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so as i wrote a few posts back, lately i’ve been feeling the itch to do something new (i know, i know, as if traveling asia for nearly three months wasn’t good enough …). now, there’s a semi-opportunity arising and i’m finding it hard to remain neutral about it. a couple weeks ago i felt like yes, i wanted SOME sort of change but i wasn’t sure WHAT exactly - and i was kind of ambivilent about what it was, when it happened etc.

now, as this one opportunity has arisen and i continue to take steps toward it, i’m finding it hard to remain patient. this isn’t surprising to  me - it’s what i always do. i’m not a patient person, and when i “get a bee in my bonnet” (as my mom would say) about something, i want it to have happened YESTERDAY. i was - and still am - trying to ensure that doesn’t happen this time. that kind of mentality - while often motivational for me - has often led me to do things i’m less-than-thrilled about later on down the line. or things i realize i wasn’t that passionate about in the first place.

so for now, i want to remain happily dispassionate about the potential for a new opportunity (one i’ve actually looked forward to for much of my adult life, yet hadn’t seriously considered till now because i never felt the timing was right) until such a time when passion is justified and required. that doesn’t mean i want to be passive in pursuit of a dream, but rather that i don’t want to fall into the “over-eager” trap i’ve created for myself so many times before.

the good news is i’m at a time in my life where i truly would be happy either way. i’d be happy to go in this new direction, yet i’m also thrilled with the way i’m able to live my life now.

i need to remind myself of these things and stay in that “happy either way” spot until plans are cemented and decisions are made - which i know will be incredibly difficult for me!

1) Where did you begin 2007?
i’m pretty sure it was at my parents’, playing speed scrabble. and no, i’m not kidding

4) How did you earn your money?
first from al gore, then from my consulting clients, and investments

5) Did you have to go to the hospital?
naturally

7) Where did you go on vacations?
DC twice, tokyo, cancun, atlanta, NC, tokyo again.  weekend trips to LA, san luis, napa and monterey.

What did you purchase that was over $1000
a couple investment properties, my iBook, plane tickets, rent every month

9) Did you know anybody who got married?
Becky and Mark, Janelle and Jabar

10) Did you know anybody who passed away?
no

12) Did you move anywhere?
NO!! probably one of the few years i can say that!

14) What concerts/shows did you go to?
i don’t like concerts, except when i know the band so i saw Scissors for Lefty.  and we saw Legally Blonde and Jersey Boys on Broadway, and a bunch of other off-broadway shows

15) Are you registered to vote?
um, yes

20) What has been your favorite moment?
the incredible freedom of being self-employed and able to travel anywhere the hell i want!

21) What’s something you learned about yourself?
i am sort of entrepreneurially minded

28) Best new hotspot?
hotspot? not so sure. my most favorite discovery? zazi’s cafe for sunday brunch. mmmmmm pumpkin pancakes

29) Best movie you saw this year?
Golden Compass and Harry Potter!!

30) Favorite gift of the year?
my parents flying us out to tokyo for the first time for my dad’s promotion

I was doing a freelancing shift today at my local CBS affiliate (I get called in about once every week or two, which is perfect for me - not too much work, but keeps my foot in the door should I ever decide to return to TV) and I found out one of the producers is leaving to be an EP in South Carolina. No - I don’t want his job (that thought didn’t even cross my mind until now). Instead - I’m totally jealous of him. No again - I don’t want to live anywhere in South Carolina. What I mean is that I’m jealous of his life change - and I realized that I’m starting to feel like it’s time for a change of scenery for me. Don’t get me wrong, I still love where I am and what I do and what types of opportunities my lifestyle affords me, but I’m totally getting the itch.

