Buried alive in my bus-journey book

Every day, i get the bus to work. That's not strictly true. Not every day. I do not work every day. And the days when I'm not working, I do not get the bus to work as there would be no point. But at least four days a week, usually six, I get the bus to work.

Recently, however, i've been concerned that I could be doing more with my bus journeys. Read a book, write a blog, or even learn something - music theory or a new language. But in practice, I forget the book, pen or pad of paper that I need, and end up playing silly games with myself to pass the time.

You know the sort of things people do, maybe not always on the bus, but to stave off boredom whenever it creeps in. I'll shut my eyes and try to guess what corner I'm at five minutes later. For some reason I always open my eyes early - I have no idea why I would cheat at this, as it is of no benefit to me.

Another favourite is to imagine the lives of the people around me. For example, does the woman two rows in front go home to watch Come Dine With Me with a talking dog? Or does the man at the back deflate when he isn't needed in my field of vision. Collapsing into a box until next time I pass by.

With all this in mind, on Saturday I took a book for the bus journey. Slam by Nick Hornby - worth a read so far. It's about a young lad who... it's not important what the book is about. All you need know is I took a book to read on the bus.

Anyway, I boarded the busy bus, made my way upstairs and, as soon as it hit traffic, I buried myself in the book... never again.

19 pages later, I looked up. The previously bustling bus was totally empty and the previously busy roads were deserted.

Could it be that, whilst I'd been reading, some other-worldly force had wiped all life off the planet? Had Pig Flu mutated dramatically over 20 minutes? Was I cursed to live out the rest of my days riding this blasted bus route? For a split second, I was terrified.

It is obvious that while I concentrated on reading, I didn't notice people filter off the bus, and it makes sense that a business park would be free of traffic on the weekends. But if being engrossed in a book means losing all sense of awareness and reason, then maybe it is better suited to sometime other than a bus journey.

Needless to say, next week i'll think twice before packing anything other than a packed lunch in my bag for work.