here to there
Moving meant taking my efficient commute that was 5 minutes on highway, 5 on surface street and 10 minutes of walking and shifted it to a half hour twisty stoplight heavy trip through neighborhoods I wouldn't walk through after dark.
I spend the first month driving to work a slightly different way each day sometimes finding streets that dead end in parking lots or make a sudden turn instead of intersecting with the major road I wanted. Most of them put me at a red light every single block.
There were some fun discoveries along the way. I made a 2 lane quick pull over for what turned out to be a good Caribbean restaurant playing some really good dub. I got kind of a cold shoulder at the counter until I asked for a takeout menu because I just moved.
I discovered a secret: The Bus!
In the limited context of getting from my house along Harford rd to the Harbor I hit public transportation jackpot. I now take a route from a block away from my house to 2 blocks from work. The longest I had to wait (with one very notable exception) has been 15 minutes. There have been times coming home from work that the bus schedule gets screwed up in my advantage and there are 5 buses in 10 minutes (no joke).
So instead of having to wait at stoplights I walk up the street listening to podcasts. I listen to stuff or play around with the iPod or read and wait a few minutes for the bus. I almost always get a seat and I hunker down to play with nanoStudio making some musical sketches and all too soon I have to save my work and get off the bus.
Only once did I have a too over crowded trip where I got punched in the leg for stepping on someone's foot in the isle when the bus lurched. My mean side was screaming "Close your damn legs woman" while my self preservation side just mumbled a sorry as I ducked out of striking distance.
This is all convenient, except for one night where I went to a show at the SideBar which is along the route. I looked over the schedule and thought I could have a fun night out with out worrying about the car, budgeting a taxi or coordinating a ride home. What I didn't see was that the line only runs to North Ave at closing time. Getting stuck at Harford and North at that hour was a no-go, so I took a couch nap at work until the line started running again and a nap at home before going out again.
Most baltimore public transportation is not this easy and convenient. The lightrail really screwed me over many times, MARC was better, but the problems when they had them were even larger. One of the things that is broken that I find funny is at least twice a week now the fare collector is broken. Usually even the worst bureaucracy is really good at taking money.
I spend the first month driving to work a slightly different way each day sometimes finding streets that dead end in parking lots or make a sudden turn instead of intersecting with the major road I wanted. Most of them put me at a red light every single block.
There were some fun discoveries along the way. I made a 2 lane quick pull over for what turned out to be a good Caribbean restaurant playing some really good dub. I got kind of a cold shoulder at the counter until I asked for a takeout menu because I just moved.
I discovered a secret: The Bus!
In the limited context of getting from my house along Harford rd to the Harbor I hit public transportation jackpot. I now take a route from a block away from my house to 2 blocks from work. The longest I had to wait (with one very notable exception) has been 15 minutes. There have been times coming home from work that the bus schedule gets screwed up in my advantage and there are 5 buses in 10 minutes (no joke).
So instead of having to wait at stoplights I walk up the street listening to podcasts. I listen to stuff or play around with the iPod or read and wait a few minutes for the bus. I almost always get a seat and I hunker down to play with nanoStudio making some musical sketches and all too soon I have to save my work and get off the bus.
Only once did I have a too over crowded trip where I got punched in the leg for stepping on someone's foot in the isle when the bus lurched. My mean side was screaming "Close your damn legs woman" while my self preservation side just mumbled a sorry as I ducked out of striking distance.
This is all convenient, except for one night where I went to a show at the SideBar which is along the route. I looked over the schedule and thought I could have a fun night out with out worrying about the car, budgeting a taxi or coordinating a ride home. What I didn't see was that the line only runs to North Ave at closing time. Getting stuck at Harford and North at that hour was a no-go, so I took a couch nap at work until the line started running again and a nap at home before going out again.
Most baltimore public transportation is not this easy and convenient. The lightrail really screwed me over many times, MARC was better, but the problems when they had them were even larger. One of the things that is broken that I find funny is at least twice a week now the fare collector is broken. Usually even the worst bureaucracy is really good at taking money.