 Ryan and I actually have been talking about what the next step in our lives will be and I’m getting excited for whatever is next. We don’t really have a specific plan, but it’s exciting for me to think that at this time next year I could be somewhere totally different, doing something totally different. While we’d love to go to another huge city, we’ve talked about going to a more medium-sized place (still hip and fun, of course - no colorado or kansas for us, natch!). Somewhere we could keep our standard of living - or upgrade! - and be able to save and invest a sh*t ton of money. (All part of our “financially free by 3o” plan!)

The beauty for us is that, since we’re self-employed and all our clients are virtual, our incomes won’t adjust to whatever area we move to. So if we move somewhere with a lower cost of living, we’ll be making the same we are now, and spending a LOT less! Not too bad, considering that I’d say we’re living pretty comfortably even with a super-high cost of living!

Like I said, I’d ideally want to live in another really big city, but I don’t want to downgrade my lifestyle at this point - and our dream places are all more expensive than where we are now.  We decided our dream cities are the places we’d like to end up one day, after we’ve established ourselves, maybe gone to grad school, have a larger investment empire, and are financially free.

In the meantime, we’re going to Asia for three months, so I guess that will have to serve as diversion enough :-D 

ps- i found this adorable (dog friendly!) apartment in downtown Austin. I’m ready to upgrade!

i’m not talking about some weird cult or compound or religion. i’m talking about the military community and why i think i feel differently than most other people when six fighter jets soar over the city as a part of fleet week.

living where i do, there’s always a significant amount of protest and discourse over anything military related, and fleet week means guarenteed controversy. in spite of that, there’s still a huge turn out, and to me it means a surge of patriotism.

i can’t explain it - it’s a sense of awe, a sense of pride in the idea of America. but i think what sets it apart for me is the first hand sense of sacrifice the people in those planes have had to make.  i don’t think i’m a better American or a better person - or even that i know exactly what those pilots and their families have been thru (they weren’t always just performing for fun and entertainment). as a military family, we’ve been relatively lucky. dad’s never been on the front lines. there’s been a sense of insecurity and danger at times, but as a family we’ve never been seperated because of a deployment for longer than four months or so.

i’m a member of the civilian world now - no longer my dad’s dependant, ryan’s only attachment is to the ready reserves - but i will always be military at heart. i will always have a place in my heart and my life for good ol’ fashioned american pride. for individuals and families who serve us in ways we often can’t see.
i don’t think i’m above anyone because six jets flying on the city skyline brings tears to my eyes - or because i’m getting a little misty as i write this now. i’m not more patriotic because when i stand with my family and sing the national anthem, i’m usually standing next to my dad in uniform.  i’m not saying i’m a better american because i moved from base to base every two years.

but i am a part of a community that relatively few belong to and relatively few understand - a community that will always be there for me.  i don’t have a hometown, or a place that i’m “from.” i don’t have many “friends from my childhood” and i don’t have roots.  but i have a community.

so as i said, i’ve been musing to myself for the past few months, about what my job has become and where i wanted to go from here (which was how i got to the freelance thing). i mentioned i was going to start posting some stuff about my internal struggle and observations once i actually left my job. Well, i am a few days shy of my last day but i decided to start posting away anyway. i guess you could say i’m bitter and i really just don’t care any more.  any respect and love that i still had for this company (in spite of deciding it just wasn’t for me) is pretty much gone after this week.

Before i go on, that’s not to say i don’t love the *idea* of Current TV, because i do. it drew me in a year ago when i was burnt out from network news and i believed in the vision of making a product that people in my age group will love and identify with. something made by them, something that discusses things they care about, something vastly different from anything else out there.  and i still believe in that.  i believe that’s the vision of our wonderful chairman and CEO, both of whom i still have the utmost respect for.  but i believe the company is ruining a good thing but how they treat their people.  you can’t keep truly good people if you treat them poorly, and you can’t keep a good product without good people.

