You are the new it girl! The green girl. You buy organic, you buy coffee from a fair trade company in Bali, you love the planet, puppies, whales and Tibetans and you just happen to ride the bus.

Why do you smile, even if a twenty minute drive takes you three hours? Because you do not contribute to the world’s pollution.

Did you know that in Beijing China, they have a new system for all they’re throngs of people? Each person who has a vehicle cannot drive their car at least once a week to save emissions and clear the air. They could not get enough of those blue skies during the Olympics.

In most major US cities you will be on a bus that uses natural gas instead of regular ole fuel. Hurray for the P.T.

Think of the all the walking you do from the bus stop to your house to work and back. All that walking makes for a healthy heart.  Plus you save on a gym membership fees.

You can also reduce your household expenses by not having a car note, gas card, car insurance and car maintenance. Hey! No more road rage, unless you want to yell at traffic from the bus but then you just look kinda crazy, just a smidge.

You are 79 times more likely to get in a car wreck than to get in a bus wreck and that percentage goes up in a train or on the subway. Hmm, now if only they would invent flying buses? Oh yeah that’s called flying coach.

Here are some more websites to help you go green. Peace!

www.treehugger.com

www.GlobalCrossing.com/Whitepapers

www.benefitsofgoinggreen.com

www.greencommunitiesonline.org

Word to the wise DO NOT TAKE THE TUNNEL! DO NOT DRIVE IN MANHATTAN AT ALL! You can hang it up because you will get no where very slowly. Old ladies will pass you and get to they’re business before you even pass through the “Box”, to the lay person that is the intersection.

Do your homework before you go. I found myself in New Jersey carrying luggage all the way to Harlem. It took me four hours because I did not do my homework first.

Path train and the Subway are VERY different.  The Path trains are trains that take you from the mainland, NJ, Hoboken etc. to the island, Manhattan. There may be a Path to Brooklyn, but I was not there long enough for thorough P.T. research.

If you have a friend in NY listen to their directions and not the bus drivers. I say this because everyone in NY thinks that they know where they are going. The thing is, there are multiple ways to get to one place and everyone seems to be an “expert.”

Staring is still not cool. This rule still applies in the “Apple”, but there are so many different types of people there, that your rules may vary depending on where you are and who you interact with.

Even if you look lost, nobody cares. I was walking around with a suitcase  and no one bothered me. The thing of it is that everyone’s kind of  lost too. There are so many tourists walking around and so many native “Yorkys” they all blend in.

New Yorkers are nice and mean. There are some who will give you directions and be nice about it. There those who will lie to you about not knowing nothing about a part  of the system that they travel daily. This did happen to me but I gave the lady the benefit of the doubt, why? Because there are so many people trying to hustle  you on the street that the best form of defense would be to say, I don’t know leave me alone, and they will do it.

If you take the renting a car route people are rude and nice. You will hear or see the occasional car rage brawl, people will not let you into a lane, but if you roll down your window and ask nicely they will, it is the weirdest dynamic.

If a New Yorker is rude let them be. This is the most disorganized chaos of a city on the planet. If you live there, you will get frustrated quickly, if you don’t live there ditto. They have stuff to do, see, say, express, elaborate on. They’re human and are only responding to the frustrations around them. If you can’t get info out of one of them go to the next person the Nice Mean rule will always apply.

Next article: Your not a loser! You’re just trying to save the world.

I digress this was just on my mind. Choa.

More than likely if a man is staring at you on the bus then, he’s a creep. Yes, you are an attractive female and even if by American standards you’re not a blond bomb shell, you will get hit on. So what do you do? Do you indulge him? Do you get angry? Do you use mace?

Well, it’s going to depend on your circumstances. If you feel like putting your life on the line by engaging in flirtatious and amorous behavior with a total stranger, then go on. But this is your official disclaimer, it’s a bad idea.

You want to be safe and though, you may see someone who you find quite attractive, believe me the moments are few a far between, he is still a total stranger and you don’t know what his intentions could be towards you.

Thank you but I’m not interested. Smile politely and nod.

Give a fake name. If he’s asking your name it is none of his business and if you don’t feel like being that bold by saying, I’m not giving you that information! Just give him a fake name.

Give a fake number or email. If it has gotten this far you are indulging this man and steps one and two have not been taken.

