Cool People

I just met two very interesting people in a kind of unusual way. The first, Peter, I met online and we decided to meet in person at his place in Goleta. I've only been in that area once before and I mistakenly believed I could just as easily get there on the bus as I do everywhere else I want or need to go. Unfortunately, one of the drawbacks to the So Cal transit system is that it doesn't really run on schedule, the lines run at great intervals, and it stops running by eight in the evening. The fact that all the buses are hybrids makes up for some of the drawbacks but it doesn't make getting to places any easier. So, I ended up taking the bus to Santa Barbara but then grabbing a cab to Goleta. It was in the cab that I met this other interesting man named Able. When I got off the bus at the Transit Center, checked the time, and realized I'd never be on time to meet Peter, I decided to take a cab. I knew there would be some near the bus station and sure enough there were three on my side of Chapala and another across the street. What's interesting here is that I walked passed the three that were most accessible and chose to cross the street and see if the one there was available. Something about the three that were on my side of the street, they just seemed unreliable. Their cabs weren't clean and the drivers seemed as though they slept (lived) in their cars. So I crossed the street and got this other cab. Able and I begin talking immediately about how America has all these resources that other countries do not have but that it doesn't use those resources wisely. In other countries mass transit is much more utilized whereas cars are not as important. Able had recently returned from Amsterdam where his wife is working on a Ph.D. in microbiology (I think) and he was impressed by the number of people who ride bikes as their first transit choice. Cycling in the States is predominantly a sport. Granted there are people who do ride their bikes to work but by and large people drive if they have a car. He told me how when he came back through LAX that he had to take a coach bus back to Santa Barbara but he just missed one and the next one was not scheduled for another three hours. In many U.S. cities, public transport is so far down on the list of priorities that it doesn't even follow a convenient schedule for those who choose it use it. I'm generalizing, I know. I've lived in other cities that have much better city transit systems but why in the United States of America do we have any area that isn't able to assist all of its population in something as basic as local transportation. Speaking of transportation and thinking ahead, I asked Able if I could call on him when I was ready to leave Goleta and he gave me his card. At the time, I thought I would get a ride back to the bus station but that wasn't to be the case. I ended up spending so much time with Peter that I missed all the buses going back to Carpinteria. Peter is this sexy building contractor and world traveler. He and his ex go on these weekend adventures all over the world. They go to places like London, Paris, and Rome for the weekend. Also Peter lives in this amazing house he built. The house is wired up to a computer processor that controls many of the functions of the home including the lighting, the blinds, music, security, and more. He has this terrific koi pond under the stairs and a camera under the water so that he can project the fish onto his wide screen tv. Also, he rescues cats from shelters. He has about sixteen so far and he has gone to great lengths to make the felines feel at home. He has incorporated raised walkways, tunnels through the walls, and a even a special room for one of them. It was really a sight to see. Peter and I talked about so many things but more importantly we were able to connects as human being on a deeper level than maybe either of us had expected. I was surprised by the whole encounter. I had one idea going in and I came out of it feeling elated. I hope to be able to spend more time with him in the future. Thankfully Abel did come back and agreed to take me all the way home via the bank because I had exhausted my money just getting to Goleta. However, the whole evenings escapades were totally worth it just for meeting these two people.