That being said, here goes.  something we’ve been assured over and over wouldn’t happen, is happening.  we’re moving to LA. not our whole company (not yet, though i’m sure that’s the eventual plan), but for now, my department.  now in all actuality, i shouldn’t care less b/c i’m leaving anyway and this just further validates my decision.  aside from the fact i’ve heard several times, straight from my bosses’ (and even our CEO’s) mouth that we will not be moving, here it is. this has been a bone of contention with in the company for as long as i’ve been here. about half of the people moved up from LA to take their jobs here, and have been bitter about it ever since. a lot of those people are managers and so, i think, have been trying to do something about it from day one.

it’s not just that they’re going back on their word. it goes so far beyond that. they’re moving the department in three weeks.  that’s not even long enough to give notice in your apartment here, if you were to decide to leave - on the off chance you were on a month-to-month lease (and not like me, who has a lease until January)!  they’re volunteering several thousand in re-location expenses, but that’s still unrealistic. and how can you find a place you’ll know you want to live in, in three weeks (while you’re working full time, 700 miles away)?  they’re not offering corporate housing, raises, bonuses, promotions - no incentives. basically it’s “decide in three weeks to change your ENTIRE life, with absolutely no benefit, or be without a job.”

now, if that were *truly* the case, they’d be obligated to pay some sort of severance. but if the above is any guide, i’m almost certain that won’t happen. they’ll find some shit job to give to the people who decide not to go, so when they turn it down,  the company won’t owe then anything. sure, it’s legal, but really, really awful.

and the other thing - two of the girls in my department have been here almost since day one.  they’ve gone two years without promotions, raises, incentives, anything (b/c apparently that’s how this place rewards you for a job well done). They’re two of the people who have been here the longest and worked the hardest - and the company would rather SEE THEM GO (and not have any safety net - three weeks isn’t enough to find another job!) than offer them anything in return for their potential sacrifice in uprooting themselves to move for a job.  not only is that bad PR, and bad employee relations, that’s bad business!  how much will it cost to search for new people and train them? not to mention there will be HUGE downtime in the department b/c we’ll all be gone and unable to train, answer questions, etc. how is that a better situation?

this is all obviously really, unbelievably crappy, but the other thing that makes me sad is that this company is so young, has so many great people working for it, has so much creativity - it could really be something amazing. and maybe in spite of it all, it will be.  but even now, when i talk about this station to other people in the news biz who live in the area, *they* mention how they’ve already heard the very things i’m complaining about here.  the word is already getting out.  and it’s sad, b/c not many people know about Current - it’s not a household name yet.  but if it is, in some cases, it already has a negative stigma attached to it.  And that’s really sad - as a company, it could be anything it wanted to be. there’s no bureaucracy to answer to, no red tape yet.

while i will always maintain that Current is a good idea, i will never encourage people to work here, watch it, or contribute.  true, i am only one person and i’m not on any type of crusade - it just bums me out to know the station could be awesome - but instead, through their actions and decisions, they’re choosing to be something very different.

I finally did it. I quit my job. I couldn’t be happier.  granted, i still have about three weeks left till i’m officially unemployed, but i’m so psyched, excited and optimistic about what this will mean for me.

i know, it might come as kind of a surprise after my previous fawning over my  job and declaring how i *did* want to be a corporate business woman. well, a lot has happened, and my attitude has changed a lot since those postings.  in part toward my company - although i still really do believe what in what it’s doing and think it will be a catalyst for change - but mainly toward my job, and the rest of my life.

i’ve been writing about this a lot, just not on my blog - lest somehow someone from my work accidentally stumble upon it before i had made my severance official. i’ll post those entries at some point in the future (probably after i’m actually gone), but the basic jist of it is that i am not a desk person.  this has been my first real desk job, and it has come to really grate on me in these past four months or so. i couldn’t imagine the rest of my life spent this way - even if i did climb the ladder, have more authority and more reign to do what i wanted. i couldn’t imagine that for the rest of my life, my “life” would be someone else’s property.   i realized that if a company as basically good as the one i’m at (although of *course* not with out its flaws - and i’ll post more on that later) couldn’t satisfy me, i would never be happy to work for someone else, and give them my time, my life. for what? in exchange for two weeks of PTO a year? i work weekends, nights, 12 hour days … blahblahblah … and i get TEN DAYS in exchange?!!  now i’m ranting - and it’s not a rant necesarily against my place of employment, but more against corporate America in general.  i may sound cliche - as i’m by no means the first to realize this - but it was stealing my soul.

