ah, the commute - such an enriching way to spend, oh, nearly 500 hours a year...
i was born into commuting, introduced to it at an early age. my mom used to take my sister and i on shopping excursions via the bus and the path train. i have been all too familiar with fares, passengers and crowds all my life. commuting was a fact of life - it wasn't something i begrudged.
it wasn't until my mid twenties that i grew frustrated with the ritual. feeling so close to strangers on a daily basis, yet so lonely at the same time. chasing down buses and trains to save myself from having to wait for the next ones (an extra 5 minutes, sometimes). balancing the guilt vs. entitlement on how to spend my time - sleeping, playing games, reading, staring out into space, listening to podcasts?
i have come to accept the fact that my current commute is an hour at best. in the morning i don't mind so much. i'm a morning person, and i thoroughly enjoy that hour to ease into the day, from the comfort of a cushioned seat in a vehicle that travels above ground. i can breathe in the sunshine and catch priceless views of the NYC skyline. coming home however, has been oh so amusing. the stampede of business folk headed to the bus depot, dodging tourists and so rudely walking in the bike lane. the breadlines streaming throughout the station - nearly 200 people in front of me.
i was finding that my bus commute home was inching towards the 90 minute mark. 90 minutes is a terrifying prospect. so i decided to change things up and start taking a different route home - that involves a transfer, more stairs, but saves me at least twenty minutes. (that's twenty more minutes with my baby, come 2013!) however today as i set my internal stopwatch (i savor each minute that i save) my train experienced major delays. i would say i lost about 20 minutes at least, and much of that time was spent stalled at various stations along the way.
it stunned me that everyone was so calm. there was no angst in the air. the conductor kept us updated, and maybe i was projecting my comfort at a coveted seat and my updated NYT app - but i was so pleasantly comforted by the lack of dissonance in the air. maybe we new yorkers are used to this type of inconvenience, but we aren't all steaming bottles of rage. signs of humanity.
Monday, October 15, 2012
Sunday, October 14, 2012
a drone's escape
i never allow myself a whole week off of work, with two weekends. i think i prefer having the short weeks rather than going away and then cold turkey-ing it into a cold harsh 5-day reality. honestly, i'm terrified of the coming week. i have access to email and plan to check it today, to stave off any shock and anxiety that could overwhelm my first day back.
on my vacation i barely thought about work. about the people, the place, the projects. barely. i barely thought about anything except the moment, and our meals, and the baby. i spent a lot of time just putting my hand on the belly and feeling the baby kick. i did some yoga, some floating, some beach walking. i rested a lot. i read and wrote. it was blissful.
i found myself more in love with our favorite breakfast spot, because it re-inspired the love of healthful food that i felt in pdx. each day i had oatmeal and an almond milk smoothie, made with love. i felt so invigorated and ready to soak in sunshine for the following few hours. our routine was lovely. i'd wake, go to the balcony to read and drink water, we'd go get breakfast, then head to the beach. i would sunbathe for a while and read, and write. and then after digesting i would do some yoga, wade a bit, and take my walk on the beach. after a few hours of this we would retreat to the pool bar for refreshments, me with my virgin pina colada. we would think about lunch, sometimes go elsewhere. the afternoon was sort of up in the air - we lounged, we waited out the rain, returned to the pool, used the internet. we would relax a bit in the late afternoon and then plan our dinner excursion. after dinner we'd return to the hotel and watch playoff baseball.
i need to load up on bananas and replenish the body. it's harder to stay healthy here due to the mediocre produce, lack of time, and incessant pang of work. i let my body breathe for a good 11 days because my family and i truly needed some severe meditative healing. it was lovely.
on my vacation i barely thought about work. about the people, the place, the projects. barely. i barely thought about anything except the moment, and our meals, and the baby. i spent a lot of time just putting my hand on the belly and feeling the baby kick. i did some yoga, some floating, some beach walking. i rested a lot. i read and wrote. it was blissful.
i found myself more in love with our favorite breakfast spot, because it re-inspired the love of healthful food that i felt in pdx. each day i had oatmeal and an almond milk smoothie, made with love. i felt so invigorated and ready to soak in sunshine for the following few hours. our routine was lovely. i'd wake, go to the balcony to read and drink water, we'd go get breakfast, then head to the beach. i would sunbathe for a while and read, and write. and then after digesting i would do some yoga, wade a bit, and take my walk on the beach. after a few hours of this we would retreat to the pool bar for refreshments, me with my virgin pina colada. we would think about lunch, sometimes go elsewhere. the afternoon was sort of up in the air - we lounged, we waited out the rain, returned to the pool, used the internet. we would relax a bit in the late afternoon and then plan our dinner excursion. after dinner we'd return to the hotel and watch playoff baseball.
i need to load up on bananas and replenish the body. it's harder to stay healthy here due to the mediocre produce, lack of time, and incessant pang of work. i let my body breathe for a good 11 days because my family and i truly needed some severe meditative healing. it was lovely.
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