I have a confession to make. I don’t use any transportation apps. I commute every work day without checking to see if the bus is coming. I expect it to come around the same time every day and leave my house accordingly. Sometimes, I end up waiting five or more minutes, sometimes I have to sprint for the bus, and very occasionally, I miss it completely. I just don’t check my phone before I leave.
With that in mind, I have to tell you about Today’s Perfect Moment. When I left work (early for a change) I knew I had a rather longer commute than usual. I had a follow up appointment and decided to continue on the bus to the destination rather than stop, get my car, and pay for parking. On paper, this was a no-brainer. It meant continuing on my normal bus for a few extra minutes and taking one other bus the rest of the way.
When changing from one transport to another, there is usually wait time involved. Whenever I normally finish work, I get on the subway (after negotiating a three-street-cross as opposed to one until the construction of the Eglinton Crosstown is done) and have to transfer to a bus at Finch station. Sometimes I can wait fifteen minutes for a bus–sometimes longer if it is late at night and I have stayed late to go out for drinks with my best friends Chris and Brian. Adding another bus transfer could mean waiting.
That’s where Today’s Perfect Moment comes in. You see, I hit every connection almost perfectly. Nearing the subway, all the lights in my three-street-cross turned green as I approached them. The subway arrived just as I got to the platform level. When I emerged from the underground to take the bus, it was there waiting for me. When I transferred to the final bus, it too arrived just after I got off my first bus. I made it to my appointment with lots of time to spare.
I hit every connection perfectly. Speaking as someone who has often had to wait around for a long time for bus, trains, planes, and rides to and from baseball games, hitting every connection feels great. It feels like the system is working for you and not against you. It feels like the universe is in line. If that isn’t a Perfect Moment, I do not know what is.
I wasn’t as lucky on my way back, but that is to be expected.
My friends and I in L.A. take the subway and bus everywhere that we can so I can totally relate to THAT Perfect Moment. Especially since the one friend is always and ever late, late, late and I stress and stress and am ready murder her, yet the timing always works out and we are usually make it and then I’m like “Why do I get so stressed out? We made it. AGAIN!!!” Totally magical when all the traffic lights, buses and subways sync up.
“I wasn’t as lucky on my way back, but that is to be expected.”
Perhaps expecting to hit every connection perfectly in the future will increase the odds of it happening? Who knows?
I definitely should work on my positive thinking. I have seen it do amazing things for other people.