i think that as more and more people in my generation come to the realization i have, the face of the corporate world will be forced to change to a certain extent. or at least i hope it does, for the sake of the people trapped inside.  we were brought up to know what we want and go for it, to demand nothing less than perfection from ourselves *and* our employers.

anyway, back to my original theme of it being a lot of work to be unemployed.  it’s probably obvious from my above tirade that i will not be proffering my soul to another company.  i’m going to be a freelance writer, and while i know that sounds ambitious (and also kind of cliche) i have high hopes for the future.  it’s been so much work to get to this point, because i wanted to be at a relatively good financial spot with freelance work, before i just jumped without a safety net. so i’ve been working my ass off, getting blogging jobs, article writing jobs, PR jobs, publicist jobs, researching jobs, and on and on.  i’ve been working on the weekends, at night, over my lunch break, and before i go to work in the morning to try and make this happen.  right now i’m not in love with all the jobs i’m doing, but for now they’ll pay the bills and i can refine as i go along, have more time, and become more experienced at the game.

back in the day, the reason i got into journalism was to write. and as the years have gone on, i’ve gotten further and further away from the writing aspects of my jobs until now i have absolutely no writing duties at my current job.  true, that gave me more ability to write in my spare time, but i’ve always wanted my passion to be my job, not my hobby. so that’s the road i’m going down.

i’ve enjoyed my day jobs for the most part - a few years ago i couldn’t imagine doing anything but producing news - but for now they’ve run their course.  i know myself well enough and am not naive enough to think this is it for me.  i won’t be surprised if in a year or two, i’m off to try something new, but at least i will have given this a try - which is what i’ve said about almost everything i’ve done.

ryan’s quit his job also and we have great plans for this next phase in our life.  we’re going to enjoy the sunny days instead of watching them go by from our desks.  we’re going to work from wherever the hell we want to, whenever the hell we want to - at 10 am or 3 am. we’re going to live in japan with my parents for a few months.  then maybe try house swapping (we still want to keep our home base) so we can live in some of our dream cities - new york, london.  who. frikkin. knows.  and if you know me, then you know that those three words make all these sense in the world to me.

i’m posting a blog i wrote on my (cough cough) myspace a long time ago, but it really bears re-posting - i think i covered everything that angers me pretty well.  seriously, what is the DEAL with disgusting, slovenly, creepy guys saying the first thing about you that pops into their mind. it’s infuriating, degrading, and offensive. and it’s gotten so bad that it recently forced me to say the dreaded “f word” while i was on the phone with my mom: i was in the park, on the phone with her, when this weird (probably not-quite-right), creepy, older-looking guy came up in front of me and just stood there.  he didn’t say anything but i knew he was up to no good.

“i’m on the phone,” i said - which was my was of warning him “nicely.” he still stood there, and then asked if i was single.  i told him, more forcefully this time, that i was ON THE PHONE.  he kept asking me, several times in a row, if i was single.  finally i burst out, “that’s none of your fucking business!!!”

of course, my mom on the other end was probably mortified. this is the woman who prefers i not use words like “pee” and “butt” - in fact, when i was growing up, they were completely off-limits.  now, if i say them, or other sundry “offensive” words i throw in from time to time (sucks, crap, blows, damn, hell), i just get a disappointed exclamation of my name.  which, rather to my surprise, is how she handled my f-bomb. i thought she’d flip a little more.  but i explained to her that you had to be firm, and even rude and bitchy (yes, i even said bitchy) sometimes, or people just don’t get it.

