Long Bus Commute, Making It More Bearable?

ch001

Will likely be doing about 4.5 hours (two and quarter per way) of Bus Eireann travelling five days a week till next May or so. Any ideas on how it could be made a little more bearable. Only so much music you can listen to and I don’t think using a laptop on a bus is practical, any ideas?

Victor

Move?

Woden

the obvious suggestions that come to mind are reading or sleeping both of which i find appealing.

seriously though i found i read a lot more when i was in college due to the fact that i commuted each day. i find that i will seldom sit down at home with a book when i options to do other things so i used to think of the bus as an opportunity to get through the large collection of books i have to read

ch001

Victor.. well I got a place last year and basically didn't see home for weeks on end. This year trying to see my family for a last few months with my brother going to American next year and my sister who will be at god knows what college, I see it as my my last chance.

Dataisgold.. thanks. Will give reading a go.

Tom Dunne

Some toys I have for long plane journeys - Gameboy Advance,passes an hour or two.

Do you have a PDA? They are the job for journeys - convert movies to play on them, read e-books, use Avant Go and synch up before you leave each morning to have some reading material, run Sega/Atari/Commodre emulators and of course, music. You can even get a Compact Flash radio card that enables listening to the FM radio on the PDA.

secret_squirrel

I second the pda Idea I use one on my commutes. Usually listen to mp3's whilst reading an ebook.
If you get a pocket keyboard you could always start that difficult first novel too! 4 hours might be close to the battery life on some pda's tho..

Zaph0d

books on tape (or cd or mp3)
particularly those classics you've never got round to reading

Our man in Havana

Zaph0d wrote:

books on tape (or cd or mp3)
particularly those classics you've never got round to reading

War and peace?

Flukey

A mix of all those things. If you are going for work, you might be able to do something on the bus, even if it is just think if ideas. The same if you are going to college. In either case, always have a pen and paper ready. It could come in useful for other things too. A walkman or discman, your preference. You can listen to some of the talk shows some days, if you don't want the music. A book or a newspaper to read. Over a period of time if you are on the same bus you are likely to meet some of the same peopl regularly and end up talking to them from time to time, so you will gain a few travelling companions. If all else fails, just stare out the window!

P&L

use it to sleep = more quality time at home.
take 4 or 5 hours each night, and catch up on whatever you need during the commute. but DONT fall asleep on a strangers shoulder! <insert rant here>

Be careful with the books/pdas/GBAs etc. 4 hours with a crook neck each day (especially on a bus) can do some serious damage in the long term...

yer, ye laugh now... (speaking from experience).

parsi

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@P&amp;L - the LUAS graphics on your "aboutme" page are excellent - I like the one of the luas resting on a map (page1)

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P&L

thanks parsi that one was actually just a test for HDRI lighting, but it has proven very popular, this one's my own favourite - its only intention was as a gag, never as official advertising : http://www.puffandlarkin.com/lightwave/Images/Small_Pillpack_Text.jpg