MEGA

From dictionary.com:

mega-
prefix, often meaning "large, great," but in precise scientific language "one million" ( megaton, megawatt, etc.), from Gk. megas "great, large, mighty" (fem. megale ), from PIE *meg- "great"

Medical Dictionary

mega- pref.
Large: megacephaly.
One million (10 6 ): megahertz.

Science Dictionary
mega-
A prefix that means:
Large, as in megadose, a large dose.
One million, as in megahertz, one million hertz.

Slang Dictionary
mega definition [ˈmɛgə]
mod. large; serious. : Some mega beast boogied down to the front of the auditorium and started screaming.

No matter what dictionary you use, it means REAL LARGE. Large amount of power, large dose of meds, a whole lotta beast; it makes no difference, these are all correct. Well, under this definition, I'd like to add this picture and story of my experience on the MEGA BUS. Admittedly, I have taken the bus before and so I was not ignorant of the events that would take place, but the consistency is pretty amazing.

1. LARGE AMOUNT OF POWER: This bus is not one I would ever want to be hit by (not that I can think of another bus I WOULD want to be hit by, but if I had to be hit by one, I would especially prefer it is not this one!) Even beside it's raw size, it metaphorically has a power of messing with your plans.

We were a pathetic group of about 100 people waiting in the hot sun for a mega bus- no matter the destination. There was an older couple who was riding the megabus for the first time, appalled at the lack of station or information. Suddenly the Amtrak was getting rave reviews from them. :) 45 minutes late and we were pulling out into Friday rush hour traffic. AWESOME, PARTY BUS!

2. LARGE DOSE OF MEDS: Thankfully I got my own seat on the upper deck (and by that I mean the seat next to me as well). :) That certainly kept the whole thing in the funny stage. In general, I'd recommend a large dose of whatever kind of pain killers, muscles relaxers and numbing agents you can get your hands on. The upper deck is where all the action is at:

There was a cell phone version of "dueling banjos" between 2 gals discussing their professional careers and how they told off their male co-workers. There was a diligent cheerful working woman who kept her lights on the whole trip and pounded away at her keyboard. There was a fearful little woman who kept calling her boyfriend with the latest town sign she had seen. There was a man behind me reading the latest edition of Men's Health and the smell of his dinner was an Indian/Asian combo with a little bit of hot sauce. mmmm. :)

The air conditioning ran on high blast the majority of the trip, which for me was great. I would always rather be cold on long journeys than hot- especially when strong smells are involved. bleh. At the dinner break someone must have mentioned to the bus driver that it was a little chilly. Naturally the bus only has 2 settings high and off, so the last couple hours of the trip there was a sauna on the upperdeck.

Speaking of the dinner break... (FAVORITE PART!) It was significantly shortened due to our late start. No complaints from me about this; I would much rather be at my destination than a truck stop. It was entertaining to see people's response to this 20 minute break though. Some people about my age were striding confidently across the parking lot and street to a McDonald's knowing it would take a little bit. Those passengers about my parents age however were in a full out RUN! The married couples were holding hands and shouting instructions at each other about a bathroom rotation and food order. These people are the ones who are accustomed to travelling with children and were falling into their natural rhythm. I am happy to report we all made it back to the bus. :)

3. A WHOLE LOTTA BEAST: During this final portion of the trip; the lights were off (besides above the working woman), the humidity was creeping in from outside and it was quiet ... ALMOST. In front of me there was a huge beast of a man, with the hood of his zip up sweater over his face and his rap music blaring. It had not bothered me earlier in the trip- I like rap music, or so I thought. I realized after the bus was quiet and I could hear his lyrics, that I like Christian rap or the mild hip hop stuff they play on the radio. What he was listening to was explicit and horrible-complete with gun shot sound effects and screaming women. I figured that his seat mate or the working woman in front of him would be bothered by the music and ask him to stop. a half hour later, I realized my hope was in vain and I geared myself up to ask him to turn it down. I practiced in my head- I didn't want to sound snotty or like a goodie two shoes. Admittedly, I also was afraid that I would make him mad enough to act out one of the songs on me... no thank you. There was a part of me that wanted to lecture him about what he was listening to in the presence of women, but I'm not old enough to pull that off yet. "Umm, excuse me sir. Would you mind turning that down just a little bit? Thanks!" He never said a word to me- just pulled his hood back slightly, glared and touched a button on his music device that silenced it as far as I could tell.

We arrived only 45 minutes late- impressive! And I made sure that Tupac left before me...just in case he was angry.