she said that you could be firm, but still be gracious and classy (oh my mother, the absolute epitome and bastion of class. i love her).   i told her my first statement - the “i’m on the phone” - *was* me being gracious and classy.  that after years of dealing with these kind of outbursts and people, i’d kind of gotten it down to a bit of a science. then she said jokingly and rather sarcastically, “yes, it must me such a burden being good looking” (like she, btw, is one to talk).  and i said, actually it is. and it’s not that i wish i wasn’t attractive, i just wish guys would learn to be respectful.

so without further adeiu, here is my original post:

i’ve had it. i’m sick of the crazy-ass people who apparently think that catcalling / grunting / commenting / leering / otherwise being a nasty prick, is somehow going to get them some positive feedback. i’m assuming, of course, that that’s what they *are* thinking - certainly they can’t be doing this for anyone’s edification, right? based on (unfortunately, disturbingly) vast experience, i’ve compiled a list of usual offenders. take note, bitches.

1. the homeless or might-as-well-be-homeless leerer: yes, i have my ipod on and i walk by like i haven’t heard anything (just like i do when you ask for money b/c yah, when it comes down to it i *am* cold and heartless … i have no choice, thanks to you), but i hear you, and i don’t understand. i mean really. i only want to know WHY WHY WHY FOR THE LOVE OF SWEET JEHOVAH WHY?! what do you think you’re going to accomplish? i’m well dressed. put together. business-looking even. i’m clearly not a crack-whore. i’m clearly walking *home* - and by home i mean a place with walls, and a roof, in a building with a concierge. not “home” to a box in a an alley. you think you have a chance? this one truly doesn’t leave me time to be *that* disgusted, b/c it makes me curious more than anything.

2. the ghetto-fabulus leerer: ahem. ok. i understand i may have that universal “look” - the cliche “tall, skinny, blonde” thing. i also understand “attraction” crosses race, economic (and even gender) boundaries — for some people. not for me, bitches. i like my men white and well-off. but i get it. you don’t know me and here i am, tall skinny and blonde, walking in your hood (i’m talking about one hood in particular, and believe me, i *wouldn’t* be there if i had a choice …). i’ve clearly put more than 5 minutes into my appearance (which is more than i can say for a lotta chickies in this area), and done more than pull some rumpled sweatpants out of the closet (again … more than i can say …). oh, and i’m not your baby mama (*again* …). i understand. you *just don’t know* what to do when you see such an uncommon sight! ok, i’ll tell you. just stop. i’m better dressed / more put together / more confident for a reason. i’m way out of your league. so again i say, stop.

3. the (sleazy) business man: (i say sleazy b/c i see *plenty* of the non-sleazy ones during my commute. a lot of them are relatively attractive. they leave me alone.) you must think you see your “equal,” b/c i look professional, independent and confidant. can you guess which statement you’re right about? apparently not, so i’ll help you out. i am professional, independent and confidant. you are not my equal. let’s put the fact that i’m married aside. (and this goes for all the above mentioned offenders:) i would never ever EVER NEVER EVER *EVER* be so flattered by your .5 seconds of attention while passing on the street that i’d feel i *must* get to know you, turn around, and run after you. i’m just trying to help out here, and since your above actions are so imbecile, i have to think you really might not know that. (ps- no other relatively attractive woman - who i’m sure you also leer at - will ever turn around and run after you. just a tip.)

4. the idiot i somehow get dragged into conversation with: i do a lot to avoid you. i’m reading, listening to an ipod, walking fast, not responding to you. yet somehow (be it in a store, a prison-like situation on a bus, in line at starbucks, whatever) i am forced into conversation with you. forced into questions like, “do you model?” (no, really, how cliche). now, i’m not a total bitch. i find it hard to just come out and say, “leave me alone.” but to me, that’s what my body language was doing already. you’re clearly stupid. so you talk, and i give one word responses if i absolutely have to. any other normal person would just leave me alone. it’s not that i’m shy, or that i’ll eventually respond to you. no. i just want you to shut the hell up.

