Diary Entry – January 3, 2023
I’m well aware that social media can be utilized as a force for good or evil, depending on the wielder. But in this particular instance, it proved to be a bad thing! Are you doubtful? Here’s what happened…
After work was done for the day, I planned to head to Walmart to buy a shoe rack and canola oil. The route usually involved taking a train to Hurdman station and catching a bus to Billings Bridge.
Things went on course until the point I alighted at Billings Bridge bus stop. Only after I got off the bus did I realize that I was a bus stop short of my actual destination. If you’re wondering how this happened considering this was a route, I had plied several times, you’re not alone!
Turns out I “missed road” (Nigerian parlance for taking the wrong turn) because I wasn’t paying attention to the bus stops indicators or my surroundings. Why? Well, I was busy searching through my gallery for the picture of a mouthwatering dish I had prepared, to post on my Instagram handle – @simplycookingwitheli.
Anyways, I knew something was wrong as the bus stop looked different. The bus, of course, had zoomed off. I checked the Transit app to confirm when the next bus heading to Billings Bridge would arrive as well as the location of the bus stop so I could wait for it at the right spot.
A couple of buses later (none of which stopped at my bus stop), it dawned on me that I was probably standing at the wrong pickup spot.
At this point, I was alone at the bus stop and being winter it had grown quite dark. I was a few seconds away from going into full-blown panic mode when a bus miraculously stopped. I quickly boarded it and less than 5 minutes later, I got off at the next bus stop, Billings Bridge. Whew!
After all this unnecessary drama, I only got one of the two items I wanted, the shoe rack. The cooking oil shelves at the Walmart store I was at, were empty (again)!
And no, this wasn’t the first time I missed my bus stop because I wasn’t paying attention. The previous time, I was happily whiling away the time, watching TikTok videos. Suddenly, my Spidey senses were tingling. I looked up and saw that we were only a few seconds away from my bus stop.
In rush mode, I pulled on the bus pull cord, and hurriedly packed my things but didn’t have sufficient time to put on my winter gloves. In a mad rush to get to the door, I simultaneously knocked one of my rechargeable hand warmers against a support rod in the bus (the hand warmer sadly never recovered) and nearly slipped on the aisle of the bus.
Did I learn my lesson? Not completely!
Something that has helped curtail these occurrences is selecting the bus route once I board the bus on the Transit app (this is not a sponsored post or an ad). Shout out to my friend, Tayo, who told me about the app when I arrived in Canada.
Once the bus I boarded is selected, the app indicates the bus stops as we approach them. Once we’re two bus stops away from the bus stop, I’m to alight from, a voice on the app notifies me of this and again when we’re approaching my bus stop.
I hear the voice through my trusty earbuds, so I have sufficient time to prepare to alight from the bus at the right bus stop. Plus, I try to be more attentive when I’m on the bus instead of daydreaming or getting lost in my thoughts.
Have you ever missed your bus stop because you were glued to your phone? If yes, what did you do? I’m certain I’m not the only one this has happened to. So, please share your experience in the comments. Thank you.
