December 99 December 98 December 97 _________________ Saturday 18 December 99 1 08 pm pst   [ did I mention...? ] Did I mention the bus ride?   In order to get these hundreds of teens to their destination, we are taking a 16 hour bus ride from LA to Park City.   Matthew and I are in charge of our own bus -- 47 high school students. We woke up at 4 30 am, but the clock in my room was fifteen minutes slow, so we ended up being late.   Gary is our bus driver, and he swung by his home in Lancaster to pick up movies for the ride.   Some kid insisted that we put on his video, and though I repeatedly denied him, Matthew gave in to the temptation of the image of snow boarders on the cover.   I was attempting to resist whipping out my computer (only a few hours of battery, after all...), but this video has turned out to be a series of images of people injuring themselves, interspersed with the occasional exploitative image of scantily clad women.   I feel I have a good excuse. Matthew goes on this trip every year for the free transportation and skiing.   I am going on this trip for Matthew.   I would be happy to stay curled up in the hotel room the whole time, but Matthew would be so dissapointed.   I am trying to be brave, but risk of bodily injury is a big fear of mine.   My self-preservation quotient is turned way up.