But It Had Rained Last Night

Note to self - the highway will be backed up more if rain has fallen from the sky in the past 12 hours. Yeah, there was some fog but we have had fog earlier this week. I will have to remember to take some back roads to avoid the pile up. Besides that and hitting some red lights, the ride was ok. I am learning when to shift lanes and when to use other routes.

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Departure Time From Home: 6:50
Arrival Time at Work: 8:07
Weather as I call it: Cloudy, 50s
Shady Gas Price: $3.43
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 3
Feared for my life: Yes, had to jam on my brakes at the Rte. 3/Rte. 95 interchange.

Umbrella Time

Wow. The rain was coming down this morning when I got outside. I had to run and grab the umbrella from the car and run to take the garbage out to the curb. The rain got me pretty good. During the drive to the train station, I dried off pretty good. My heat worked to dry out my pants and shoes. Traffic wasn't that bad and the train was on time. At the Woburn stop, it didn't stop like it normally does. It had stopped a few car lengths past where it normally stops. People had to adjust on the platform.

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Departure Time From Home: 6:37
Departure Time From Train Station: 6:59
Arrival Time at North Station: 7:40
Weather as I call it: Rain then just wet
Shady Gas Price: $3.87
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 3
Feared for my life: No

Scotch N' Sirloin

The rain was coming down this morning and there were reports of flooding all around the North Shore. None of my commuting was affected. My walk from North Station to the office was nice.

I have noticed it in the past but this is the first time I have discussed on the ol' blog. There is an old sign for a restaurant called the Scotch N' Sirloin. I think it closed a while ago but the sign remains. If the sign could talk, would it speak of the bygone era of men eating steak and drinking scotch on a regular basis driving on the elevated Central Artery in Boston?



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Departure Time From Home: 6:34
Departure Time From Train Station 6:59
Arrival Time at North Station: 7:42
Weather as I call it: Rainy then not so much
Shady Gas Price: $3.45
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 3 - rain stinks
Feared for my life: No

Gloomy Rain Day

The guy on the TV was telling me to add 10 to 15 minutes to my commute. I just didn't believe him. There wasn't any rain coming down where I was. The statement didn't apply to me.

Roads were fast moving and I got to where I was going on time. Some gloom but no doom on the commuter

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Departure Time From Home: 6:32
Departure Time From Train Station 6:59
Arrival Time at North Station: 7:40
Weather as I call it: Cloudy - no rain - 40°F
Shady Gas Price: $3.65
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: Nah

Here Comes The Rain

Wow. Rain for the first time this summer. I don't remember when the last time I saw people with umbrellas at the train stop.

The summer has been sunny every single day it seems. From all the delays and issues we had with the rain in March, the last 3 months have been flood-free.

A groggy Monday morning to you all.


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Departure Time From Home: 6:34
Departure Time From Train Station 6:59
Arrival Time at North Station: 7:41
Weather as I call it: Rainy
Shady Gas Price: $2.65
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 3
Feared for my life: No

No Flooding

The rain continues to come down and thankfully I wasn't affected by flooding. On the way home, I may need to avoid Route 3 North because of the huge puddle near Drum Hill.

I picked up a Metro to read something quite mindless on the way to work. Did you know that Charlie Sheen's wife is working on an addiction to crack? Wow.


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Departure Time From Home: 6:50
Departure Time From Train Station 7:26
Arrival Time at North Station: 8:06
Weather as I call it: Rainy. High 30s
Shady Gas Price: $2.65
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: No

Soggy and Slushy

It snowed overnight where I live but it was raining pretty steadily when I woke up.

I clean off both cars before I left. I hope that the rain will wash away the rest of the snow on the driveway. I don't want to have to shovel when I get home tonight.

A woman on the train asked me to move over so she could sit. I did and she mutter something to me like "Great weather we're having." I coughed a "ya" back at her and that stopped the conversation.

I wish I could kick this cold.


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Departure Time From Home: 6:47
Departure Time From Train Station 7:26
Arrival Time at North Station: 8:05
Weather as I call it: Rainy, high 30s.
Shady Gas Price: Surprisingly still at $2.65
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 3
Feared for my life: No

Chickens and Falling Branches

Today on my drive to work I saw a yard full of chickens...yeah, chickens.

They must have gotten out of the pen. They were clucking on the front lawn...pretty close to a busy street. Their owner better wake up and see wha' happened.

