I wake up in the morning, quite earlier than normal thanks to my parents who had taken my words of wisdom pronounced last night on leaving home around 8 o clock a little too serious (my waking hours been 6 is not normal, happens on a very rare occasion, anyone who knows me would be proud of me for this achievement, and would pity my parents on trying to wake me up!)

So what do my parents do? They take turns waking me up every ten minutes starting from 6 am. How jolly! Sigh!

Then my best friend calls me up at 6.30 am in the morning, once again to make sure that I shall be awake and that she would not be waiting for me for hours in a restaurant where we are supposed to meet up for a very early breakfast. ( all these expressions of time, are on a subjective level, applicable only to me. I am sure that you have all gathered by now that I am not a morning person.)
Well for those who are getting annoyed about my ranting, and wondering how my waking up in the morning, earlier than usual is going to help in any mode to reduce my carbon foot print. Here comes how that will materialise. It lies enveloped in the answer to the question “why am I waking up early?”

Simple answer: “To catch public transport in lieu of my touktouk”

Once again, for those who are not familiar with the term “touktouk”, it is a vehicle that runs on three wheels. Also known as a three wheeler and trishaw. I don’t know what the majority calls it. But for some reason I have got used to calling it a touktouk and such it shall be called hence forth.

So coming back to my ranting on my daily adventure, on the reduction of my carbon foot print: so on a normal day, I will wake up late, too late to be anywhere at any normal office hour and run out and call my touktouk guy who will duly arrive at my doorstep to pick me.

But not today! Things were going to be different! I was going to catch a bus, a crowded bus, with lot of people in it. And I have vowed not to lose my patience in the midst of people who would be  pushing against me and stepping on my feet. Yes it would also be a practice of tolerance, and a check on  how far my tolerance be stretched. (As I mentioned, I am not the ray of sunshine in the morning, and am sure  would be happier an owl!)

But of late I think I am turning out to be one tiny sunshine thanks to Teo. Our morning conversation had put a smile on my face. I tell him that he makes my day by putting a smile on my face once I wake up and end of a tiring day. He tells he is happy to do so. Well I am happy too, that he bothers to do so. It is quite an effort, but I think he is a natural at achieving that result.

So Vositha sets off…

I manage to get a bus, half crowded, and luckily in which there are available seats. I am happily seated at the back of the bus, on a long stretched seat waiting for the bus to set off on its journey. But the bus refuses to budge. I had forgotten that the 135 buses always stopped for a while at certain bus stops  till the bus was a little crowded. So not wanting to lose patience in the morning, I wait, with no voiced or unvoiced complaints.

And finally the bus starts moving! And boooy am I happy?
What next? 10 to 15 minute bus ride, which of course could have been curtailed to a 5 minute one, and Vositha gets off the bus, and runs after another which is about to leave. Miraculously she manages to get in, and for her luck, manages to get a seat in this one too! Yaaay!

I observe the people around me. A old lady who is busy dozing off, a guy who looked about 35 years old, who has a Justin Bieber ring tone on his phone, and a good looking girl couple of seats ahead of me, who is highly engrossed in adjusting her hair every 2 minutes. ( No, the bus is not deserted, those who I mentioned are the few people who I manage to notice.)

The bus stops near a school ground and I hear the school band playing, and the drums drumming away. A gang of boys jumping into the bus. Have they skipped school? Not too sure. One has his school uniform trousers on, and a t shirt is worn over it. May be they are skipping school. Not too sure. A lot of noise surrounds the bus while the boys fight or argue over who pays for the 16 tickets. I try to evade their foot prints  on my feet  in their enthusiasm. I notice that three of them are seated on top of each other, and one’s leg starts knocking against by hip. Patience be the day’s word!

Finally my stop!

I get off, decide to walk to my destination. Resolution engraved, “NO  touktouk Even for short distance”. Hence I set off on foot getting weird looks from people. ( May be I had a somewhat manic expression on my face! Not too sure. But possible)

But I had not been the wisest person on the planet. Being colour conscious, I had picked a pair of sandals that were not the most walking friendly. My ankle feels the edge of the strap cutting into it, and I end up giving a good reason for the people to be staring at me on the road, as I adopt a weird walking style which makes me look as if I am hopping at a very slow pace.

Yes backpack on, she hops away to her destination. On the way, she makes a stop at the super market, to get herself a plaster. The sales girl asks her, “you need only one?”, “yes” Vositha answers. “At least for the time being! Not too sure if I would need another for the other foot, soon”. The sales girl gives Vositha one of those looks. The looks that say, “you sure you should not be on some pill too?”

After getting on and off two buses, hopping away and attending to a scraped off foot, I manage to land at my destination, sweat pouring down my face and a manic expression on my face.

But then again, who cares? I had managed to stick to my resolution, and I AM  happy!

Now to get back to yawn away for the rest of the day!

Moral of the story : Vositha should try to practice the same endeavour after having her proper sleep. This taken into consideration and implemented, she would be a more productive individual for the rest of the day 🙂