I started working in Hollywood, so I have been taking the Orange Bus to the Red Line in my morning commute.

For the most part I like it. I get to experience the city as a city should be experienced: with other people and by walking. The Orange Line is an extraordinarily nice public amenity in my opinion, with its landscaped median and up to date design and self-service tickets.

The buses are comfortable, and speedy, and the only thing that really annoys me is Transit TV, an obvious way for Metro to make money by beaming insipid weather reports and advertisements to the captive bus riders. As the bus speeds up, the volume increases, so we get to hear over and over again “that rain is expected in Akron today.”

People seem mostly courteous. This morning, we had two riders in wheelchairs that got on at Van Nuys Blvd. The driver asked the standing riders to all “move back”. But people didn’t really make way. So one busty, trashy blond, sitting and talking on her mobile phone, spoke loudly. “Out here nobody listens. Not even the white people, the real Americans.” This got a black dude with a sideways baseball cap and enormous jeans to roll his eyes.

The bus moved again and so did the loud mouth of the mobile phone talker. “Travis got busted D.U.I. I don’t know what’s in his mind. Hey, did ya know I went to see Jay Leno last night and he pointed at me…..I want my kids to move out here from Kentucky, but they don’t give no mind to me….I’m on MySpace. Just look for Little Kitty videos! It’s real cool.”

When I got to my office I opened the MySpace that she had referred to. Sure enough, there she was in the flesh. I’m not going to tell you her real name by revealing her website, but she was not young and pretty in person as she looked in her retouched and botoxed images.

I can’t wait to get back on the bus this coming Monday for more adventures in LA commuting!