Little Victories 3: Riding the Skytrain to Burnaby and back on the same Compass tap.

Growing up poor meant everything had to be efficient. Instant Noodle packs became two meals instead of one. Hand me down clothes from my older brother meant teachers at our elementary school would see the same RAD!!! t-shirt two years in a row. And errands on weekend with my mother became real-life speed runs.

I remember when transfers were thin coloured paper, where the driver would manually rip off each pass when you boarded the bus. The amount of time you got to ride the bus throughout the system is the same now: 90 minutes. Four minutes longer than Liar Liar, 11 minutes shorter than The Mask, and filled with as much family-friendly action as Batman Forever.

A typical Sunday trip out (you could travel all three zones for the same price on weekends) would start with a bus ride from our home in Surrey to the public library in the city centre to drop off books. My mother and I would then ride the Skytrain to Main Street, Vancouver, where we would then take another bus to Chinatown to do our grocery shopping for the week. After loading up on Bok Choy, BBQ Pork and Bunny Candy, we’d make the long reverse trip back home just in time to catch the 528 on the same transfer.

That sense of efficiency and frugality still drive me today when I’m on public transit. I may have a Compass Card now, but I still lay my errands out so that I can check multiple To Dos off in the timeliest fashion.

When I made it out to Burnaby and back on the same Compass tap, I considered that a Little Victory. Thanks, mom.