5. the under-age gangsta-kid: ok. i look young, i know. but lord have mercy, not *that* young. so that can only mean one thing. you think older women are hot, and your (probably absentee) fathers are best described by # 2 (see above). the hope for your future is diminishing quickly. that’s all i have to say about you.

**general note**
these leering perpetrators have to know at least one thing - the girls they’re ogling are probably ogled by a decent number of other people. here’s something you must not know: we’re used to it, we hate it, and we hate you. (i’m counting out the skanky / want to be stared at / purposely dress to get attention crew.) it *doesn’t* make me feel special. this is a big city, with a lot of very attractive people. that means your leering activities must take up a lot of your time. how sad for you.

so, like i mentioned, i’ve been doing some freelance work.  one place i moonlight is waaaaay out in the boonies of the city - it takes me like an hour to get there. i’ll go out there for a couple hours after i’ve already put in 8 hours at my day job - so needless to say when i’m coming home, it’s pretty late.  fortunately there are two busses (i thought) that run as close as door-to-door as i’m going to get at 9 or 10 pm.  last week i found out there is really only *one* bus that does said door-to-door running - and it’s not the one i initially got on.  i took one bus out to this place, and i went ahead and took the same bus back when i was finished.  only problem is … it stops going as far as i need it to, once it gets past, like 7pm.  after 7, it stops in Seedy McSketchy-ville.

when we got to this point, and the bus driver kicked us all off, i briefly thought of just staying on the bus, riding it back to a safer area, getting off there and catching another bus or a cab.  then i realized, most of the area that bus drives through are sketchy. i’d have to ride it halfway back to where i’d been freelancing before i felt safe getting off in a neighborhood i didn’t know at 10 pm.

i was at least familiar with the area where i had to get off. ironic thing is, it’s actually closer, blocks-wise, to my apartment than the stop i was going to get off at.  but walking home west to east is sketchier than walking home east to west.   that’s just how it is.  one block you’re in a ritzy shopping district, the next, you’re being ushered into a porno store by a homeless crack addict.  not kidding.

so there i was - in ghetto-town, 10 pm, on the corner of meth junkie and crack whore, tall, white, blonde and alone. i wasn’t ABOUT  to walk the (mere) 6 blocks back to my building through that mess. so it took me about .25 seconds to decide to take a cab. well, since meth junkies and crack addicts aren’t known for their common use of cabs, there’s not a WHOLE lot going thru those parts.  thank GOD there was a tiny little donut shop on the corner that’s open 24 hours. i went in there to be partially safe, and call a cab.  while i was on hold with the cab company, i saw a couple taxis go by, so i decided to walk out to the bus stop and try to hail a cab from there.

after a couple seconds i got one to pull over, but he wouldn’t let me in. he asked me where i was going, and when i told him, he refused to take me.  the problem was you can’t turn toward the direction of my apartment from the street he was on - he would have had to circle the block, instead of making a direct turn. he was like, ” go walk down to X street, and catch one there.” the whole POINT of getting a cab was to avoid certain death by walking ANYWHERE.  i told him i didn’t care, he could circle the block, and tried to open the door. then, i SHIT YOU NOT, he DROVE THE FUCK AWAY!  i’m SO not even kidding. i’m a BLONDE, well dressed girl in the middle of the ghetto!  i would’ve paid you double just to let me get in the fucking cab!! but aside from that, it should have been obvious i was in distress!

so anyway, a minute later i hailed another cab, who took me around the block and didn’t bitch at all.  i looked up the website of the first cab company so i could leave feedback, but no such luck.  guess i’ll have to call my complaint in - those bitches are gonna get an earful.

