Jeff’s Blog

It’s only 12 miles from home to work, but sometimes it might as well be a lot farther. My commute seems to be like that tiny rock stuck in my shoe. Most of the time, you can try to ignore it and it’s not going to cause any serious harm, but it’s a nearly constant source of frustration and annoyance that at times can be maddening.

On my way to work today, I saw the bus I planned to catch drive away several minutes ahead of schedule. Then I had to wait for the next bus, which wasn’t scheduled for another 30 minutes. Of course, the next bus was at least five minutes late.

I’m so tired of waiting for Metro/ST buses that can’t even try to stick to their schedule.
I’m so tired of being at the mercy of Metro/ST when there’s inclement weather (”I’ll try to make it up this icy hill in the bus, but if I can’t we’ll have to cancel this trip.”).
I’m so tired of sitting in traffic on SR-520 or I-90 or modifying my schedule to avoid it.

I could move within walking distance of work, but then I’d be living in my own personal suburban hell far away from my friends, social life, hobbies, etc. That has about zero appeal to me. Moreover, I need to be able to walk places. I need to be able to survive without too much trouble without a car. I could of course get a new job downtown, but I like my current job.

Arg, I’m fit to be tied and feel like I have no way out!