Unintended Side Effects of Riding the Bus

I'm no stranger to riding the city bus for daily commuting. The city in which I lived during grad school was primarily a college town. There was very little parking on campus and basically all the students who lived in the city took the bus to school. It was free with a student ID. Aside from an increase in commute time, it really wasn't so bad. The stresses of driving were gone. No road rage; no traffic jams; no endless searches for that one open spot in the parking lot. It provided a lot of perks. I could apply make up on the way to school, listen to great music, look over some notes, make phone calls and schedule appointments, and text - all without endangering others. Also, the people watching was fantastic. FANTASTIC. And by fantastic, I mean, very interesting. Mostly bizarre and creepy, but definitely interesting.

So, when my car finally joined the big junkyard in the sky (and by sky, I mean city, because it's still here), I thought I was prepared to take the city bus to work. Sure, I need to take two buses to work. Sure, inevitably the first bus is late and it causes me to miss the second bus. Sure, sometimes I walk a few extra miles a day. Sure, I deal with inclimate weather. Sure, there are creepers on the bus (but nothing nearly as good as I saw in grad school).  But, there was one side effect of all of this that I did not foresee.

I like to view the additional few miles I walk every day as a new element of my work out routine. And since life has conspired to make me more active, I thought I should adjust my grocery shopping habits to increase my nutrient intake and get healthier. One of the ways I chose to do this is eat a fiber bar every day. I figure fiber helps you feel fuller, longer. This should (theoretically) help curb hunger cravings and help me get leaner.

My mornings usually start with a nice cup of coffee at home and ends with a nice little half mile walk to work. No biggie. It doesn't take long and is on relatively flat ground and passes a nice little wooded area. It's quite a pleasant walk. Or, it should be. The first quarter mile of this walk is pleasant. I have a great view of the morning sunrise. The air is fresh. Birds are singing. Fabulous music is playing on my iPhone. Then it hits me like a ton of bricks.  I have to poop. Every single morning that last quarter mile stroll turns into a frantic jog where I zoom past the morning joggers, holding my rear, shouting, "Get out of the way, I'm about to explode!"

I should have foreseen this. The combination of fiber, coffee, and walking has drastically altered the peace and quiet I usually associate with my mornings.