i went to the gym this morning to go to a ballet class, then my yoga class.  when i got there, i realized they’d switched out the ballet class, with a class i didn’t want to go to - i didn’t feel like going home, then coming back for yoga, so i decided to wander around the area near my gym until the yoga class.   the gym is a few streets up Nob Hill from my apartment, and close to gorgeous and legendary Grace Cathedral.

i went and got some tea, then headed to the sanctuary of the cathedral.  i can’t remember the last time i was in a cathedral and the best word i can really think of to convey the feeling of granduer i got when i walked in is ” majestic.”  it was quiet for the most part, with a few people milling around, and a trio practicing an a capella liturgy - the sound carried through the marble foyer and expanded in the high ceilings.  it reminded me of the soundtrack of a movie. i sat down to let the experience reach me, and i felt something i haven’t felt in a church in a long time: awe.

i would definitely classify myself as a postmodern christian- someone who tends to shy away from the idea of organized religion, denominations, labels, structure, and the like.  this has led me to be part of more free-form churches: ones that met in schools, ones with a closer, more intimate setting, sitting on couches instead of pews, watching a dance performance as part of a service rather than repeating a liturgy.  i would say these things fulfilled my need for a communal feeling, in line with being a 20-something in a postmodern society.

but as i sat in grace cathedral i began to think of how maybe some things fell by the wayside in the journey to postmodernism  - not just the journey from modernism to today, but a decades, maybe even centuries long journey.  i’m sure this is already going on, and i’m probably coming to my personal realization a little after the fact, but i think the next step along the way (post-post modernism?) might be bringing the majesty back.

postmodernism has gone a long way toward taking some of the bullshit out of religion (although in some cases, there is still plenty to go around), simplifying it and bringing it back to a story of love, acceptance and redemption.  people are more free to express themselves in the ways that best suit them - in ways that were previously questioned by “big religion.”

i think there’s still some room for the awesome-ness of the older forms of religion.  the liturgies,  practices, cathedrals, and even sometimes the formalities of approaching something or someone that is so much bigger than we are.

i ride public transportation to work. over-all i’m greatful for it. it enables me to get around the city relatively easily and not have a car. boiled down, i guess it saves me about $500 bucks a month. but SOOOOOOMETIMES …

ok - the above title is a little misleading, but not far from the truth. MUNI recently changed around some of its “light rail” lines (which i put in quotes because in my mind light rail denotes something fast, and well, let’s be honest here) - mainly affecting the one i use to go to work. the first week it was AWEFUL. one morning, i waited at a station for my train for 35 minutes. that’s WAIT time - not even including travel! i took a lot of cabs that week. so, it’s been getting better from there, but not a lot.

this morning, i waited for bus A for about 10-15 minutes. rode on that for about 10 minutes (apx 6 blocks - i know i could walk that far in that time - more on that in a sec). got to the station to wait for bus B (light rail) and was there for about 15 minutes. by the time the train came, there were so many people waiting for it, it was more crowded than normal. and when that happens, it seems like the bus takes even LONGER to get to your destination. i was on that for about 10-15 minutes. so it took me about 45 minutes to an hour to get to work today.

let me put it in perspective. i commute within a seven-square mile city. i work about one mile from my apartment. it took me almost at hour to go a little over a mile. i used to commute out of the city, and that’s how long it took me to go about 50 miles! granted, you can’t compare traffic, driving, pollution, boredom etc - i’d take public transportation over than any day. but still.

now … i know i could walk. on a good day it might take me a few minutes longer to walk, but on average i’d say it’d take me about the same amount of time or less. the problem is, it’s such a pain - even more so than riding the bus. i already usually have two bags. if i walked - especially during the summer - i’d at least need a change of shoes, if not a change of clothes. plus, it’s cold a lot in the mornings, rains a lot, is foggy a lot. i don’t want to walk in that, or worse - have to ride a bike in that!! i’m SOOOO not that kind of person. i want to get to work looking put together and professional, not sweaty and wearing my gym clothes.