First, it is important to say that I really like my job. I get to work for two organizations supporting the Masorti/Conservative Movement in Israel. It is something about which I am passionate, and I get to help make a difference. That said, I loved the time when I did not work. I enjoyed being a stay-at-home parent and homemaker. I felt like my house was in order, and I was more involved at my kids' schools. I miss that.
What I do not like about working is commuting. I would be a terrible work-from-home employee. It's okay for a one-off, but on a regular basis I would see the dishes that needed to be put away or the laudry that needing washing. It's a good thing that I work in an office where my major distractions are other projects on which I could be working.
That said, why does commuting have to be so awful. It's not about the distance or time. I have commutes that took over an hour, but were fine. I would take public transit. On the train/bus I would read the paper or nap. I would people-watch.
My current commute is a 7-10 minute drive from my house. I am lucky that way. There is little time that needs to be taken from the rest of life to get to the office. On the other hand, when I do take public transit the commute more than doubles in length. Some of thi is due to the fact that I have to take two busses to replace my 10 minute drive. But what drives me crazy are days like today when the commute took me an hour. Yes, my 10 minute drive became an hour on the bus.
Still gimpy from foot surgey, I am walking slower. As slow as I am, it could not have added much to my two block walk. unfortunately, I did miss a bus. The next came pretty quickly. There was no seat (to be expected), and the start/stop jerkiness of the drive did little to help my foot. I arrived at Finch Avenue to change busses. After much too long a wait, a bus arrived. It was so full the crowd that had gathered could not hope to to get on. A second bus arrived. The same issue. Finally, a third bus approached the bus stop. It was that bus I boarded, thankfully getting a seat. Of course the bus stopped behind two others at my stop, adding three bus lengths to my walk. Yes, I know that sounds whiney, but after a walk to the bus stop, standing on the first bus, and waiting for the bus to arrive, I was sore and unhappy.
I am thankfully sitting at my desk with my foot slightly elvated, hoping the throbbing will stop.
I have to totally agree with you. I hate the commute too. By car my commute can be anywhere between 20 minutes on a good day to over 2 hours should it happen to snow or there is an accident. By the time I did that 2 hours commute I could have been in downtown Toronto instead in Thornhill. But when I was forced to take the Viva bus, my commute more than doubled plus there was a very long and not very safe walk to the house. I was forced to take the Viva and the YRT last year during the strike. I never knew if a bus would actually come to the depot after having to wait for over 45 minutes (a few time the bus couldn't cross the picket line and never came and I had to call my Dad at 6:30 a.m. to come and get me to take me to work). I even did a web show about how bad the commute is by transit in York Region. Thankfully I am once again able to drive my car and leave the bus as an option on a bad weather day.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment Debbie. When I lived in NYC or outside Boston I took public transit all the time with never a thought. When we visit our parents in NJ or near DC we still use transit. Here it makes me crazy that I have to plan 2-3 times the travel time to do so, and I often cannot get close to my destination. I've heard Viva is even worse.
ReplyDeleteThe kids do take transit, but have often been stymied by short turn or very late busses. On days they have to take the bus I call school to let them know that, although they left a hour or more to get to school, they will be late.
This is why I drive my car.
TTC stands for take the car!
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