Tag: traffic

Random Monday Thoughts

Here are a couple of random thoughts for a pre-work Monday morning.

The drive from Methuen to Canton today took less than an hour. We are firmly in the summer traffic lull. Two weeks from now cities and towns will be starting up their school years and the 55 minute drive I made today will take 90+ minutes. I know how bad it gets, but seeing how good it can be (not that 55 minutes is really that good) just makes September through June that much worse.

I indirectly gave my step kids the weirdest compliment they are ever likely to get. I was in my room getting dressed and that cat jumped onto the bed where I was sitting and got all affectionate. I tend to baby talk to the cat when I am petting her. I was saying goofy things about how the kitty loved her mummy and her big sister and her big brother. Then I said that kitty’s sister and brother love her too because they have good taste in kitties.

I told the cat that the kids have good taste in kitties. What the hell is wrong with my brain? How did that sentence even form in my head? Good taste in kitties? Please!

I played a lot of guitar this weekend. On Friday I finished (except for vocals) one song and started another. On Saturday I finished two songs (except for vocals) and started another. On Sunday I started four songs. That’s nine songs worth of guitars recorded. I was not physically prepared for so much playing and today my finger tips are literally on fire. Oh the pain!

Traffic Turkey

I was out of the house before 7:30 this morning. (I don’t remember exactly when I left. It was probably closer to 7:20)

I got to my desk at work at 9:32.

Two hours. It took me two hours to drive 43 miles.

Why?

There were no accidents, no break downs, no construction. It was raining a little That must be why I averaged about 20 miles per hour for the whole drive. Of course. Drizzle.

At least I got to see some turkeys in the back yard this morning.

turkey - dusklight

Something to Worry About?

There is something that seems to be happening that has me worried about things and stuff.

Yesterday and today, and a couple of days last week, the traffic in the morning has been… Well… Good. Not perfect, but a 60 minute drive is tons better than a 90 minute drive, right?

Well sure, but… When is the luck going to run out? When does the other shoe drop? This can’t be normal, can it?

I’m definitely worried.

Snow Recap

Last night when I left work at 5:30pm it was snowing like crazy.  There were a few inches on my car and in the time it took me to brush it off it was already nearly covered again.  The highway going North was slow.  When I reached the 128/Mass Pike junction it was crawling.  Five miles per hour, tops.  By the time you got through Waltham, MA it started to ease up.  There were actual bare patches on the pavement.  When I merged onto route 93 it slowed down again, but at worst it was around 15 mph.  Once you reached Wilmington, MA the road was about 75% snow-free and the speed picked up to about 40-45. 

This morning, after the winter storm warnings and end of the world forecasts, I expected to look out the window and see a foot of snow.  I also expected that Jen and I would be working from home today.  Not quite.  What I actually saw was the same mostly bare driveway I pulled into last night at 8:00pm.  We didn’t get anything at all.  I checked the news and saw that to the South of our home the storm dumped a lot of snow.  Over a foot in some places.  I figured up North in the Merrimack Valley the highways would be okay, but at some point between home and work I’d get stuck in some serious snow traffic.

Not even close.  I left the house at a little before 7:00am, stopped for gas, and then hit the road.  The CRV was out of washer fluid so I had to stop once to clean off the windshield.  I stopped at the rest area on 128 South that is just before route 9.  Have you ever driven a Honda CRV?  Last night Jen tried to add some washer fluid but couldn’t find the hood release.  I looked around for it this morning before I left, but I was still expecting a two hour drive so I didn’t look long.  While I was at the rest stop I found the latch.  It is the tiniest little thing and it is located in the weirdest, most illogical place.  I probably spent 10 minutes trying to figure it out.  In the end, the entire drive (including the rest stop) took slightly less than one hour. 

The forecasts yesterday were calling for my neighborhood to get hit with as much as 8 to 12 inches of snow.  We ended up getting a dusting.  With apologies to folks living on Cape Cod (who got bombarded with snow overnight), this is exactly the kind of weather forecast screw up that I like.  If you folks are going to get it seriously wrong, the very least you could do is get it wrong in a way that benefits us.  Not like last weekend when we got snow accumulation when none was predicted.  That screw up sucked.  Today’s screw up is fine with me.

Another Reason

This posts combines two of the things I bitch and moan about the most. Traffic and Winter.

Here’s another reason to freakin’ hate snow. 43 mile drive home from work tonight… 2:15. Two hours and fifteen minutes. Bite me, mother nature.

Slow Motion

I left work on time today.  I was in the car, pulling out of my parking spot at 5:40.  I drove to my parents’ house 33.1 miles away.

I got to their house at 7:06.  I think I was stuck in traffic for 30 of the 33 miles.  I know it’s a long weekend and all, but give me a break!