Sunday, February 20, 2011

Daily Commute

I live .96 mi away from work.  In SC, I lived 6.23 mi away from work.  You would think that would mean I could get to work faster here than I did there.  No such luck.  In SC, I drove to work.  I think on average I could count on going driveway to parking lot in 12-15 minutes.  20 if I stopped at Starbucks.  Here, I either walk, take a bus, or take a cab.  Driving would be pretty laughable considering I would spend about 30 minutes looking for a parking space once I got to work and it would likely be at least .96 mi away. :)

There are benefits to my current commuting process.  2 mi per day walking, at a pace of 17 min per mile, burns about 245 calories.  Also, there is the scenery to consider.  This is the largest part of my route:
Each day, I pass a lot of runners, panhandlers, and dog-walkers.  Worse, I see restaurants and coffee shops, calling to me!  Even worse than that, bookstores and music stores, clothing resale shops, upscale accessories stores - all of them saying "you know we have things you want!"

So some times, I choose to avoid all those temptations...and the exercise...and the cold weather, and I take a bus.
And then I usually feel guilty about the fact that I just missed burning those calories.  But not that guilty, because with all that time I saved taking the bus, I still have time to stop at Starbucks.  Or Jamba Juice.  Or Yoberri.  Or Red Mango.  So much for avoiding temptation! :)

Either way, walking or bussing, I get to enjoy myself.  Along with the soundtrack for the day on the iPod, my commute sets me up for a bustling day full of interesting sights and sounds.  I love it here.

No comments:

Post a Comment