Dear So and So

[indysteel]

Dear daily commute:

You know how I feel about you. On a good day, I tolerate you. On a bad day, you fill me with hate and frustration. Today, however, may have been the worst day. It took me 25 minutes to get from the edge of downtown to my parking space. That's what? About a mile? That's insanity. Add that to the other 50 minutes of my drive, and I'm just not happy.

Now normally, I just grit my teeth, but today I snapped. It's no fun breaking down in sobs in your car and showing up to work looking like a wreck. My boss must think I'm losing it. But come on? I'm not sure who in city or state government made the decision to block nearly every other lane downtown for construction, but they need to be fired.

Sigh.....

P.S. Just to preempt any queries about possibly commuting by bike. It's not an option. At least not a safe one. I live 25 miles from work out of necessity, and there's no safe way to get to my job from home. Not to mention that I don't think my body could handle riding 50 miles each day.

[lph]

Can you walk? Not the entire stretch, that final mile It might not be fun, but at least you'd be actively moving...

I hate sitting stuck in my tincan.

[Biciclista]

LPH has a point. could you drive somewhere and walk or ride some? break it up?

[NbyNW]

Hey Indysteel,

I can't remember what line of work you are in, but can your schedule flex at all to avoid rush hour, or can some of it be done remotely, at least while all that construction is going on? I would bet that there are others at your work who are also affected, and maybe your managers might be able to work something out to make it easier for everyone.

[Catrin]

{{{Indy}}} I feel your pain on this. I suspect the coming Superbowl has a lot to do with the intensity/pace/sheer number of road projects downtown right now.

Do you have the option to flex your schedule and perhaps come in a little earlier? You know where I work...while I commute from the opposite direction I am in the office by 7 and the surface street back-up is minimal at that time. Your job might not make this a possibility but it was worth mentioning.

[indysteel]

I work for a federal court as a staff attorney to a judge. While I'm welcome to come in early and stay late, I have to be here during our business hours. So, if I come in at 7, I still have to stay until we close. Our administrative employees have a set number of hours they can telework each pay period, but that policy doesn't specifically apply to the professionals. I'm never asked my boss if I can, and he's never offered, despite knowing how much I hate the commute. He's otherwise a totally understanding boss, so the fact that he's never offered leads me to believe that it's simply not on the table. I do telework here and there when the weather is particularly bad or when I have a contractor at the house. I otherwise love my job, so I have no real beef with him wanting me here.

This happened about this time of year last year, too. When the kids go back to school, the traffic volume increases for a time. I'm just going to have to start leaving a half hour earlier, which means less sleep. I've tried going to be earlier, but my mind doesn't start to shut off until 10ish, so I just end up laying there. I'd add that even if I leave by 7 a.m., by the time I get downtown, the traffic volume is already heavy. Ugh. I miss living downtown. I feel like I'm paying for all the years I could simply walk to work.

Catrin, I have no doubt that much of this is related to the Superbowl. I'm no pro football fan, so you can imagine how I feel about that.

[Biciclista]

Indy, can't you move? sounds like living downtown would be ideal!

[indysteel]

Indy, can't you move? sounds like living downtown would be ideal!

It would be...for me. DH not so much. DH's job is about 25 miles south of our house; mine's about 25 miles north. When we decided to marry, we picked a town that's roughly halfway between our two jobs. I got the short end of the commuting stick because I have traffic and he doesn't. From a job standpoint, both of us are where we want/need to be. He works as a process engineer for one of the biggest engine manufacturers in the world. I have one of the least stressful jobs a decently paid attorney can have. I may be forced to find a new job when my boss retires in three yeas, so until then, I'm commuting.

If we moved farther north, we'd be in suburban hell in the town where I actually grew up. It would be worse there in a lot of ways than where we currently live because it's one gigantic strip mall (with the congestion that suggests). At least we can ride from our house and be in the country in five minutes or drive to the best park in the state for mountain biking in roughly 45minutes. Most days, I'm able to tolerate it, but today was just a bad day.

We have a vacation coming up (a weeklong tour of the Katy Trail). It will do us good. DH had been working a lot lately because his plant is rolling a new engine into production. They're down a couple of engineers, so they're all pretty stressed out. I think his stress is spilling over to me at home in that I've had to pick up the slack on some things that he ordinarily helps with.

Trust me; most days these issues are kept well into perspective. Today, not so much. I'm still not convinced that my thyroid isn't wonky, too. I have my first endocrinologist appointment tomorrow morning; hopefully, I'll learn more soon.

Sorry for the pity party folks. I just needed to vent. Thank goodness for this thread.