Monday Funday on the CCT

Monday night was an epic commute.  It consisted of catching the 50 outbound to CTC to get on the 10 inbound to go up to my apartment to feed Lucky, Q's cat, and Mystery, my cat.  This involves a two mile walk, mind you, because Q lives at the back of the frickin apartment complex.  I'm not lazy, I love walking, but one good two mile walk and my leg hurts for a week.  Don't ever break your leg, I don't recommend it.  So post kitty feeds, then it's back out to Cobb parkway to catch the 10 outbound to have dinner with Dave in town before heading to the shelter.  Not so bad, right?

Well first I tried to go to the little ride store at CTC to purchase some trips for my Breeze card.  See, the last time I reloaded my card, I messed up and added MARTA trips instead of just putting money on there.  Guess what CCT doesn't take?  MARTA trips.  Someone seriously needs to work on that one.  It would be swell if I could get a monthly use card, but CCT doesn't accept that.  Can't they play well together?  Rant aside, guess what?  The ride store at CCT closes at 6.  Like no one rides the bus after 6.  I guess that's kinda like how no one rides it on Sundays.(the MARTA stores are open til 8)

So I get on my 10 to the apartment and hear the bus driver, Eric on the 4119 on Monday night (CCT folks, give him a commendation for me, cause he's a super duper bus driver.  One of your best, really.  Cause you got some crappy ones) telling another passenger that they can reload their cards there, on the bus.  What a novel idea!  So after the one guy loads his card, I go up there to reload mine.  He walks me though it, I put in my $10 - the machine malfunctions, takes my money, and doesn't put any value on the card.  So Eric has me fill out a little blue form, assuring me that it would be taken care of.  Well it's now Wednesday and still there's no value on my card.  I called the Breeze folks, who are awesome, and then the CCT folks, who are apparently in a meeting so I left a message.  I'll let you know how that ones goes.

On the second leg of my commute, the bus is late, but my transfer from earlier is still good - rock on! It's gonna be a good night.  Until the next stop.  Then this older fella gets on the bus, smacks the Breeze machine as he walks by, and then sits beside of me.  The bus driver starts yelling.

"Hey man, you didn't pay."
"What?"
"You just tapped the machine, man, but you ain't got no card."

So dude gets up and proceeds to go to the front of the bus and gets out his wallet, he must have ten or fifteen bus tickets in there.  And he tries them all.  Of course none of 'em have any value.  The bus driver tells him he can't ride for free, so then dude turns and starts begging on the bus for change for his fare.  All this time the driver ain't driving, he's just sitting there on Cobb out in front of the Best Buy while dude begs for change.  Doesn't kick him off, either, just lets him beg.

So the bus comes up with the fare for the man, and he comes back and sits with me.  So we're double late now, which makes me late for dinner with Two.  Why do I attract these people?