I also had to avoid large tree branches on the road. The wind and rain had brought them down. People in front of me were freaking out.


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Departure Time: 7:09
Arrival Time: 7:42
Weather as I call it: Wind, rain, branches, chickens
Shady Gas Price: $2.59
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: No

At Some Point I Will

...need to get new tires. Like a friend of mine (at least on Facebook) once said, "God Bless Tires." Not sure what that means...but I think he wanted to give thanks that we had rubber wheels on the car after we rolled over a large pothole.

Weird.

But no matter what my friend wanted God to bless, I still need to get new tires since mine are bald and I won't survive the winter....if they are not replaced.

How's that for prophecies? Take that, Nostradamus!



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Departure Time: 7:14
Arrival Time: 7:45
Weather as I call it: Gloomy. Summer of '09 has it in spades
Shady Gas Price: $2.47
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: Nah

It Must Be Summer

I don't think I saw any school buses today. Looking at my trip duration, the shortness supports a lack of school buses.

It must be summer even if the weather says "sorta".

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Departure Time: 7:00
Arrival Time: 7:28
Weather as I call it: Gray, misty rain
Shady Gas Price: $2.61 - I think it went down.
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: No

Sometimes It's True

I have always liked the slippery when wet signs. The squiggly lines always looked cool. But I never really believed those signs...I always felt they exaggerated the peril.

Although the road I was driving on this morning didn't have a sign suggesting you should be careful when the roadway is wet, it should have.

I was behind a long line of cars...stopping frequently because of a school bus. When I braked, my rear wheels slid.

See! Slippery When Wet!

I had a scare that was about 1.3 seconds long...but enough to remind me that I need new tires.

Just add it to the list of things I need to buy.

Gas price is up again. Boo.

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Departure Time: 7:07
Arrival Time: 7:41
Weather as I call it: Light rain, wet roads, 40s
Shady Gas Price: $2.09
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 3
Feared for my life: Yeah.

Soft Cold Rain

Although I was seeing things yesterday, today I was just trying to get through the rain. I have a meeting in the 'Ham (Framingham that is) later on in the morning, but I dropped into the office before I went.

They say that the rain will continue into tomorrow. Might be some icy conditions. Perfect.

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Departure Time: 7:02
Arrival Time: 7:38
Weather as I call it: Rain, 40s
Shady Gas Price: $1.69
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: Nah

Slick Roads

Had a little bit of a close call this morning because of slick roads. Wet asphalt mixed with drenched fallen leaves makes for a slippery ride.

A few cars braked unexpectedly in front of me...causing me to slam on my own brakes.

I skidded a bit. It wasn't too terrifying, but enough to get my blood a pumpin'...

It reminded me to be ever vigilant on the roads. You gotta keep your head in the game.


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Departure Time: 7:08
Arrival Time: 7:44
Weather as I call it: Rainy and cool. 40s
Shady Gas Price: $2.75
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 3
Feared for my life: A little bit.

Into Each Commute A Little Rain Must Fall

How about a whole lotta rain? These downpours are pretty intense. I wasn't outside for a long time, but enough to see some flash flooding. People had to step away from the curb to avoid the huge splashes from the cars roaring by.

I am glad I wasn't driving in this stuff. The rain made people drive worse than they do when it snows.

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Bus Departure Time: 7:08
Bus Arrival Time: 7:23
T Departure Time: 7:25
T Arrival Time: 7:46
Weather as I call it: Rainy! Muggy!
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 3
Feared for my life: No

Musing on Eternal Damnation

Bus Departure Time: 7:01
Bus Arrival Time: 7:16
T Departure Time: 7:21
T Arrival Time: 7:42
Weather as I call it: Rainy. Sorta miserable.
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): I'm gonna give it a 4
Feared for my life: No

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Ah, standing in the rain...waiting for the bus...I think after I die and go to hell, my eternal punishment will be waiting outside in the rain for a bus that never comes.

Since I am still on earth, the bus did come eventually.

Have you noticed this occurrence too...or is it just me? I swear every time I get on an MBTA bus when it's raining, at least one window is open which lets rain get in and makes seats "unavailable" for passengers. With more people standing, the ride becomes worse with every stop. We survived, but I wish there were a policy for the driver to inspect the bus and close windows on a rainy day.

On the T, I moved a newspaper off a seat so a woman could sit. She thanked me. Maybe if I keep doing good deeds like that, I can work my way into purgatory.