Another Sucky Day In Paradise

Our correspondent Stinky reports in, with a harrowing carpool experience. - slim

Today I was running late, becuase I had to clean up the puke my kid kept making all night long. But I was lucky, I got to ride in a brand-new BMW SUV! It still had the sticker on it! That's how new it was. Wow, leather seats and everything!

I got in, said "hello", fastened my seat belt. And then the driver said "Hey I know that lady!" and he rolled down the window to say "hi" to the next lady in line.

"Heyyy! Long time no see! I wish I hadn't picked up this guy! " he said, and he slapped my knee. He touched me! Can you believe it?

"Uh, I can get out. I really don't mind. " I stammered, flabbergasted.

"No, no, no, that's fine, that's fine. I'll catch up with her later" .

I wish I had gotten out, because my hatred for him seethed for the entire 20 minute journey, and by the time we reached Fremont St., I was nearly apoplectic!

-Stinky McBlue

The finger

Yesterday: Honda Civic. NPR. Silent

Today: Ford sedan. NPR. Childseat that made it difficult for me to fit in the backseat & fasten the seatbelt. Car is borrowed. Tank was on Empty, with the gas warning light on. Hippie guy driving had his middle finger in a splint. He was eating yogurt/granola out of a yogurt container, and sipping coffee.

How the other half lives

BMW Coupe. KISS FM. Carseat. Driver seemed to be a "blonde" type, but turned out to be a friendly and articulate conversationalist. Yes, beautiful rich people can be friendly and articulate conversationalists. Up until today I didn't realize that. Thanks, casual carpool.

My 2 favorite pals

Honda Civic. KCBS. Silent. Traffic & weather together, every 10 minutes, for your whole freakin' commute! Thanks to some rain & accidents, I got to hear BOTH of my favorite pals today - John Madden & the Osgood file. Next time I will walk to work.

Mrs. Murphy plays a science geek

Volvo sedan. NPR. Silent. Driver had a mild case of Murphy's law - caught at red lights, slowest lane. NPR had a lengthy feature on plays (as in "thea-ter") on the topic of science. Actors acting out how DNA works and stuff. And you thought normal plays were boring, now we have plays about science geeks?

Harley Escuela

Ford Truck. No Radio. 2 front seat passengers talked about Berkeley schools vs. surrounding areas. Albany got bashed as a rich white suburb. And poor Richmond. Poor poor Richmond.

But the best thing ever is the Big 4 door black tinted window Ford truck was a Harley Davidson edition, which included Harley logo monograms on the leather seats. Mind boggling.
http://www.fordvehicles.com/features/harley/vehicle_specs.asp

What Not To Do

Guest blog from our ol' pal Stinky who got sharked early this morning. - slim

If you get up really early, it's hard to get rides on the casual carpool.

I have had to get to work by 6AM a lot recently. Almost never is there a car waiting at 5:30AM, in fact, NEVER is there a car waiting at 5:30AM, and there is no way I am going to stand there in the dark, waiting, alone, for no one to come along, or for maybe the evil spirits of the night to kidnap me.

But today, as I cleared the park, I noticed a car waiting. One car, two passengers. "Alright! Free ride today!" I thought. As I walked closer, I wondered who they were, these early risers, what kind of casual carploo experience would I have? I got closer and closer.....

And then some other rider appeared out of nowhere, beating me to the car, and he got in and they drove off, leaving me dumbstruck and Barting.

Where is my mind?/Freedom of Choice

These days there are usually more cars than people, so you just walk right up & get in. Today there were 4 people ahead of me in line. As I watched the people in front of me get in, I noticed the car I was slated to ride in was a new Audi station wagon and the driver was talking on a cell phone. I politely told the 2 people in line behind me that I was going to the back of the line because I don't ride with people who are talking on a cell phone. Just because someone pulls up, doesn't mean you have to get in their car.

Old Jeep Cherokee. Pixies cassette. Passenger side door was missing handle so you roll down the window to close it. The Jeep was beat. Driver cranked old "Surfer Rosa" tape through a hollow sounding stereo. He looked like a struggling actor. We rocked out. Best ride I've had in a while because the driver/vehicle had some character.

How's your news?

Yesterday it rained hard. So I took BART.
Today: Honda Accord Wagon. NPR. Car smelled like smoke. I thought it was the driver, but when I got out in SF, the other passenger lit up a smoke. How do people stand to watch, read, or listen to the news every day? Books have been written on this subject. But I haven't read them.

Outrigger

Ford Explorer. NPR. Childseat. Dark tinted rear windows. Front seat passenger's brother is a dentist in Hawaii who enjoys outrigger canoe racing.

Pink Polo Pud

Here's a guest carploo entry from our ol' pal Stinky. - slim

Hi folks, Stinky McBlue again. I'm back on the carploo train again.

Today I was picked up by a couple. A man and a woman, in a 1996 Mercedes Benz. They were in love.

I could tell they were in love because they spoke to each other only in hushed tones, and they never said anything that had any meaning.

"my foots asleep again"

"hmmm"

"did you pick up the dry cleaning?"

"ahhh"

I knew we had a lot in common, since they drove Mercedes and the man wore a pink polo shirt and futzed with his IPOD the whole ride (why would you listen to almost all of Boston's "Let Me Take You Home Tonight" only to change it during the exciting climax?), so I tried to make friends with them.

"Nice car" I said. "What year?"

After we lived a lifetime of friendship, it was time for me to leave them forever. As I left the car, the man said "it was nice meeting you" even though we had not even exchanged names.

Good work

Old Corolla. No radio. 3 men who do good work:
man A - computer recycling advocate
man B - works for EPA
man C - works for Planned Parenthood

And as the icing on the cake, the car had a bumper sticker that said: "My other vehicle is the Mahayana"

Mini Me

BMW Mini Cooper. NPR. Lotta traffic. Driver took the frontage road along 80, and now I know how to do a secret move that gets you on the freeway right before the bridge. Ha Ha!

Under my thumb

BMW 330i. NPR. Driver warned backseat passenger to be careful with your coffee. NPR volume was continuously adjusted throughout the drive with the control dial located on the steering wheel.

Carploo to You, Too

Volvo sedan. NPR. Silent.
And now, without furthur adieu, here is today's guest blog! - Slim

Hi. My name is Stinky McBlue. My good friend Carploo Slim asked me to guest blogg some carploo stories this week. However, due to circumstances beyond my control, I have to be at work really early this week, earlier than the earliest adventurous NPR listening carploo driver will stop.

So I'm taking BART to work. BART is okay, but it's way more expensive than Casual Carploo. I did take Slim's advice, though, and started taking AC Transit home. Boy was he ever right about that - those buses are the way to go.

Here is a BART story for you though: today on BART, I was so engrossed in Big Deal, the fifth poker-themed book I've read in two weeks, that I almost forgot to transfer trains! I could have ended up in Lake Merritt (not for the first time). Whoa!

People on BART at 5:30AM are really tired-looking . Some of them are sleeping even. How will they know when to wake up?

I can only imagine they have way worse jobs than mine.

Friday talk about Thursday's ride which talked about Wednesday's passenger

VW Golf. NPR. Almost took BART today because I knew it was gonna be debate talk day. Instead, I steered the conversation to talking about my ride on Thursday, when we saw someone get a ticket for driving solo thru the carpool lane before the bridge. The driver said one of his Wednesday passengers told him she drove solo in the carpool lane for a year before she got a ticket.

The ticket was $271. If you work 240 days per year, the bridge would've cost $480 (pre $3 toll). The carpool lane saves at least 20 minutes. Total savings: $229 and 80 hours of time.