Spotless Spotted on the 49 (not sarcastic)

My 49-Van Ness/Mission stories aren’t usually gross. The bus is often loud, grungy, full, and kept at varying degrees of warm and musty. But not every evening commute comes with a possible urine river in close proximity.

But, for the first time in nearly three years, I found a spotless 49. Sort of. See the photo I snapped above.

This is the only picture I shot. But every panel within view was just as clean.

A lot of, if not all, of these window-panel thingies was clearly new. Sitting next to one was almost like using a brand-new shopping cart. Or using the new gym shower.

Important note: the rest of the bus was not spotless. There was still some crap on the floor. Poles bestickered, as usual.  The windows themselves were clearly not new. It being an articulated 49, the bus was obviously not new, either.

But the panels, folks. Spotless! One step at a time.

Take Muni, Break the Dating Rules

i love you
Photo by Jen Di

Yay or Nay: Should you take your date on Muni?

Perhaps I’m too biased to give an opinion on the matter, but I think taking Muni on a date shows your urban cred. There are a lot of great dates you can go on via Muni, at least according to my quick poll of San Francisco friends:

SFMOMA (half-off Jan. 31 to Feb. 24, open late on Thursday evenings) + Zero Zero: Take the 5, 9, 14, 30, 38, 45, J, KT, L, M, N to SFMOMA. This week you can catch the Henri Cartier-Bresson or the screening of “Voyeurism and Early Cinema.” Hot! Then walk over to Zero Zero for their excellent pizza and very respectable Folsom Street Sour.

F-Market excursion: Take the F-Market to Pier 39 for Trish’s Mini Donuts, digest with a walk on along the Embarcadero, and taste chocolates at TCHO.

Brunch at the Beach: Take the 5, 31, 18, or N to Ocean Beach, have brunch at the Beach Chalet, walk back up through the park, and you can rent paddle boats at Stow Lake.

I’ll throw in one of my own: SF Bookstores Muni tour: take 1, 2, or 38 to Green Apple Books, have lunch at Burma Super Star, then take 1-California all the way downtown, walk through North Beach to City Lights Bookstore, and end your trip upstairs at Vesuvio to talk over your finds.

What other dating rules will you break? Over at the new dating website HowAboutWe.com, there is a Break the Dating Rules contest for San Francisco (voting ends tonight!). People are proposing all kinds of quirky dates, like doing handstands and aerials at the Athletic Playground, performing offensive karaoke songs, and participating in a no-hands pie-eating contest.

One contestant suggested breaking the “don’t eat with your hands” rule by taking a few pounds of Dungeness crab and crawfish from the Boiling Crab and chow down on a dock near the Bay. I think that date should also be accompanied by consuming whiskey-in-paper-bags and throwing crab shells at tourists. Now that’s breaking the rules.

Wanted: Your Singing Muni Driver

 

The word on our Twitter stream is that a few Muni operators have been adding some light-hearted fun on your commute:

  • “My Muni driver is announcing all the stops in a Donald Duck voice. It’s kind of amazing.” — @thelynchbox
  • “The 71L bus driver is singing the stops instead of yelling them. So awesome.” — @Grahamcrackersf
  • “This J line operator keeps doing a Donald Duck impression over the PA, and it’s freaking me out.” — @mrfb
  • “I swear my Muni driver is singing out the stops…” — @simplelife9
  • “this 38 Geary bus driver srly thinks she’s a flight attendant announcing every stop and tourist trap in a sensual voice. Lol” — @MMMeliO
  • “in response to people angrily yelling “BACK DOOOR!” on the 49,driver is now repeatedly yelling it into his own mic. Won’t stop” — @kailielaine

 

 

 

In the craziness of getting across town, I can definitely appreciate drivers who have a great sense of humor. Does anybody have audio or video of such entertaining Muni operators to share?

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