Author: eugenia

Eugenia Chien has been eavesdropping on the 47, 49, or 1 lines since the mid-90's. She lives by the adage, "Anything can happen on Muni" (and also, "That's not water.")

Win a Prize from Good Vibrations!

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Sex Toys
Photo by Flickr user bionyce

In case you’re still searching for inspiration for our first erotic short-fiction contest (“How did the condom end up on the bus?“), here’s some exciting news to get your quill dipped in ink: a goodie bag from Good Vibrations!

Yes, the awesome folks who brought you the Good Vibrations Guide To Sex, the Indie Erotic Film Festival, and of course many delightful naughty toys, are giving away a goodie bag to our contest winner! So stop being bashful, get those creative juices flowin’, and send us 250 words’ worth of your best hypothesis on how the condom ended up on Muni.

If you think our favorite mode of transportation doesn’t jive well with “business time,” consider this:

– Perhaps you’ve been flirting with the handsome stranger sitting next to you on the N when the train pulls an emergency stop underground, all lights go off, and you feel a hand on your thigh…
– Or perhaps you and your new girl had a couple of drinks one night and decided to scale the fence of the Muni yard, where you found an unlocked bus and got down to business, only to be discovered by the security guard, who decides that…
– Maybe you’re coming back home from a late late night at the office on an empty bus, and the bus driver, who looks surprisingly like Clive Owen, asked you if it’s ok to take a shortcut to your stop…

Well, you tell us the rest 😉

So let us know, in 250 words or less by Oct. 28, how you think the condom ended up on the bus. We will read the winning entry and award the prize at the next Muni Diaries spoken-word party on Oct. 30.

To jog your memory, here are the real pictures that prompted this contest:

Exhibit A: a cherry condom and a cherry cough drop nestled in the corner of the door of the 21.

Exhibit B: a used (we think) love glove hanging off of the ceiling (!) of the 47.

Exhibit C: lonely Jimmy Hat chillin’ across the seat on the T-Third (via plug1).

What steamy scenarios could have possibly led to these pictures? We eagerly await your imaginative prose …

Category: Muni Diaries Live, News Tags: ,

Muni with Ambiance

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I don’t know about you, but my mood is easily influenced by my surroundings. Examples of bad ambiance that puts a damper on my mood: unflattering fluorescent lighting, questionable aromas, uncomfortable seating…sounds a little like our favorite transit system, huh? Well, looks like I’m not the only one wishing for a little something extra from our buses. Rider Casgal wrote to ask: “What do you think about a test bus with softer lighting? Still well-lit, but more rosy, maybe people would ease up a bit. Virgin airlines uses color to make flights more enjoyable, maybe better lighting could help our city buses?”

Brilliant idea, Casgal. I am thinking a bus that harkens back to the days of the Orient Express: soft amber glow of gas lamps, plush velvet overstuffed seats with a couple of down throw pillows). And just for fun, a dining car (the original Orient Express dining car offered oyster and chocolate cake). Hmm. One can only dream.

Better lighting, a softer mood, comfortable seats…the folks at Improv Everywhere had the same idea and turned a subway car in Prague into a living room.

Category: diaries, reflection Tags:

Hacky Sack at Lake Merritt Station

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Riders Matt and Dawn told me that they have separately both seen a group of Chinese people playing Hacky Sack inside the Lake Merritt BART station. Hacky Sack? Inside the station?

A little sleuthing unearthed this video:

The poster on YouTube reports that this was actually a Chinese game called jianzi, what some would say is the “original hacky sack.” But unlike hacky sack, jianzi is played with a shuttlecock (yeah, I had to look up that one too). I actually saw this game played when I was a kid. But why inside the BART station? I wonder if it’s some kind of a pick-up game.

Anybody got more information on this bit of morning fun at the Lake Merritt station?

p.s. This is not to be confused with the footbag practice held by the Chaos Footbag Club at Lake Merritt – the lake, not the BART station, according to Jack H. at Chaos. Jack asserts that his sport (like “volleyball with your feet”) is also way cool.

Category: BART, reflection Tags:

A Match Made On BART

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Lisa_Nick2

Riders Nick and Lisa were generous enough to share with us the story of how they met…on BART! They were BART commuters who, conveniently (dear readers, you will see the importance of this fact later in the story), parked their cars at the station.

The story goes:

Nick and Lisa both rode the BART train to work everyday. Too shy to say hello or even smile, they continued for months quietly admiring each other without a peep.

Nick told a few close friends about the “BART girl,” while Lisa decided to keep everything about the “BART boy” a secret.

Then one day, as Nick was heading down the escalator, Lisa happened to be walking up the adjoining staircase. Lisa decided to casually look up to catch a glimpse. She found Nick looking back at her with the cutest smile on his face.

Blushing, Lisa smiled back.

After this brief encounter, however, their schedules seemed to conflict, and they did not see each other for several weeks.

Lisa proposed to herself a bold plan sure to capture Nick’s attention. She decided to leave an anonymous note on Nick’s car that read, “YOU ARE A CUTIE. HI.” Simple. Honest. Bold but not scary. She wrote a note and took a chance.

Two days later, as Lisa was walking to her car at the BART station, she noticed Nick sitting in his car. He smiled. He waved. He took off. Lisa got to her car and discovered a note on HER car that read, “No, I think YOU’RE the Cutie. And TAG, You’re IT. 219-0398. Nick. P.S. And if this is the wrong car, please disregard.”

Nick waited patiently for a call from Lisa, hoping she was the one who put the note on his car, and not some crazy stalker.

The conversation lasted four hours that first night. After an amazing first date, a lick of approval from Pixel [the dog], and a wonderful two-year relationship replete with secretly stashed love notes, Nick surprised Lisa by proposing to her on July 8th, their two-year anniversary.

Lisa and Nick got married in August, 2005. They shared the story above in their wedding invitation.

All together now. “Aww! (Sigh!)” More happy BART stories? We heart it ever so much.

Category: BART, reflection

‘Suspicious Package’ on Muni Near Transbay Terminal (Updates)

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transbay closure
Photo by Twitter user a_w_r

Update: 12:15. Turned out it was a bomb scare, KCBS reports. Phew! Streets are being reopened.

Original post:

KCBS is reporting that streets around the Transbay Terminal are closed and people are being evacuated due to…ready for this? A suspicious package found on a Muni bus.

More from KCBS:

The driver of the bus—now parked in front of the terminal near First and Second Streets—told KCBS reporter Doug Sovern at the scene she noticed an item a passenger had left behind that aroused her suspicions.

She described the item as something bigger than a backpack. An alert was issued to every transit agency in the country last week to be on guard for potential backpack bombs after the terrorism-related arrests in New York and Denver.

SFAppeal has street closure information, which impacts the 5, 6, 10, 14, 38, and 108. At 11:20 a.m., AlertSF posted that people should avoid the area for the next 90 minutes, stay inside and avoice windows and glassed areas.

Category: News Tags:
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