Woke up before my alarm yesterday so turned it off before it sounded and, of course, forgot to turn it back on last night—resulting in me oversleeping today. Woke up this morning at about the time I usually leave the house and had a mad scramble getting ready for work. I was actually still buttoning my shirt and putting on my second shoe as I dashed out the door.
Speeding my way to 400, I debated whether I should take MARTA in (which would make me late) or drive myself in (which I figured would probably get me in on time). My decision making abilities are not at their best before I’ve had my coffee, so after a not-small amount of waffling and dithering, I decided to take my car.
Wow.
I switched my hours to a 4×10 workweek after the ’09 legislative session adjourned, so I set out pretty early in the morning. Early enough that the worst Atlanta traffic congestion hasn’t started yet.
I didn’t arrive at work on time; I was early. As in 15 minutes early. (And actually, my co-editors were all late, so it’s not like they would’ve cared or noticed if I’d been late anyway. I mentioned my poor decision making abilities sans coffee, right?)
Makes me wonder whether I should drive to work instead of taking the train during the non-session times of the year. Except I am going to hit Atlanta’s rush hour traffic going home, not to mention the increased fuel expense, vehicle wear, and carbon footprint yadda ya that driving would mean. And I do get work done on my laptop on the train. So I suspect I’ll keep taking MARTA. But it does make me raise an eyebrow, again, at how awful Atlanta’s traffic situation is. A drive that ought to take no more than 30 minutes regularly becomes a grueling hour+ long ordeal because of it. Hmph.
Also, I must remember NOT to take the train home and leave my car at work.
One thing we noticed when we came out here from Cali was how terrible the bus situation is out here. In Cali, a bus stop was within a 5-10 min walk in almost any direction (the furthest stop was about a 20 min walk) and buses passed through in 15-30 minute intervals depending on the route. Out here, the closest stop is an HOUR’S walk and, as far as I can tell, buses are never closer than 30 minutes. Can’t help clear up the traffic with scheduling and stop placement like that!
Even though it took longer, I took public transportation while working at Sony. About 45 coming to work and an hour going home, 15 minutes of which was waiting for a connection. It took me only about 20 to 25 minutes to drive it. On the other hand, the drive home could take an hour if traffic was bad.
Over all it was worth it. Sony was VERY generous and paid for a monthly pass, so it cost me less to take public transportation.
Flex time is too cool. Leaves 3 days for writing!!