As I type this, I'm somewhere in New Jersey, driving about 60 miles per hour. Well, I'm not the one driving but "riding" 60 miles per hour doesn't sound right. The bus I'm on from New York to northern Virginia has WiFi ("wife-ee" or "wee-fye" as my mom calls it). I know, my thoughts exactly; technology is awesome.
Enough background information. Let me get to the point. Of the fifty-plus people aboard this bus, I think the bus driver and I are the only ones wearing our seat belts. If you're like me, you're thinking to yourself, "Every seat on that bus has a seat belt? That's awesome!" If you're like most people, you're wondering why I bothered with this silly life-saving contraption.
Remember when some cars had seat belts that you never had to unbuckle? The seat belt would move away from across your chest when you opened the door. (Thinking back on it, maybe that wasn't such a good idea. If the door were to fly open during the crash...well, there goes my seat belt with it!) Anyway, my mom had one of those cars. I remember nothing about the car other than it had those seat belts. This is just my hypothesis, but I think the way that car automatically buckled me up every time I sat down conditioned me to appreciate that buckled-up sense of security.
As soon as I get into my car I shut the door, engage the locks, and put on my seat belt. I fasten my seat belt before I even put the key in the ignition. Let's say I'm just getting in my car to change parking spots. I still automatically put on my seat belt. (I don't know why I'd randomly decide to change parking spots. I just couldn't think of a good example. Feel free to offer suggestions.) Let's say someone else is driving. They park, turn off the car, and run into the store while I wait. At no point would the thought of unbuckling my seat belt cross my mind. In the past I've occasionally gone to my car between classes to take a power nap. Yep... Seat belt on.
I just love seat belts. I can't get enough. So that's weird bus/car/motor-vehicle-with-a-seat-belt habit number one.
This brings me to weird bus behavior number two. I took a nap in the beginning of this bus ride. Before falling asleep, I put my coat on backwards--Snuggie style--so it would act as a blanket (normal). I also pulled the hood up over my face (bordering on weird...or definitely weird). Here's the thing. The overhead lights are off. Every single individual reading light on the bus is also off...except for the one belonging to the girl in the seat directly in front of me. (In her defense, she is in fact reading.) Now, I don't know if I have abnormally thin eyelids or if I have a melatonin deficiency, but even a tiny amount of light negatively impacts my sleep. That's why I wore my coat and hood backwards.
I don't care if I look like the shady misanthrope on the bus (every bus has at least one) with my seat belt, backwards coat, and hood covered face. You know why? Because I'm warm, I was able to take a delightful power nap without the overhead lights inhibiting my melatonin production, and if this bus crashes the driver and I will be able to unbuckle our seat belts and run to safety. The rest of these people will be SOL.
