Different Rules Out On Route 4

So a minivan pulls out into traffic. The Honda Accord takes offense and proceeds to pass him slowly across double yellow lines. Once the Accord is in front of the minivan, it slows down. The minivan reacts and flicks its high beams at the Accord. I was right behind this scene and I was hoping it would stop quickly, but intrigued to see if anything would happen. The minivan puts on its blinker to turn right, which I cheer because it takes him out of the conflict with the Accord and I will be rid of him too. As it comes to the street, the minivan pauses and lets the three cars who were waiting to exit that street out onto Route 4. I was a bit annoyed by the kind gesture but it was coming from a minivan who pulled a risky move to pull into traffic. I guess it wanted to punish me too.

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Departure Time From Home: 6:21
Arrival Time at Work: 7:17
Weather as I call it: Cloudy, some fog, 50s
Shady Gas Price: $3.39
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 4
Feared for my life: No

Are You Lost or Unaware

I had to beep my horn twice today. There were a few people who were looking at maps (yeah, the ones that are made of paper and you have to unfold to read them) at red lights that continued to look at maps when the lights turned green. I hate doing that but I hate sitting through a light cycle more. They reacted quick enough to get me through the intersection but man, get a GPS already.

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Departure Time From Home: 6:48
Arrival Time at Work: 7:40
Weather as I call it: Sunny, cool, 50s
Shady Gas Price: $3.65
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 3
Feared for my life: No

It's Been A Fun Ride

I am thinking of bringing this blog to a close. It's been a while since I have felt compelled to type up a report of my latest trip. My route is fairly incident free and character free. Outside of reporting on the weather and the gas price, I don't really have much that is worth my commentary. I probably jinxed it. Now it's going to be crazy/awful/fascinating and I will be sucked back into it. I don't think that would be the most horrible thing ever to happen, for sure. So, commute well. Be well. The blog's not dead but it's not alive.

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Departure Time From Home: 6:42
Arrival Time at Work: 7:28
Weather as I call it: Rainy
Shady Gas Price: $3.65
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: No

You're Driving a Porsche Convertable

Earlier this week, there was a woman driving a black Porsche convertable. I had just voted and I was leaving the school parking lot and somehow I got right behind her as she left the lot as well. She drove sooooooooooo slowly. I started to guess that she didn't own the car. She was acting as if any wrong move would be a catastrophe. She made me miss green lights. She added more time to my drive. She finally turned left and I went straight. I hope she made it to her destination ok.

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Departure Time From Home: 6:50
Arrival Time at Work: 7:35
Weather as I call it: Foggy, cloudy, drizzling
Shady Gas Price: $3.45
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: No

Drive Like a Cullen

I saw a bumper sticker today that had a message for me. "I Drive Like a Cullen". I unfortunately knew that was a reference to the Twilight series, but I had no idea what it meant. I mean, I could make up something like, "So I guess you drive like a lame vampire?" but I didn't want to give it too much thought. Bumper stickers are silly. I think that today is the last day of school for the kids. I think that means school buses won't be getting in the way until September.

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Departure Time From Home: 6:48
Arrival Time at Work: 7:50
Weather as I call it: Hazy sun 70s
Shady Gas Price: $3.49
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: Nah

Not On Rainy Fridays

Usually my drive to work on Fridays is a breeze. On rainy Fridays, not so much. Not that the commute was overly annoying or troublesome, it was just slower than normal. I did almost hit a car when changing lanes on the highway. I misjudged how quick the car in front of me was stopping. As I moved to the next lane over to the left, I got a little close to the car's rear bumper. No harm and no foul as they say. No spy guy. I tend not to see him on Fridays anyway since I pass by his bus stop before he's typically out there. On this day, he was probably hiding from the rain.

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Departure Time From Home: 6:42
Arrival Time at Work: 7:38
Weather as I call it: Rainy
Shady Gas Price: $3.47
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 3
Feared for my life: No - but I did jolt myself a bit when I realized I almost hit someone.

Hot Weather - Keeps The Leather

Spy guy still rocks the leather jacket in the hot weather.  He doesn't care about 90 degree temperatures. He is wearing the leather.  He doesn't care about high humidity.  He's wearing the leather.

Short week - have a good time everyone.

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Departure Time From Home: 6:47
Arrival Time at Work: 7:33
Weather as I call it: Sunny, hazy, humid, 60s
Shady Gas Price: $3.45
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: No

Spy Games

So somewhere in Waltham, along my commute to work, there is this guy who I see and have been seeing everyday standing on the sidewalk. He is probably waiting for the bus or something, I don't know. He is always wearing a vintage leather jacket, some old shoes, and a grumpy expression. He seems tall - over six feet in height and his hair is starting to gray. He has an Eastern European look to him. He may be a spy from the Cold War. Today we locked eyes for a few moments. I had to look away. I didn't want him reading my mind. Spy stuff, you know. I guess we'll be seeing more of each other.

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Departure Time From Home: 6:48
Arrival Time at Work: 7:53
Weather as I call it: Cloudy, 50s
Shady Gas Price: $3.45
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: No

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.

Blinkers On

Took the backroads to get on the highway a little further south than usual. I saw an accident or at least the aftermath of an accident. It looked like they were really bummed but what they should have done was gotten out of the intersection not just stayed in the middle of the street with their blinkers on.

