commuting

Commuting is the worst. It is really the worst thing ever. There is nothing more ideal than rolling out of bed, forcing some cereal into your mouth and then getting straight to work. The worst thing is commuting.

Commuting requires you to be simultaneously ahead of schedule and behind schedule. You have to get up extra early in order to arrive at the bus/train stop/station early. Once you board your mass transit vehicle of choice, you quickly scan the vehicle for the best seat. For me, it's the one by the emergency exit because let's face it, if there's an emergency I want to be able to exit immediately. There's also slightly more head room so I can stand up to my full height when I'm getting ready to get off the bus.



More often than not, you will get stuck in some sort of traffic jam or delay. At that point, you start cursing yourself for not waking up even earlier because you knew this sort of thing would happen. You start checking the time on your phone more often than absolutely necessary, starting to panic that you're going to be late. You're going to be late even though you got up really early just so you'd be early. It's awful - a constant struggle against time.

The way home is equally horrid. This time there's a mass of people rushing home so you're guaranteed to get stuck sitting next to some enormous or smelly person. Some people even opt for standing room only because they are that desperate to get home.

So what do I do on my commute? Sometimes I read. For a while I was reading a book about startups on my phone. Then I started getting nauseous, so I stopped reading on my phone. Then I listened to music for a week and took naps instead of doing anything remotely productive. Sometimes I also just stared out the window, watching the urban wasteland roll by.

Last week, I started reading Mindy Kaling's new book in actual book form. It's really good so I didn't mind reading. I think having the actual, physical book in my hands also helped.

And the other day, I saw this B.A. commuting home on the bus with me. There he was, across the aisle - a true genius who had mastered the art of commuting.

Look at that sweet touch pad attached to the back of the seat in front of him! He can watch his movie in comfort and style. That case is so slick. I've got to get me one of these cases.

Once I start making money, I am all over that scene. Until then, I guess I will keep reading and/or listening to music and staring out the window, thinking...and thinking some more.