The Commute

The one question everyone asks me about my new job is; "how is the commute?" My typical answer? "Oh, it's not that bad. It's usually anywhere between 25 and 40 minutes." Then I always get a; "oh yeah that's not too bad." I think everyone expects me to have horror stories because they know how bad 680 can be.

The truth is, there are certain secrets to the commute and after three weeks of studying it, I've learned how to make it better. For instance; before the 24 split, when all the right lanes clog up, I just stick to the left lanes. Then at Livorna, when everyone seems to lose their sense of how to drive and come to complete stops for absolutely no reason, I stick to the far right lane where all the sane people keep moving smoothly. Of course, good music is key. And for the drive home, there's only one trick to improving the commute...go to the gym for an hour first and wait for everyone to get off the freeway. It works every time!

I also like to entertain myself during my commutes by playing Let Me See. This is a game I have invented that really helps pass the time and keep my drives fun. There are many different versions of the game and I really encourage everyone to invent their own, but here are a few that I like to play:

Let me see if I can count how many cars are in this BART train going over my head
Let me see if I can cut this guy off without having him flip me the finger
Let me see how many of these women in Range Rovers are wearing huge diamond rings
Let me see if I can figure out this personalized plate in less than 10 minutes
Let me see how many cheaters are driving in the carpool lane with just one person
Let me see if I take this street if I can get to the freeway any faster (I really lost this game. It added 10 minutes to my drive home)
Let me see how many of my coworkers I'll see in traffic with me this morning (Usually at least one)

Let me see if any of these radio stations actually play music in the morning

Let me see if I can get to work without wrinkling my blouse
Let me see how many people got themselves into accidents today, ruining the commute for the rest of us
Let me see if there's a real reason why we are all stopped (Usually not, but one time it was because someone had dropped dozens of tiny balls onto the road and some poor CHP officer was picking them all up by hand)
Let me see if my water bottle will still be cold by the time I get to work
Let me see if I can get home before dark
Let me see how many 18 wheelers I can get stuck behind today
Let me see if anyone will actually use their blinker

So now you can see why my commute really isn't that bad. Plus, my philosophy is that as long as you like where you're headed, you won't mind what it takes to get there. I don't actually subscribe to that theory for life, but for the office and home, it works for me!