It's A Mail Bag, Your Feed Back Addressed.......................

We at the BusDrivaChrinicles actually get inundated with a ton of emails.  It’s really quite flattering to be honest, even more so than the page views, or the 4 or 5 times a day that someone says “hey, I read your blog”, or the amount of shares.  Mainly because anyone can read something, that only takes a few minutes, well, I suppose in our case more like 10-12 minutes since I do have a tendency to go on and on. But for someone to actually sit down and write some sort of correspondence or to ask me a question, that’s really more of a measuring stick as far as impact and importance, in my mind anyway.  So we are going to kick of the New Year with a handful of emails we’ve gotten, just because we haven’t done this in a while, and the mailbox was pretty full.  I also like these because it’s a good chance for you to get to know me a little bit better personally, and to be fair, I’m really pretty awesome, so who wouldn’t want to do that, right?  As is the case whenever I do a mailbag, I’ll empty out the inbox, and start over.   So keep the feedback, questions and suggestions coming, and if you didn’t make this month’s mailbag, be adamant, maybe you’ll make next months.  Happy New Year, stick to those resolutions, enjoy the mail, and we shall see you next week.

Hey Busdriva, it’s been about a year or so since I’ve talked with you, and I really need one of those 2 hour long coffee and baseball chats we used to have sometime soon.  Since you don’t answer your phone, I thought I’d email you here, and ask what your thoughts are on the Blue Jays next year, I really thought that we were going to get Darvish, and was hoping on Prince Fielder, which would have proved they were serious about contending, what are your thoughts? Predictions?

Haha, hey buddy, I know I’m horrible at answering phones and returning calls, that’s my bad, and yeah, we will set something up soon, hopefully.  Now, Anthopolous and company are still branding 2012 as another rebuilding year, with 2013 being the season they start to make a push.  Which was the game plan all along.  And yes a commitment like Darvish and Fielder would have definitely showed a different plan altogether, but the reality of the Darvish situation is this, 50 million just to have the rights to negotiate with someone?  That’s really kind of silly, especially someone who has never played Major League baseball.  Now he could very well turn out to be the next Daisuke Matsuzaka, but he could also turn out to be the next guy you never heard of because he never made it out of the minor leagues.  Also, his handlers have made serious mention of the fact that IF he does decide to play MLB, he will insist on playing only on the west coast, so he can be as close as possible to his home land, Japan.  He sounds like a Prima Donna already if you ask me.  And as far as Prince Fielder goes, I’m not going to lie to you, thinking about him in this order, giving Bautista protection, actually makes me a little erect.  But again, the reality of it is, he wants x amount of money, for 10 years.  And I’ve never been a fan of the ten year contract, especially for someone in Fielders shape.  I have no doubt that had he wanted 5 years, the Jays would have opened the wallet and given him however much he wanted, because buying Bautista more fastballs is in fact priceless, but Bautista didn’t get a ten year, and he’s the franchise player, so by association, no one will.  Fuck that would be nice though.  As for a prediction, AA can tell us it’s going to be whatever kind of year he wants to tell us it’s going to be.  But I honestly think, with the all the turmoil in Boston, and the Yankees just getting older every year, with the team that Toronto has, they are going to make a lot of noise this season, and if they add that new wild card spot in 2012, like they want to do, the playoffs are a no brainer. This lineup is young, talented and mostly signed to be together for a long time, and the next 5 years or so are going to be a good time for Blue Jays baseball fans.

So I read the article on Rob Ford, and I have to say, I agree with everything you wrote, but aren’t you afraid of repercussions, seeing as he is the Mayor of Toronto, and you technically work for him, being a city of Toronto employee?

Well, to be honest there isn’t really a “technically” about it, he is the Mayor, but I wouldn’t say I work “for” him.   There are a lot of channels between him and I, and I doubt he would be willing to go through them to get to me.  With that said I did think about that, and had a talk with the Executive Producer of our beloved site, and he went on to explain to me this freedom of speech thing, whereas, basically, I’m pretty much aloud to say anything I want to say and express whatever opinions I may have, as long as I’m not making radical shit up with the intent to defame anyone, especially anyone with political clout if you will.  I tried to back all of my points up with either statistics or logical reason, and I feel I did a fair job of such, and even the slight jabs I threw in here and there aren’t exactly without merit, but are hardly defamation worthy.  But whatever the case, I know a really good lawyer, and she’s fucking hot as hell too.  She may have to touch up on her international laws to come save my ass, but that shouldn’t be an issue, besides a visit is a visit right?