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Departure Time From Home: 6:47
Arrival Time at Work: 7:56
Weather as I call it: Sunny, 40s
Shady Gas Price: $3.43
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: No

Raccoon Massacre

I left early to drop off something at my cousin's house. There were many dead raccoons by the side of the road. It was intense. What is up with that? Anyway, here is the start of week 2.

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Departure Time From Home: 6:17
Arrival Time at Work: 7:20
Weather as I call it: Foggy, then sunny
Shady Gas Price: $3.43
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: No

Well Fridays Are Lighter

I had a sense that Fridays would move faster on the road than other days. Today was much better than Monday. Tuesday was the worse. Wednesday was a little better and yesterday was a little better than that. All the weather conditions were the same for each of the days. I did leave at different times but similar enough. Today was great. I wish every day was Friday.

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Departure Time From Home: 6:48
Arrival Time at Work: 7:38
Weather as I call it: Sunny, high 30s
Shady Gas Price: $3.43
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 1
Feared for my life: No

10 Minutes

I left 10 minutes earlier and it made a world of difference. Traffic was just a bit lighter and my trip didn't take as long as it did on Tuesday. I am getting the feeling that this trip will be frustrating as long as I work there or until the office moves. Beautiful weather we are having.

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Departure Time From Home: 6:50
Arrival Time at Work: 7:53
Weather as I call it: Sunny. 40s
Shady Gas Price: $3.43
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: No

Getting Better Getting Worse

Well, I voted in the morning and got on the highway earlier than I did yesterday. The volume on the road was higher than yesterday so there was more stop and go than yesterday. It took a few minutes more than yesterday. I think that I am learning the way better but with more cars, there was more time on the road.

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Departure Time From Home:6:50
Arrival Time at Work: 8:12
Weather as I call it: Sunny, 40s again
Shady Gas Price: $3.43
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: No

Driving to Work Again

All right. Making the blog relevant to its name again. Drove all the way to work thanks to my GPS and rusty driving skills. So far so good. I didn't know how long it would take me to get there but I like the hour long commute. I will take it. More to come. Just gotta keep taking notes and see if I can get the time down more.

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Departure Time From Home: 7:08
Arrival Time at Work: 8:05
Weather as I call it: Sunny, high 40s
Shady Gas Price: $3.43
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: Nope

Everything Changes Again Monday

I drove into Alewife and took the red line into Boston today - Alewife to DTX - no big deal. I got a little breakfast as a last reminder that I won't have the same grub in the new work neighborhood. So, the table below is incomplete and the new table get published on Monday. SEE YA!

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Departure Time From Home: 6:00
Departure Time From Train Station: N/A
Arrival Time at North Station: N/A
Weather as I call it: Sunny, 40s
Shady Gas Price: $3.46
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 1
Feared for my life: Nope

Last Day On The Commuter Rail For Now

I took a trip on the commuter rail and it will be the last time I do that for a while. Tomorrow I am going to take the red line from Alewife for reasons that I don't want to share with you but I needed to mention it because it is the reason that today will be the last day I take the commuter rail for a while. I was smiling. Everyone else was looking and feeling and acting as they normally do but me - I was smiling. I was happy. See you next time train. I am sure we'll meet again.

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Departure Time From Home: 6:31
Departure Time From Train Station: 6:59
Arrival Time at North Station: 7:41
Weather as I call it: Sunny, 50s
Shady Gas Price: $3.46
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 1
Feared for my life: No

Remember The Characters

It's crazy to think that my train rides are not going to happen next week. Not much to report on the commute today. I sat in a two seater and had a nice person sit next to me. No weirdness. I kept to my side - she kept to hers. I have begun to recall all the characters I used to see on this commute. I haven't seen the Greeter all this year. I wish all the characters the best.

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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, some wind
Shady Gas Price: $3.46
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: Nope

Three Person Seats

When I take a seat with someone else already sitting in a three person seat, I sit on the opposite side. They sit next to the window, and I sit near the aisle. I keep the space between us. When someone else wants to sit down, I slide over. I don't get up and then take the "aisle seat" again. I see why people do it, but it's a selfish move (they keep the opportunity to be the first one out of the seat when we get to North Station) and it just takes up time. There's a good 10 seconds of getting up and shuffling with the person who wants to sit down while everyone standing in the aisle waits until everyone is seated. Just slide over like I do. Yeah, you'll probably creep out the person who is in the window seat but that's their issue. Boston Strong, baby. Love your neighbor. Get used to sharing some social space.

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Departure Time From Home: 6:33
Departure Time From Train Station: 6:59
Arrival Time at North Station: 7:41
Weather as I call it: Cloudy, misty when I got to Boston. 40s
Shady Gas Price: $3.46
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: No

Awkward Time

With my last week of this current job just started, there are some things I will not miss on the train. I not miss that awkward moment of figuring out who is going to leave the train first - you or the person across from you. It happened today and I think the person across from me thought I was going to let them go first but I didn't - I went first. I apologize for not reading the social signals. I apologize for moving right behind the person right next to me, who got up before me, and was aggressive. I am sorry. Let's put it this way - I probably won't see you again after this week.

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Departure Time From Home: 6:55
Departure Time From Train Station: 7:26
Arrival Time at North Station: 8:11
Weather as I call it: Sunny, cool, high 30s
Shady Gas Price: $3.46
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 3
Feared for my life: No