following conversation transpired:

Driver: Base, this is number XXX, come back.

Base: Base here, XXX. What do you need?

Driver: There is a really bad smell on this bus.

(Of course, my brain thought of a several smart ass answers Base could've gave, but being more professional, or simply not suffering from toxic fume exposure as myself, Base continued...)

Base: What kind of smell is it?

(Me, back in the peanut gallery, suggested burning rubber or the sulfurous pit of hell.)

Driver: It smells like exhaust or burning rubber. But it's really strong. Should I be worried?

Base: Well, if it's carbon monoxide that would be really bad.

Driver: Oh, no!

(Way to keep everyone calm, Base!)

Base: But I don't think it'd be that strong of a smell.

Driver: (sounding unconvinced) Oh.

This conversation went on for a few more minutes, where it was decided that the driver would still pick the other passenger up, since we were almost at his apartment, take the both the of us to our stops, and then return to base. Before, she pulled back into traffic, she futilely sprayed some more Lysol around. Damn, that was the biggest aerosol can I'd ever seen! It looked more like an oxygen tank. She could've easily used it to beat down any malevolent entity or zombie on that bus! The hint of lilac added to the mix made me even more loopy feeling. I suddenly wished I had a digital recorder so I could do some EVP work. This evil spirit must have something really important to say to stink up a MetroAccess bus this bad.

True to my luck, the next passenger took his own sweet time to make his way down to the bus. The driver went inside to track him down. Meanwhile, without the wind from driving blowing through the windows, the sulfur air seemed to stagnate and congeal inside the bus. I was playing Solitaire on my iPod, trying not to think about how that'd be a really sucky way to die. My eyes were getting really scratchy and not focusing right. I began to wonder if I were somehow part of a weird experiment. Just how much carbon monoxide could I be exposed to before my already crappy Solitaire skills were adversely affected?

Once the other passenger showed up, the driver whipped out the Lysol again. She could've been burning incense at this point and it would not have helped. As we drove along the windows were wide open. We would've drove with the doors open too if we thought we could have. Passengers in other cars kept plugging their noses and giving us dirty looks at traffic lights. We were a big rolling ball of smell.

Near my apartment we had to drop the other passenger off first. Of course. He was going to some blind people dinner or something at a local steak house. Seriously, when we pulled up, there were seeing eye dogs and canes everywhere. It was like a convention. And, damn, I know the guy was blind, but did he have to walk so freaking slow while the driver led him to the restaurant entrance. Ugh! I think he was afraid of losing reception, on the oh-so-important cell phone conversation, he was having if he got in the restaurant too soon. Sigh. Thanks, dude, for letting me soak in the fumes for just a little bit longer than necessary!

By the time I got home, I had bloodshot eyes, a headache, and this great story to tell.

Daily Twitter

2009-10-21T03:55:13Z

Jenn:

06:50 the excitement of having a job is wearing thin, especially this early in the morning. #
06:57 wonders if the short bus decided to be late on Tuesday this week instead. Sigh. #
20:49 never seems to have enough sleep. Sigh. #

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Daily Twitter

2009-10-20T03:55:22Z

Jenn:

06:55 sure hopes the short bus isn't late for the third Monday in a row! #
19:37 had a 90-minute commute home in a sulfur stenched short bus this evening. Now she has a headache. #

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