Hey, if you had a dream come true, who would be in bed with you?  Nicki Minaj or Rihanna?

I love this question.  Ok, let’s see.  Neither to be honest.  If I had a dream come true, it would be both Nicki Minaj AND Rihanna, and we wouldn’t be in bed.  We would be in a hot tub, right beside the bed.  The bed would be occupied by Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, and since I can’t remember the third member of Destiny’s Child, we will just sub in Keri Hilson.  Taylor Swift would be there too, she would be whipping around in a pair of roller blades bringing us all refreshments and fresh fruit.  And for good measure, Rachael Ray would be in the kitchen in lingerie, cooking her god damn ass off.  I dream big my friend.

Here’s what I’d like to know, if you hate your job so much, why don’t you just quit?  There are a lot of people out there, like myself, that would love to make a hundred thousand dollars a year, but don’t have the requirements to do it.  You have a pretty easy job I would say, yet all you do is bitch because you think everyone is stupid. 

Yeah, for those of you that didn’t think so, I get hate mail too, I can’t complain, its par for the course.  And I really thought this needed addressing.  First off all, and to make sure I will go back and check, I’m positive I never said I hated my job.  In fact, I actually love my job, ask anyone, they will tell you that much.  Secondly, I wish I did, but I most assuredly don’t, make a hundred grand a year.  There are indeed a handful of us that do, but between you and me, I don’t have the kind of work ethic needed to put that much time in, and personally I find it pretty damn ridiculous anyway.  And what requirements do I have that you don’t have? I have a license, and can somewhat communicate coherently, and as long as you do and can as well, then go apply and come aboard.  It’s that simple.  As for your last comment, writing about bad scenarios is a lot more appealing than writing about good scenarios, no one wants to hear me talk about nice old ladies that bring me muffins, that just doesn’t make good fodder.  And most people aren’t stupid, they are ignorant, there’s a big difference.  Ignorance is a lack of information, and I’m patient, most of the time with these people.  Stupidity is the ability to learn, with the appropriate information available, but refusing to understand and apply said information.  Those are the people I can’t stand and bitch about.  Oh, and for the record, the stupid people make the blog, as is clearly the case here.

The NBA is back, who’s going to win it all this season? And are you on the LeBron/Miami Heat bandwagon yet?  If not you will be soon.

LeBron first.  No I’m not, nor will I ever be on that bandwagon my friend.  Even before the Decision fiasco, I wasn’t a LeBron fan, never have been really.  But I think the defining moment in my thoughts about LeBron were solidified after the Celtics dismissed the Cavs in the playoffs that year.  LeBron didn’t even get off the court and he was tearing his jersey off as if to say, thank god my time with this team, HIS home town team BTW, is finally over.  It was a classless move, and proved that given athletic ability aside, James is nothing more than a heartless overrated scrub who could have been the next best thing, but now can’t get old and retire soon enough.  Since that day everything he has said and done has done nothing but prove this, over and over again.  As for a prediction, ok, well, my thinking is, due to a lack of training camp, two game preseason, and condensed schedule, this season will belong to young teams who have had their nucleus intact for a little while now.   I won’t get into division’s here, that’s too much, we will leave that to sports illustrated and ESPN, but I’ll call this, Chicago Bulls vs. Oklahoma City in the finals.  Both teams have solid young athletic cores, and showcase 2 if not three of the best players in the league, depending on how you rate Russell Westbrook, and how well he plays Robin to Kevin Durant’s Batman.  I’ll also say that the Heat will win 50 plus games this year, but just won’t have enough in the tank come playoffs, and the Raptors will be lucky to make it to 20 wins.  Kevin Durant will win the scoring title, Kemba Walker will win Rookie of the year, and Durant will be the MVP as well.  If the BusDriva said it, bet on it, but I want my ten points if you win.

