Changing of the Seasons

This morning I left a few minutes late (I really must work on that snooze alarm addiction) and cruised right into work on time. ON TIME! I thought it was because I missed the 8am rush to work, but after doing some more sleuthing I'm pretty sure it's because the schools out here are on Spring Break. (Side note: It's also Caesar Chavez day out here...East Coasters, say wha'?!) Conversely, this past weekend was the first weekend where people have started noticing traffic lined up to get to and from the beach. Yes, it's beautiful in San Diego almost 375 days out of the year. But there are definitely still seasons. To be honest, this past Sunday was the first time in a REALLY long time that I hit the beach, and oh how good it felt! So, I guess a big, fat "Thank you" should be sent out to the college gods for letting me get to work on time even after getting 15 more minutes of sleep. mmmmm..... And a big fat "crap" to the beach traffic. Luckily, I don't really go out on the weekends any more so an early morning wake up to get a parking spot on the coast is definitely a must do in my book! Happy Spring and safe driving, ya'll!

15 Minutes of Fame

It is amazing to me how 10 minutes can make such a huge difference in rush hour driving time.

Usually I leave for work at 730a.m. to be at the office as close to 800a.m. as possible. Some days I'm a little late, some days I'm a little early. It usually just depends on the amount of traffic or any unforeseen WEATHER changes (you'd be surprised at the havoc rain can cause out here in SoCal).

This morning, we had a big All Hands meeting at 800a.m. so I left at 720a.m. A whopping 10 minutes earlier, and I'm at work in 15 minutes. Say wha'?!

I've heard that this is really only the case in bigger cities. (One of my mom's old coworkers lived in Illinois or Idaho or some other "I" state and said that he never understood when his underlings used traffic as an excuse to being late at work. I guess it was just never THAT BAD. But when he moved to D.C., oh how that point of view changed.)

Either way, here in San Diego, a 10 minute difference in departure time DOES equal a 15 minute difference in commute time. That's just crazy to me.

Do you know what I could be doing in those extra 15 minutes of my life?

1. Working out my abs x2.
2. Reading 2 chapters of my book.
3. Making and consuming an egg and cheese sandwich.
4. Bake a batch of chocolate cookies from the tube.
5. Paint my nails.
6. Straighten my hair.
7. Become FAMOUS!
Oh the list goes on and on.

You'd think that this would convince me to leave at 720a.m. every day, but, alas, you would be wrong. Yes, I am encouraged to try to leave that little bit earlier to save myself the hassle of sitting in on-ramp, lacking-in-zipper-abilities traffic. But, oh sleep, sleep how I adore thee. Knowing that I can sleep 10 minutes longer alone will make me sit in 15 more minutes of traffic. It's crazy how the mind of a chronic sleep-button-hitter works.

Give me some tunes, a good morning show, and a cup o' joe at the end of my drive and 15 minutes extra just doesn't seem that bad...

The Journey

When I was a teenager, my family rented a little red convertible while visiting my grandparents at their retirement community in Florida. One day, while taking a spin around the enclosed neighborhood, we passed a lovely old couple taking their daily jaunt. "Slow down!" was all that we heard as we "sped" by them at a whopping 15 MPH. Well, I must be turning into that little old lady with nothing better to do than to meddle because yesterday while Justin and I were driving up the coast to meet his sister for dinner at a beach-side camp, all I could think was "Slow down!"


All I want to do on Sundays, on my last day of freedom, is to take it back a few notches and RELAX. Justin I know is right there with me. He's constantly uttering things like, "well I guess THEY'RE in a hurry." But everyone else in Southern California seems to be in such a rush to get moving! What's...the deal...with that? Is it really necessary to go 85 MPH at all, let alone on one of the laziest days of the week?


Take some time to enjoy the scenery. The flowers are blooming, the sun is setting, the rag tops are down. There's really no reason that I can think of that people need to be going that fast. I know we live in an iPod, cell phone, rushrushrush society, and like my dad I must be a dinosaur when it comes to the newest "social" technology. But really, It's quite a shame to think that the kids of the newer generations are missing the point of a Sunday drive. The point, dear friends, is in the journey...

News Updates

There have been so many traffic/transportation stories in the news these days...from the Toyota trials to suicide reports (at least here in San Diego). Here are a few of our traffic stories for your reading pleasure.

• "Toyota Says San Diego Driver's Story is Inconsistent"
• "Man Struck and Killed on I-805 Near El Cajon Blvd"
• "Suspected Car Thieves Arrested After Chase Ends in Crash"
• "Farmers Insurance to Keep Sponsoring Torrey Pines' PGA Event" (it's a stretch, but top priority news around these parts)

To summarize: Beware of Toyota gas pedals, don't try to walk on freeways, and be careful where you leave your cars unattended. Above all: stay safe!

Driver ADD?

On my drive home from work on Friday a hilarious incident ensued. At least, I thought it was hilarious ;)

I was driving on a two-lane ramp to go from a five-lane freeway to another five-lane freeway. It's a very busy ramp and a very curvy one at that. Well, I was in the left-hand lane and I watched as this little sedan jumped from the left-hand lane in front of me to the right-hand lane, effectively cutting off the guy in the next lane for no apparent reason. (It wasn't rush hour; there was no reason to cut him off.) OK. Whatever. And then a minute later he did the same thing to me. No apparent reason yet again. Apparently he just has driver's ADD. The best part about the whole thing was that right there sitting in his back window was a bright white, shiny book called "The Bible." I just find it so ironic when it's the people who feel the need to announce that they're good Christians are the one's who are doing the dirty deeds. Nothing against the Bible...it's the way people use it to forgive their rude behavior. As they say in Thailand, "Mai phen rai." Back to the road I go!

Motorcyclists Beware or Beware of Motorcyclists?

This is an interesting article regarding the electronic signs on our San Diego freeways. After a motorcyclist was hit last week (I couldn't find the news story at the time, but heard from an eye-witness that it was a bad crash), CalTrans decided to take a proactive approach to the situation. The problem is: are car drivers responsible for watching for motorcyclists who weave throughout traffic in between lanes, or is it illegal for motorcyclists to not follow the same laws of the road that car drivers do? Apparently there are mixed messages here in San Diego. What's your take?

Ironic Plating

Some lady was blocking the merge lane on a 5-lane freeway on Friday. Why she refused to move over to let us merge onto the freeway was beyond me, but either way she sat in the right hand lane while our merge lane turned into an exit only lane. The best part of her inconsiderateness...as she sped away off into the sunset we saw that her license plate read "Endear." Quality.