Rush Hour Pandemonium

Today was gorgeous. I feel fortunate to have days like today this time of year, so I try to appreciate it.  Did I do anything outside?  No.  But at least I got to sit in some rush hour traffic twice today.  That makes up for it.

I live in Portland, Oregon.  The traffic is nothing here compared to other places.  And yet I was in it for about 20 minutes both times and I felt like I was going nuts!  Part of that is because I don't normally drive much, especially on the freeway, which is where I was, and when I do drive it's short distances at hours other than rush hour.  And ok, part of me going nuts was that I was late for something, but I really can't imagine a five-day work week that consists of that twice a day in a place like, say, LA or San Francisco.  Yeah, I'm gonna have a great house out HERE and work way over HERE.  That'll be awesome.  How do people do it?

Maybe to some it's not that bad.  Maybe they've got stuff planned each day that they can do in the car, so that they start actually looking forward to the drive because they'll find out what happens next on the book-on-tape.  I don't know.  Maybe they make phone calls and are already working before they physically arrive at work.  Or making dinner reservations on the way home, or any other number of things one employs to occupy the time and distract oneself from the drudgery.

Maybe rush hour traffic has created a market for all kinds of various "activities" that you'd never otherwise find the time to do.  If you're going to be sitting in you car for 45 minutes only tapping the accelerator for short spurts, you might as well learn Spanish.  Singers, why not use the time to vocalize with a warm up CD?  Chefs could taste sauces from little cupholder-fitting dipping cups.  Dentists could view dental slides.  (during complete stops only of course)  Perfumers could compare fragrance samples and dictate their review notes to a voice-activated transcriber.  The list goes on...

I guess overall I'm thankful for where I live in my little apartment in the city.  When I buy a house someday, I really want to try to make it close to where I have to go the most often.  And after today I think I'll really appreciate riding my bike more.  I'm glad to live where those who want to can feasibly get around on a bike.  Maybe I'll get that Spanish CD and wear my headphones on my next bike commute...