Were you really reading an article on “the strange existence of anti-matter and its radical imbalance as a cosmic constituent”, and if so, how do you find this stuff?

Haha, yeah I was, I’m not going to lie to you, it didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me, but remember, reading is reading, and your brain is a muscle too, it requires exercise, just like every other muscle in your body.  How did I find it?  Well, to understand that means you’ll have to understand my routine.  The first thing I do every afternoon when I fall out of bed, is go and pour me the hugest cup of coffee that you can imagine, then I sit down in front of the computer, queue up a somewhat random playlist on YouTube and begin scouring the internet for my daily reads.   I start with the sports pages, obviously, and then I hit the news.  Mostly local and primarily TTC related first, then on to some west coast California stuff, just to stay in the know.  Just in case I happen to find myself conversing with anyone out there. It doesn’t really happen to be honest, but maybe it will one day, and I’ll be prepared, and like my old boss at The Keg used to say, “Failure to prepare is preparing to fail”.   When I’m caught up on my news and sports, I hit the main sites, Yahoo, Bing, etc. for whatever is trending, which is where I actually find the craziest stories, like the article in question.  I read them all, even if they are over my head, and retain what I can.  You would be surprised at how much I recall in daily conversation, it’s actually really cool.  I blow a lot of people’s minds with the useless shit I have stored up there.  It doesn’t exactly get the broads, but it does come in pretty handy with the crosswords.

So you drive a bus for what, 8 hours straight every night?   How do you do it?  I’d probably go insane just driving back and forth constantly like that.

Sometimes more than eight hours, actually, and sometimes less, and to be fair, I wasn’t exactly sane when I started this job some four years ago.  But I suppose growing up as an only child (that explains a lot doesn’t it) with an overly active imagination comes in really handy out there.  I just drift off into LA LA land and daydream a lot.  Driving is pretty much second nature at this point, and doesn’t require a whole lot of attention, especially when you do the same route all the time like I tend to do.  OCD actually helps as well, I’m always supposed to be in the same place at the same time every day, and subconsciously that keeps me focused on the task at hand.  Also remember there are constantly people coming on and off the bus, so if I get bored I just strike up a conversation with someone.  Sometimes I regret that though, because sometimes I start to talk to someone that has absolutely nothing to do, and now we are apparently pals, and they just ride with me all night long.  Other than that, I whistle, sometimes even sing (shhh), hit on chicks, and plan blogs.  Sadly the planning of the blogs are the only one I’m really any good at, but oh well, such is life.  Usually at the end of the trip you get a few minutes to stretch and work on a crossword or something, or you bump into another bus driver and chew the proverbial fat for a few minutes.  The nights usually go by quite quickly to be honest.  I mean sometimes they are nightmares, and never seem to end, but every job has that, right?   More often than not though, pretty seamless and smooth, as long as you can keep yourself entertained, of which I have no problem really.

This Is Our Mayor ?!?!?!

“Services will not be cut, guaranteed."       
“There will be no major service cuts to the TTC.”
“There will be no major service cuts to the TTC in 2012.”

