45 Minutes

That's how long I waited for a bus outside. Did I mention the weather? No? 1 Degree, and probably felt like a negative number. At one point, there was a crowd of literally over one hundred freezing yuppies at my bus stop. We watched as bus after bus passed us, because they were crowded to the breaking point and couldn't take any more passengers.

Also, there wasn't a CTA supervisor to help us by rerouting another bus for the huddled masses. I feel like my bus stop is the poor latchkey kid of the Chicago Transit system. I always have to wait for buses that aren't completely filled, but today was really the kicker. 45 minutes is ridiculous, especially on a painfully cold day. Now, I understand that this is the way that the world works. When it gets cold, more people take public transportation and machines tend to break down more frequently. I get that. But it wasn't a surprise! It wasn't like "whoops, this bizarre cold front came OUT OF NOWHERE AND NOW WE DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO." I knew the weather was going to turn like this, so the CTA should have had some small inkling as well. This bus stop causes problems even when it's pleasant outside, and one would think that the CTA would take that into account. Seriously. I'm starting to think about drafting an angry letter. It's the future now; where's my jetpack?

In other news, I tested the real gym yesterday. I joined on Thursday and finally dragged myself there yesterday (the one time I left my cozy apartment to brave the wintry north). I like it quite a bit. There's something about the atmosphere of a gym that really gets me to push myself. Maybe it's the sweat in the air, or the tone bodies, or the shiny machines, or some combination of all three. I really want to work my ass off when I'm there. (Okay fine, maybe I had a Klondike bar after the workout--but I earned it!) Another perk--I'm excited to do my consultation with a trainer. Every new member gets one free consultation with a trainer to see how he or she can best take advantage of the gym's services. I tend to be either ADD or OCD when it comes to my gym routines, so I'd like any bit of help. The gym also offers free classes for members, so I'll probably want to take advantage of either the Pilates class or kickboxing. Or maybe that one intense workout bootcamp thing. Anything goes! I just found out that my gym has a book club. Awesome. Just awesome.

In other news, souffles are winners. It was both of our first tries, and it came out really nicely. We need to step up the gourmet factor now. Or possibly do something that doesn't involve cooking. I don't really know what's going on here.