As you all know since leaving my job working in automotive, I have given up cars. I know, a real car nut and I’ve decided to go without. I’d like to say it was a slow process, this giving up a car situation but since I am not good with long agonizing goodbye’s, it was cold turkey.

Before making the decision I did have a few panic attacks about how I would get around in the heat, humidity, down pours, cold weather and snow.

So far I have successfully navigated the heat, humidity and wet weather. This is the summer that I hope goes on forever :).

In lieu of a vehicle I have become proficient with public transportation and have found that as long as I need only travel in the GTA, I am ok.

Its also pretty handy that I have not 1 but 3 transit’s to choose from in close proximity.

The TTC
The Mississauga MiWay
GO transit

I am feeling pretty darn confident with my new found mobility.

For $3 I can be downtown in less than 45 minutes on the TTC or home for $4.60 in 25 minutes on the GO train.

This makes me pretty happy seeing as parking downtown starts at $15 never mind the hassle of finding said parking.

So when my double-first suggested meeting downtown for an afternoon post conference, I couldn’t have been more excited.

Yes we were going to be able to spend a few hours wandering around, going through memory lane. Yes we were sure to laugh so hard we could barely stand up. Yes we were going to feel as though we’d both lost touch with fashion.

But most of all I was going to have a real good try at my new transit wisdom.

I have each transit website book marked in my Blackberry (yes, I know BB is struggling but I would be lost without my full keyboard…as I am typing away…), making schedule checking a cinch.

I took the TTC downtown, we were meeting close to Bloor. It was an air-conditioned-less subway ride – ick, but otherwise uneventful.

We met up and made our way south, zig zagging through the streets of downtown. Past the Ryerson campus, a stop at the World’s largest bookstore, Urban Barn, just to solidify our lack of style and a Starbucks for good-old-times.

By 6pm it was time to say Goodbye 😦 and off my double-first was on the GO train north.
Now seeing as I was standing in the GO terminal, there was no reason to take the much longer TTC trip home. And who’s to say I’d get a subway car with air-conditioning.

I bought my GO pass and dashed up the stairs to the waiting train. This was working out sooo well!

As the doors closed behind me, I heard the announcer, “Welcome aboard the Express train, our first stop is Clarkson.”

CLARKSON!! That is 20 minutes out of my way!!

Seriously.

For a minute I entertained the notion of walking home from Clarkson but I quickly dismissed the idea. I’d get home for Midnight!

I consulted my GO schedule.

No problem, there was a regular scheduled train East bound towards Toronto 6 minutes after I disembarked.

You are wondering, did I buy a second ticket?

No.

I decided ticket the police would see I bought my ticket at Union and that I didn’t take the express train past my stop just to see the Clarkson station.

But then again who’s to say for sure 😉

To a grand day traipsing around TO, laughs, food, drink and a most complicated route home. 🙂

A special thanks to “the second-best thing that happened to me” 😉 and arranging for me an early leave from guarding the pillow wall