That’s three different direct quotes by one person, the Mayor of our great city, Mr. Rob Ford.  Slightly contradicting?  If you know him or have followed him, you’ve learned to accept that he does shit like this, like it or not.  And the reason is simple really.  He was elected based solely on one platform.  He is an average everyday guy, wanting only to run the city for average everyday people.  It’s a campaign that in all honesty was noble, but it brings to light a very important focus point.  You see, you can hate on politicians as much as you want.  I mean sure they are conniving, they have hidden agendas, maybe they don’t always say or do what they said they were going to say or do, but one things for sure, you want a seasoned vet of the political game in charge at the end of the day.  One with a track record of accomplishments, and one who, for the most part possesses some assemblage of how to do things, preferably in the right way.   Since his election approximately a year ago, the people of Toronto have learned a very important lesson, and it’s something I said when he was running, it’s something I’ve always said and it’s something I will continue to say until my last breathe has been taken.  You don’t want average everyday people running shit, because point blank, average everyday people don’t know how to run shit, hence why they are average everyday normal people.  Look at it like this, I’m about as average as they come.  Normal, everyday guy, who goes to work, comes home, eats and repeats.  I have my views, some of which are rational, some of which are extreme, and I have ideas on how things should be done.  Now ask yourself this, knowing me as well as you do, do you really want me to run this city?  Probably not, because in the grand scheme of things, although I keep a mean blog, drive a bus much smoother than the next guy, and always have a story or joke to tell, I don’t bring a whole lot more to the table.  And I certainly don’t know anything about balancing a Metropolis sized budget, being in front of a camera where everything I say and do is open to grand speculation and criticism, or having every decision I make result in the spending of millions of dollars’ worth of someone else’s money. But this isn’t about me, this is about Bubba, and so on the eve of a decision that will no doubt result in a fare increase AND major service reduction to the TTC, which he promised wouldn’t happen on his watch, let’s look at a few things he’s done in and around the city, to make it oh such a lovely place to live. To be fair, I won’t get into his hot headed temper tantrums with 911 operators or people who take his picture while he’s using his phone and driving.  Nor will I dwell on his personal feuds with particular media outlets or the fact that he can’t remember the last time he could do up the bottom two buttons on his shirt, I’ll just look at hard issues, numbers and facts.

Removing the Vehicle Registration Tax

This was just ridiculous, and downright redundant.  Although, I suppose it had to be done, since it was one of the promises he made on his campaign towards election.  One of the few I might add, that he has actually kept, if not the only one he kept?  Truthfully speaking, the VRT wasn’t that bad.  Anyone who lives in the city, and annually registers their car had to pay an additional $60 tax, which translated, equates to sacrificing slightly more than a case of beer a year, for the betterment of the city.  You may disagree, and that’s okay, but you’re short sighted.  That tax generated $200 million for Toronto, which could have gone a long way and done a lot of positive things, it wouldn’t have cleared us from the red by any stretch, but it sure would have dented the shortfalls.  And from Ford’s perspective, the tax was implemented by a previous administration anyway who already suffered the political back lash from it, so he should have just left it alone.  

 Closing of Public Swimming Pools and Arena’s

Besides the fact that public swimming pools and arena’s, or community centers in general, offer employment to numerous high school and university students trying to support themselves and their education, these places do something that is invaluable to our society.  They offer a refuge to our youth, an inexpensive place where they can go and have fun, exercise and be supervised by at least somewhat positive role models in our community.  Its two fold really, battling negative influence and obesity at the same time.  And I don’t give a shit how much it costs to operate places like this, because the reality of it all is, without venues of such, there’s only one place cheaper to spend your days.  Out in the streets, where there are no lifeguards, no counselors or no rec committee employees.  But there are guys named “Dagger” and “Stretch”, who become authority figures in our futures lives, and it doesn’t take a physicist to figure out where these kids are going to be in a few years.  It costs a lot more to, ahem, rehab these youths in the future, than it does to keep them busy and safe in the present.  That’s basic matrix math, current cost vs. production vs. future cost.  It’s pretty simple shit Ford, just add it up.

Closing of Public Libraries

This one really baffles me, because if there is one thing our kids, and some of our adults need, it’s a lot more knowledge.  Seriously, has anyone noticed that the youth of our generation couldn’t throw together a proper sentence if their lives depended on it?  Never mind the fact that they have a street fight with any word bigger than three syllables.  And who the fuck closes a library anyway?  I know, I know, the defense is, everything’s available online, and right at your fingertips, right?  And libraries cost a lot of money to ascertain.  But we all know what happens when you’re doing research online.  One minute you’re reading a great article about the strange existence of anti-matter and its radical imbalance as a cosmic constituent, next minute you’re watching three someway, somehow, very sexy, Vietnamese Shemales having at it, and 15 minutes later you’re taking a nap.  Ok, 4 minutes later, but that’s not the point.  Pump a little money in promoting libraries, offer rewards on spare time essays, or book reports, be pro-active, it’s our damn future your impeding here, because if you don’t, you’re really saying you just want to raise a generation of bus drivers, and we already got plenty of those.

