Skip to main content

Yo ho, yo ho, a commuter's life for me

When I lived in the Chicago area, I would walk a mile to a train that would drop me 1 mile from my office. Such as it was, I was getting daily exercise and a mostly relaxing ride into work each day. Missing a train wasn't such a bad thing as the longest I'd ever have to wait for a train was 1 hour, and during peak times, about 20 minutes. I enjoyed unlimited commutes for about $120 per month.

When I moved to Atlanta, I knew I would be driving. But I had no idea just how much. Out of strange curiosity in mid-January, I began keeping track of my mileage. My daily commute is about 36.9 miles each way. This translates into 90 minutes in the morning and about 75 minutes in the evening.

Here's a table of my 2006 Hyundai Sonata's performance to date.


For those keeping score, I am paying more to drive into work. Add in what I pay for parking, and it's close to double. There is a spectacular trade-off however. Back in Chicago, what I spend on my mortgage today got us a two bedroom apartment in a safe but not so nice area. We lived above two people who I'm sure preferred we did not and made certain we were aware of their distaste.

So, now audiobooks and NPR have become two of my favorite things about weekdays. This morning my commute took 2 hours and I thought to myself, "I should blog about this new long-distance commuter lifestyle of mine."

I have, to me at least, some fantastic thoughts on the road. I have "read" some fantastic books and listened to some wonderful music. I would like this blog to reflect where I am in life as a commuter dad.


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Human Resources: Featured Sci-Fi on Wattpad

Some exciting news since I've last posted anything. My novel, Human Resources , has been a fe atured science fiction story on Wattpad! It's hard to believe it's been over 10 years since I wrote the story, and almost 11 since I self-published it - starting with iUniverse in October 2015. It's also hard to believe, given my career choices, that I've not done a whole lot to market the book outside of social media and word of mouth but I think I'll save that energy for my next burst of creativity. Anyway, please check out the book at the link above and let me know your thoughts either here or in the comments on Wattpad!
Post a Comment
Read more

Human Resources: Coming to Your E-Reader!

Over the next 11 weeks I will be releasing my novel, Human Resources , on Wattpad. I wrote Human Resources in between graduating with my BA, enrolling in graduate school and getting my first post-college job. It's meant to be a funny, absurdly cynical look at the future world of business and evolving technology and draws from my influences of Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett and George Orwell. Set your reminders and check back for fresh content on or around the schedule below! March 31, 2014 April 07, 2014 April 14, 2014 April 21, 2014 April 28, 2014 May 05, 2014 May 12, 2014 May 19, 2014 May 26, 2014 June 02, 2014 Happy reading and let me know what you think!
Post a Comment
Read more

Reflections on Writing

Why do I write? I have come back to this question many times and at different points in my life. As a young child I wrote because I enjoyed stories and, for whatever reason, not everything that was read or told to me was satisfactory. I also wrote because my Dad was a great storyteller and would tell me how much he loved writing. That nugget would later guide the purpose behind my writing for many years. As a teen I wrote because I needed an outlet. My Dad was constantly sick, having suffered a series of heart attacks and eventually going on peritoneal dialysis to deal with his declining body. I lost him when he was 64 and I was 18. Poetry and short fiction became a means of expressing my sadness, anger, despair and increasing cynicism. As a young adult I wrote to express the aforementioned feelings combined with an increasing sense of loneliness and lack of direction.  After I graduated college with my BA in Business, I sat down to write my debut novel, Human Resourc...
Post a Comment
Read more