Back Off! Are the strongest words a woman can use in public and send a man running with his tale between his legs, especially if it’s loud and you’re cute and petite?

Get off at a well lit, busy stop and wait for the next bus or train. If you feel that you’re being followed by this man or you don’t want him to see where you get off. There is always another train or bus.

Text your friend to come meet you. I’ve done this just to let my girl know what was going on and where I was.

Yell. This would be if you feel that you’re in danger.

Be smart and safe. He may be cute and talk of whisking you off to Morocco, but if he’s on the bus he ain’t got no money to take you nowhere. Be safe, look cute and always wear your shades.

Next article: You’re not a loser you’re trying to save the world.

If you can’t say anything nice don’t say anything or talk about the weather. Why and what does the weather have to do with fashion, particularly p.t. fashion, EVERYTHING.

Weather could be the single determining factor as to what you will wear on your p.t. adventure. It can change without any warning and these days California is not immune to the changes. Now we could get into the global warming angle and save the rainforest the whales and Tibet, but your ridding the bus so you play a small part.

Bring your umbrella ella ella. It can be a hassle to carry it even when it’s sunny out but you will always regret being a soggy mess coming into work.

Carry no more that 2 bags. Unless you want to look like a bag lady, which you will see a lot of on p.t. and while an offending odor and dirty clothes are not appealing, grin and bear it bag ladies are still people too.

Wear sunglasses. Yes even if the clouds are out, you can avoid eye contact with anyone you feel has invaded your personal space and it shrinks a whole lot on the bus.

Comfort, comfort, comfort. After you ride a few times or slip and fall on a wet bus floor, you will realize you need good traction, and soft shoes. No, you do not have to be a granola eating, Birkenstock wearer, but if that’s in and you like that fine, but you can have a smidge of taste even without your wheels.

Do not look like a hoochie. hoo.chie  noun [hu-chee] 1. To dress like a woman of the evening or prostitute.  skank-like, trashy. It is hot outside and the idea of showing more skin on the bus or the train sounds appealing. It’s not. Do you really want your flesh to touch the seats on the bus? Where non-synthetic fibers, cotton, linen and wool and carry bottled water and a small fan. The last thing you want when your riding home is unwanted attention from, passing cars, big riggs, and homeless men (yuck!).  Believe me you could be dressed up like a snowman in moon boots and they still cat call you.

Here are some links to p.t. fashion finds:

Next Subject: To People Watch or Not. You could be tagged a weirdo.

GAS IS HIGH, uh duh?! And tooling around town ain’t easy. tool.ing verb [too-ling] pronunciation root word: tool 1. To go about getting necessary or unnecessary things done. i.e.: I will be tooling around the store because I need to find a garment.

To tool around in a major inner city one must have the proper documentation in order to head to ones destination, a.k.a a bus pass. Why are we discussing this, well, many a young lady, who find themselves living in the burbs (bluh!) and want to actually spend their money on things they want and not things their bucket needs-buck.et noun [buhk-it] pronunciation 1. A car, automobile, vehicle. Could be of the honda, or toyota variety, if your smart.-will need to utilize the public transportation system in the urban area closest to them in an efficient and safe way.

These days the process of purchasing a bus pass is quite easy. You just find the nearest corner bus stop, wait for the bus, hop on and buy a ticket. But if you don’t know where you’re going, YOU LOSE! Have a destination, be it the mall or the gym or the apple store, find one.

Most p.t. have a website where you can find scheduling, routes and the latest Hollywood gossip, and contact info so that you can ask questions about the news from tinsel town. Umm juicy.

A list of p.t. websites in *major cities:

Los Angeles: www.metro.net
Seattle:www.transit.metrokc.gov/
Dallas: www.dart.org
Las Vegas: www.goingtovegas.com
NYC: www.mta.info/nyct
Atlanta: www.itsmarta.com
Chicago: www.transitchicago.co
DC: www.wmata.com/
Houston: www.ridemetro.org
Boston: www.mbta.com
Phoenix: phoenix.gov/publictransit/
San Francisco: www.sfmuni.com/
Denver: www.rtd-denver.com
Cincinnati: www.sorta.com

*If your city is not on my list, my research is either incomplete or you live in NOWHEREVILLE! For a proper understanding visit the singlegirlsglossary page.

Next Subject: PT fashion and faux pas.