Author: Tara

Tara Ramroop has laughed, cried, and commiserated with this amazing community from the start. She's been writing for as long as she can remember and riding Muni for more than a decade.

Austin Powers Drives the 1BX

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Many of us have had to Austin Powers out of a parking space or some other traffic pickle. But on the Muni Diaries Facebook wall yesterday, Stephanie described watching a bus driver thusly maneuver a 1BX-California ‘B’ Express:

The bus driver just didn’t leave enough space to turn the corner, as you need to use both lanes on that turn. So we ended up on the curb, and when she tried to get off the curb, kept reversing and going forward trying to get away from the light post…we got so close the bus couldn’t move because we were wedged up against it…one more inch would take out the walking/no walking sign.

This apparently happened during the morning commute hour. Were you there? Do you have an even better FACEPALM commute story? Once you’ve told your boss that Muni ate your homework, tell us your stories. Head to the Muni Diaries Facebook Page, use our submission form, or email us at muni.diaries.sf@gmail.com.

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Bus Passenger Believes She Lives In World Where Curried Shrimp Is Odorless

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Photo by Flickr user Thomas Hawk

While trolling America’s most trusted news source, The Onion, this headline leaped straight into my retinas (and my nose, and my grossly accurate smell memory):

Bus Passenger Believes She Lives In World Where Curried Shrimp Is Odorless

It’s not just curried shrimp for us Muni riders, of course. It’s fried chicken with a tinge of formaldehyde on the 71. It’s your neighbor’s unbecoming new scent, “hot yoga studio but filled w hippies+Mexi food+used diapers,” on the 1. Just as easily, Muni smells like hot-dog juice, fertilizer, week-old pants, or pancakes (AKA the worst breakfast ever).

“Muni totally smells like” is one of our favorite Twitter themes, and it can often make one hell of a story. Send that stuff our way @munidiaries on Twitter or to good ol’ email at muni.diaries.sf@gmail.com

Category: diaries, Funny: Muni LOLs, WTF: Weirdness on Muni Tags:

Streetcar Avengers Fighting Crime and Missed Runs

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Art by San Francisco-based artist Julian Lozos. Check out his Kickstartr page (goal met!) for more on his calendar project.

Delightfully historic and equipped with standout palettes and style, F-Market/Wharves streetcars rock in many ways. Local artist Julian Lozos took the cars’ unique qualities a step further: into the realm of superheroes. Bernalwood and Market Street Railway recently featured these anthropomorphic superheroes (see Market Street Railway’s detailed description of the superhero streetcars).

Pretty cool. It’s like choosing which of the X-Men you’d want on your side in a fight (JEAN GREY).

I pick #130 for its deadly combo of style and substance. MSR says it was part of a commission to expand service for the Pan-Pacific International Exposition: the event that brought us the Palace of Fine Arts and showed off a rebuilt — on landfill, but still — post-1906-earthquake San Francisco. Plus, it’s done a tour of duty on almost every streetcar line.

My favorite-favorite F coaches, though, have to be the PCC cars. Smoothest, cushiest ride in town if you time it right (PSST not around 9 a.m. or 5 p.m.).

Meander over to Bernalwood to see more local-landmark superheroes.

Category: reflection Tags:

If and When You Like-Like a Muni Driver

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Image: Flickr user jchinn84.

We’ve spotlighted our share of hug-worthy drivers here on Muni Diaries. Tammy, one of our favorites, threw a party for her passengers once. One F-Market/Wharves operator went beyond the call of duty, while another Muni driver handed out Lemon Heads one day! But what if you, you know…like them-like them?

@marisalevinson on Twitter poses a perfectly valid and hypothetical query:

 What do you do if you have a crush on a muni driver…Hypothetical situation…

Rider “Mike” left a missed connection for Muni driver Jackie. But how would you (or did you) go about it? Send us your solutions and shouts out to your uniformed objects of affection.

Category: diaries, reflection Tags:

Important Things: Giant Styrofoam

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@RitaBookNews tweeted us this gem the other day, with this title: “Woman brings a huge, life-size piece of Styrofoam on Muni?”

Question-mark, indeed.

We lament the 500 breaches of Muni etiquette that flew out the window so this thing could have a seat(s). But it does look damned comical just sitting there. Perhaps these are the beginnings of a Halloween costume? It reminded me of Ol’ Drippy from Aqua Teen Hunger Force in its blobularness.

Spotted something cool (balloon animals) or ridiculous (see attached) on your ride? Talk to us about it @munidiaries.

Category: diaries, Funny: Muni LOLs, Photos Tags: ,

Muni Tattoos Revisited

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Photo by SFLocal.net

Some people literally wear love for San Francisco on their sleeves with Muni-related tattoos. There’s everything from an F-Market/Wharves PCC streetcar to a Fast Pass to the Muni worm. The owner of that Muni-worm tattoo, Muni Tattoo Girl, contacted us after that first post and sent us some more pics of her iconic neck piece.

Tattoos being permanent and all (for better or worse), not everyone is willing to make the commitment. Enter temporary Muni tattoos, courtesy of SFLocal.net. The artist celebrated 10 years in our fair city this year.

Fast Pass tattoos above go for $2.25 a pop. Get them — and other SF-related ones — at SFLocal or in the artist’s Etsy store.

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