Commuting

Today, I was reminded of why I wanted to live close to work and not have a long commute.

Traveling from where my parents live to midtown can take anywhere from an hour to over 2 hours, depending on the time of day, traffic, and mode of transportation. For example, when I drove our new Ikea furniture in, it didn't take that long. But today (and last Monday), taking the bus, it took at least 2 hours to get in.

Today was a mess. First, I hadn't checked the schedule before leaving, so I didn't know that the x17 had stopped running at 3 pm and the x1 only ran once per hour after 5 pm. (And after 5 pm, I think there are only 2 express bus lines even running into the city. I had always thought there would be more, but apparently not.) So, arriving at the bus terminal at 5:10, we were stuck there. (Note: I know that I was not traveling at "rush hour" times into the city, but this is just a general gripe about how long the transportation takes.) Yes, I know this was my own stupidity, but why do they run so few buses?

Second, around 5:15, a bus driver from one of the express lines, who had just come out of the terminal office, told us that the next bus into the city would be in 8 minutes. We were confused since that wasn't right according to the schedule, so we doublechecked but he said it would be 8 minutes. As a result, we stayed at the terminal to wait for the bus instead of taking a bus to the train that would take us to the ferry that would go to the subway. He was wrong. The bus still wasn't coming until 6. We could have been almost to the ferry by the time the next bus left the terminal. This wasn't my own stupidity. I relied on his time estimate!

Third, our bus broke down. The steering went out in the front or something, and they had to send a replacement bus. It took so long that I thought either the next bus (the next hour!) would come or my dad would get to the location first, in which case we were just going to ditch the bus and go in the car in the morning. It also took so long that the ladies going to the play started whining to the bus driver as if it were his fault that the bus broke and nothing was happening, Alvin and I started doing crossword puzzles from old New York magazines, and all I could think about was how much I wished we were allowed off the bus to get White Castle.

We left for the bus terminal at 5. We got to the door of the apartment at 8:30. This is why, when it is not inbound rush hour, I used to tell people they needed to give me at least a day's notice if they wanted to meet up in the city so I could arrange my schedule. It wasn't being demanding - it's just not feasible to get in on short notice! Especially when, on top of all the public transportation, it's necessary to drive or take a decent walk to get to the public transportation.

3.5 hours!

Granted, today was especially bad because of the unexpected breakdown. Also, it's Olympus Fashion Week and the UN people are all here creating traffic jams. (We saw some Rwanda van right before we got off the bus.) But still... it's been this bad without all of that stuff happening. I've sat on buses on Friday nights trying to get back to SI, and it's taken 3 hours. You really start to go stircrazy, and sometimes you just want out of the bus right in the middle of the highway because you're too restless to sit in your seat anymore. At that point, you really have to retreat into your iPod and try to go to sleep. I'm getting irritated thinking about the traffic!

Anyhow, people at work last summer said that, because of the long SI commutes, I'd probably end up having one of the shortest commutes once I started working. I had a feeling they would be right, mostly because I can't stand being stuck on a bus. So I'm in walking distance of work. And that's how I wanted it. I really didn't want to be stuck for 2 hours in an uncomfortable seat listening to people drone on about how they didn't understand Phantom of the Opera on Broadway and it didn't make sense until they saw the movie.

So much unpacking still to do that it makes me want to scream. I'm once again wishing for that magic wand that will put everything away. Nice and neat and organized.