men are like buses

I missed the bus this morning. Got off the 1 California and the 24 Divis had just passed. It was a block away. I could see it. I kicked myself. If only I'd taken the 38 Geary, I thought, or the 4 Sutter. I'd be on that bus right now.

I chased it. That didn't work very well, because, of course, buses are faster than people. Especially if you're a woman who's recently purchased microfiber socks from Ann Taylor and chosen to wear them with slip-on, or, in this case, slip-off, shoes. Then, trotting down the sidewalk is extra difficult.

I walked for a block, glum. Then I turned around. There was another 24 Divis bus right behind me. Weirdly, it was empty.

So the allegory is, as my cousin J says, "Men are like buses. Another one always comes along." I took a seat on the new bus, and thought, ok, if you wait long enough, which was about 35 seconds for me, what do you know. One shows up, and takes you just where you wanted to go.

I am out of my "I'm single" funk. I owe my friends a debt of gratitude. To K for giving me big hugs when I needed them, and his last cigarette. (No, mom, I don't smoke. Just occassionally.) To G for keeping me laughing all through dinner. To J, for the uncouth array of things he refers to as "thingie." (I have adopted this Britishism as a shorthand for "thingie-do-bob" or my mother's "thing-a-ma-jigee.") And to my book club, that wild and wacky bunch of ethically challenged literati who find new ways of making me laugh every month. Y'all are fun. And boy, did you leave me with a lot of dishes last night.

Today I head to Texas. I have already learned a bit of Texas trivia, from a woman who is so smart ("Sure, I have a PhD in computational fluid dynamics. Who doesn't?") she scares me. She used to make submarines. Very, very quiet submarines.

"Maverick", besides being Scott McNealy's son's name, is a word dervied from a man's name. A Texas cowboy who decided not to brand his cattle. So every time folks came across a cow with no brand, they knew it was a "Maverick." Hopefully, I'll find out what the lonestar thingie is all about. More about that on Sunday.