Saturday, January 24th, 2004
So there are two ways
by Warren
So there are two ways to get to Edmonton from Blairmore. You can drive, which I’ve done in the summer and fall, but will not attempt in the winter. It’s a seven hour drive, and my skill level behind the wheel can’t match the vicious winters meted out by Alberta. Today is a particularly nasty example, with wind, biting cold, and presumably icy roads.
The other option is the Greyhound. The only problem there is that it only shows up at 3:50 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Normally I take the early morning bus, as it gives me an extra evening in Edmonton. So this morning I stood out in bone-chilling cold at 3:30…4:00…..4:30…..5:00 a.m. At that point I broke down and called Greyhound’s customer service line (which had just opened, apparently the 24-hour universe doesn’t apply to the Dirty Dog) and asked where in the hell my bus was. I got a completely assholeish reply out of the phone monkey on the other end. I finally gave up, went back home and crawled back into bed. Luckily the depot (well, store parking lot) is across the street from my apartment.
So I went and talked to the guy who books the tickets (and who, unlike the jackasses at Greyhound Central Command, was very helpful and friendly), and he called Kelowna dispatch. He discovered that the bus I was supposed to be on was an hour and a half late by the time it hit Kelowna. So I could have waited until 8 a.m. and still not seen the foul beast.
I’m still planning to hop on the 1:30 p.m. bus and get to Edmonton tonight. But man, what a lot of crap to go through.
Update: the afternoon Greyhound is going to be at least another hour late. I’ve decided to say “sod it.” I’m holing up in my apartment, drinking hot chocolate, and watching movies.