A Gain in Gainesville, Day 10

After receiving comforting news regarding my mother's potential illness I hoped to hop off to New Orleans immediately. A few factors impeded my desire. First, the house had suffered flood damage nearly a year ago and needed the floor redone, so as I happened to be around it proved convenient for me to move out all the furniture and whatnot. What with all the furniture out after the floors were finished, we realized it'd be a good time to paint the walls, and who better to do that than an art major? So I painted them pink. With brown baseboards.

Now the principal reason I couldn't quit this charming abominable town lay in the wonders of Greyhound. When I visited their office to acquire a changed ticket they told me it'd be best to return the day I wished to travel, an hour prior, as the ticket remained valid for 365 days - so might as well pay the change fee once. At this time I told the agent I'd want the nine fifteen bus again - this is important as when I arrived on the Wednesday I wanted to leave the station was closed with a sign declaring that no driver would accept credit cards, reservation numbers or cash.

The next I changed my ticket at 3.45pm for that night's bus - or so I thought. This same agent wrote 9.15pm on my ticket jacket... on opening it that night my mother and I discovered I had the ticket for that day's 2.10pm bus - a different set of buses altogether and possibly incurring an additional change fee. Happily, but aggravatingly, this turned out to be a moot point - due to icy roads the bus driver was taking no passengers past Mobile - again information the agent must have been privy to yet failed to mention. The next day the same unremedied roads denied me passage.

I suppose my final date of departure ended up a fortuitous one. The day before I received the last of my licenses. I also finished moving all the furniture and books back into the house. Best of all I stayed just long enough for a Chinese New Year's dinner just before my bus out west. So perhaps all went well - if in a very frustrating manner.

Song of the Days: Crazy - Gnarls Barkley
Earnings: $300, many hours.