I’ve already mentioned somewhere on here that I am car-less, but for reiteration’s sake, I’m car-less!
This isn’t such a big deal, because I get to save on a number of things–first and foremost, a car.
If you’ve ever met Speedracer (the name of my brother’s Camry; he is so named because when I drive uphill (e.g. on the way to Pleasanton/Davis) and floor the gas, he goes ~45-50 mph. Don’t ask me what happened to him. :[ I really don’t know. I’m sure part of it is also that I’m scared to push him because I can hear him struggling so valiantly. He gets an E for effort, but he would never survive an east coast winter. (That and the fact that to transport him here and back would be ~$2200, because my mom doesn’t believe in my/my friend’s driving ability enough to permit me to go on a cross-country roadtrip, not that it’d even be that much cheaper.)
Renting a car is also out of the question because, as I am considered a “young driver” (under 25), it’s an extra $20 per day. Yeah, how about no.
Leasing a car might have been an option, but as I’m only going to be here for 9 months or so and the minimal leasing period is 3 years, that’s also illogical.
This way, I get to save money since, by not needing a car, gas money, parking permits, and my [in]ability to drive through snowy terrains will be complete non-issues. (I last saw snow 5 years ago, and although I learned how to put on snow chains on the spot to avoid having to pay someone else to do it, I was definitely not the one driving.) I’m also extremely used to walking/biking/public-transportation-ing myself everywhere because I haven’t even had my license for over a year yet. Yeahhh. (It’s a long story, but it was a combination of my parents tricking me and me being too busy. ._. But you could get around faster on a bike in Davis anyway, and I was contributing to helping the environment, one pedal at a time!)
I walk about 2-3 miles every day to get to and from school (built-in exercise!). Rutgers has an awesome bus system entirely free to students/the public and it runs fairly frequently, even on weekends.
However, because it’s so awesome, it frequently looks like this.
So how did I manage to pack myself onto this, you ask? I have some experience in stuffing myself into compact spaces. 
I asked the bus driver if he’d mind if I sat in the place where people usually put their bags. He was cool with it, so I climbed over the rail and in I went. We made a couple more stops, but obviously, no one could get on, so I asked one of the girls who’d just tried to board the bus if she wanted to sit up there with me.
This freed up about one more spot, so her friend managed to squeeze on as well…
…but there was no room to hold onto anything, so they held hands for the entire bus ride to prevent the one standing from lurching across the front of the bus.
My housemate gave me her UMDNJ School of Health-Related Professions hat! Not actually my department, but I like it, and it’s close enough! :P
I’m convinced that the longer I stay here, the more articles of red clothing I will magically acquire. Whether it’s because peer pressure or somethin’ else, we’ll never know, but I promise I’m still wildly loyal to blue & gold!
Just as a public service announcement, the next eleventy-billion posts will be of food, since I need to get a start on the recipe section! :O I will pepper it every here and there with posts about life so you’ll know I’m still bein’ studious and/or that I do something other than eat!