The Police Department

If you’ve ever been out in our streets, particularly at night, you know and will testify that if there is one thing we need more of, it’s a police presence.  We aren’t exactly at a West Baltimore level out there yet, but there are more than enough Marlow’s and Barksdale’s in our environment to make you think twice about when and where you go, and about when and where you go there. So demanding that the Police Department makes any kind of cut back is just plain farcical. One of the tactics suggested was cutting back on partnered patrols?  WTF?  Two cops per car aren’t enough if you ask me, because when shit hits the fan out there, it’s rarely ever one on one.  It’s usually more like 6 on 8 or 12 on 3.  So the first car to arrive walks into this situation alone?  I’m not even suggesting that a partner evens things out, but an extra set of eyes, and an extra clip of bullets would never hurt your odds.  These guys out here don’t play, and don’t care, and they have guns, bigger and stronger guns than cops do, that’s for sure.  Up the police budget, and spend what you have to.  Is there really a number associated with public safety?  And if there is, what’s the price tag Mr. Ford, because I would love to know the dollar value on an innocent bystander’s life, or mine for that matter.

The Fire Department

In the last 15 years Toronto’s, well, the GTA’s population has boomed by approximately 20%.  That’s unfathomably huge.  Yet the GTA’s fire department hasn’t grown at nearly the same rate, although sadly, I can’t find the exact numbers, I do recall hearing 5-6 percent somewhere, and is now facing serious cutbacks themselves.  Some three hundred firefighters and twenty plus trucks are to be removed from service in the next year?  The standard response time for an emergency is 6 minutes and 20 seconds from the sounding of the bell, with the whole crew arriving at about the 8 minute mark, yet the department is coming in around 7 minutes and 30 seconds for the first truck to arrive on scene. It’s not their fault because of resources available, but too far below the standard none the less.  Here’s something for you to think about, you can’t rationalize with fire, there’s no talking things out with it.  It’s not a drunk at the bar, or a girlfriend and boyfriend arguing, where you can slow the escalation process until help arrives.  It’s fire, and quite frankly, it does what the fuck it wants to do.  And my thinking is, if your one of the men or woman crazy enough to want to run into a burning building and right the situation, I want to make sure that you have whatever you need to get there and do it as quickly and properly as possible.  For a city of this size, we should be coming in better than what the standards call for, and being proud to do so.  These are the people brave enough to save our grandmothers and children, those who aren’t quick enough or strong enough to get out of horrible situations themselves.  Why would you even think about sending these people home?  That’s just plain stupid.

The TTC

As far as the TTC is concerned, let’s be realistic here, there’s no way I can address this situation with any level of bias, and clearly, bias opinion is something I strive for (???).  Besides, there’s nothing I can tell you that you haven’t already heard, and there’s nothing I can write here that you haven’t already read about.  But for everyone who rides public transit on a regular basis you need to know something. Thanks to Mr. Ford, it’s going to get about as bad as you can imagine it getting in the very near future.  He did no favors to either of us by deeming us an essential service and taking away our right to strike, because now we have no real way of defending ourselves, which although you don’t realize it, defends you as well.  We don’t want what the future brings as much as you don’t want what the future brings, but it is inevitable, even if he does at the last second alter the service reductions list like we think he may do.  He doesn’t like us, and we don’t like him.  But the difference is we go about our days and jobs like usual, while he pokes and prods and pushes and pulls. But remember this Rob Ford; you need to be very careful when you fuck with the backbone to society.  You need to be very, very careful.  We are the blue collar individuals who put our health and safety on the line every day.  We sacrifice our social lives and miss our families and friends, all in the name of getting our citizens back and forth across the city.  We lunch box it and hard hat it 365 days a year 24 hours a day, and when you insult us, well you infuriate us.  The people of Toronto will tell you first hand, you can win fights with us here and there, you may even come out on top in big battles more often than not, but when it’s all said and done, WE win the wars.  Just accept it, it’s been going on for around 100 years now, it’s just the way it is.  And watch out too, because if the people that rely on our transit system as well as the people who operate our transit system ever one hundred percent see eye to eye on this matter, and on you in general, we may finally decide that enough is enough ………………………………. just be very careful Rob Ford, be very very careful.