Time Flies

The single best thing about taking public transport is all the glorious free time you're awarded. Yes, it's great to be greener and saving money is just dandy. But when driving yourself around town, it's all about focusing. On the drivers around you. On the traffic lights. On pedestrians. When you're chillaxing in a bus, all those concerns are, well, no concern of yours. What to do with all this free time? A few suggestions:

1. Finish (0r start) getting ready. I've often left the house without a bit of makeup on, my hair in tizzy and my accessories sadly tossed into my purse. Once I hop the bus and settle in, I'm able to tousle my hair; I've even been know to smuggle a tube of Bumble and bumble brilliantine on board. Makeup application, after a few trial runs, is a piece of cake. Just save the eye business for red lights. Seriously. And, how easy is it to throw on a bracelet or clasp your earrings in while on the go? No sweat at all.

2. Catch some Zzz's. While I personally have yet to try this, tons of passengers nap while on the bus. However, a few words of caution are in order. First, your stuff may get swiped. Second, you may miss your stop. Third, someone may snap an unflattering pic of you.

3. Chow down. You've got to be a bit sneaky with this one. Most drivers let a commuter mug, even a bagel slide but watch out if you're chomping on more messy items. Yesterday when I showed the driver my jacked up pass, she waved me through but warned, "You better not leave that banana peel on this bus!" I flushed with embarrassment and felt like a scolded toddler. But I was smooth and offered up my plastic trash bag, showing I was responsible enough to snack on fruit.

4. Read. Which brings me to my latest selection...


The Conquest by Yxta Maya Murray is one of those books that I picked up, then put down, only to pick up and put down again. I finally scooped it up and dove in last week. Oooh wee, what a page turner.

Two parallel stories form Murray's novel: Sara, a rare book restorer employed by The Getty, deals with her sometimes boyfriend. They started dating while in high school, kept it real all through college and for the past few years, they've found themselves at a crossroads. What's the spell that keeps these two colliding?

"There are those who are lucky enough to meet someone special when they're just beginning to notice the world--that unshelled age of fifteen, in my experience--and the first mold that they make of themselves takes part of its shape from that person. Decades later, they can still reach through the years and touch that pure egg. When they say your name, it's like secret code."

Well, then. As painfully romantic as this sounds, I'm not sure I'd ever want to be in a relationship like that. Granted, as I'm a tad over fifteen, my moment's passed, but I think meeting someone and staying with that person from your teens til beyond sort of stunts your emotional growth. How are you able to have your own experiences? Everything Sara does must take her man Karl into consideration. Sadly, there's not much reciprocity. Likely the problem.

The other layer to the novel concerns the old manuscript Sara's been researching. Well, not researching so much as obsessing over. For reals. While studying the text, Sara actually misses a clandestine after hours party in the halls of The Getty hosted and populated by "museum nerds" who've paid the night guards to look the other way. Though the shin dig sounds awesome (sipping Patron from Renaissance chalices, getting busy on ancient settees), a friend/former Getty employee explained that such revelry is not even a possibility. Boo to that, I say.


Pre party image from The Getty.