Phoenix has officially leapt into the new millennium. We now have a light rail system! Over the past 3 years or so, as we dealt with ugly construction zones and ever-changing lane closures, I fantasized about how cool it would be to "take the train" into work. They said it would open in December 2008. Yeah, right, nothing major like this ever opens on time without a major problem.
Well, apparently hell has frozen over. Not only did it open on time, there haven't been any crazy accidents yet, and oh wait, what was that? The Arizona Cardinals are playing in the Super Bowl? Yes, hell has frozen over. Suspicion confirmed.
But I digress. Now that Mike's schedule has returned to some semblance of normalcy, I only need to drop Katy off in the mornings for 3 weekdays instead of 5. So two days a week, I can actually try to take public transportation to work and home again.
We've had a bus system for longer than I've lived here, so that is nothing new. The problem with me taking the bus to work is that I have to transfer at least once, and that adds up. The stops are so frequent that it takes over an hour to get to work. If I drive to work, I can get there in about 20-40 minutes, depending on traffic.
Enter the METRO, our new train system. I can Park & Ride or take a bus to connect with the rail. If I Park & Ride, I drive a couple of miles out of my way and end up at a train station a little further than I should need to be. But once I get back to the station, I can go home in my car immediately. If I take a bus, I have to be subject to the whims of the bus drivers, who aren't that great at keeping to their schedule. During peak times, the trains come every ten minutes. But my bus isn't as frequent, even during peak times.
The whole deal ends up taking about an hour if I get to the bus stop at a good time. Considering I have to transfer from bus to train, what's the difference between just taking the bus? It shouldn't matter. But, let me tell you, it does! The train is cool! And sometimes I like thinking I'm cool!
Why am I explaining the ins and outs of Wendy's Commute via Public Transportation? Because this is Wendy's Pointless Story Hour. (Duh!) But something funny did happen this morning. I walked out the door to catch the bus, and just after I got out to the sidewalk, I noticed my bus was approaching. I still had to get up to the intersection and through the light to get to the bus stop, though. Uh-oh. But wait, the light is turning green! My bus is going to be on the other side, and I will have to wait 20 minutes for the next bus! NOOO!!
Let me pause here to interject that at my present body weight, fitness level, and with recurring ankle tendonitis, I am in no shape to be running. I'm not even wearing my orthotics today. But I went for it anyway. I flat-out sprinted to the intersection, across the street in the crosswalk (even though I did not have a "walk" signal), immediately thanked God for making sure I didn't get run over by a car turning right, and ended up catching the bus. Phew!!! To be perfectly honest, I did not believe I was actually capable of running like that. I thought surely my chest would bounce up and hit me in the face or something if I tried to actually run.
After catching my breath and silently cursing myself for wearing a jacket (I was starting to sweat), I got off the bus about 10 minutes later. My bus was a couple of minutes ahead of schedule. I had about half a block to go to the train station in downtown Tempe. Once I got there, I would have to cross the tracks to the opposite platform and activate my bus card before the train arrived. I started to worry because this is a section of track that curves, so I wouldn't be able to see the train coming ahead of time. I stepped it up and started to half-run (I think they call that jogging? Or yogging?). Turns out that I made it just in time! If I hadn't hurried, I would have missed the train.
So the stars aligned for me this morning. I got to work almost an hour after I stepped out my front door, because I got a little jump on the schedule. I'm glad I don't have video of myself sprinting to the bus. I'm sure I gave some people a chuckle.
I'm going to start working on the stationary bike at the gym, because I have a plan. *evil laughter commences* While I work on bicycling indoors and losing weight, I will continue what I'm doing now with the bus and train. But if I get through the summer (which is autumn to everyone else) and I prove to myself that I could bike to the rail in relatively easy fashion (time and distance), then for my next birthday I'm going to get a bike. I want to be that girl, the one hanging her bike up on the rack in the train and then locking it up in the parking garage at work. I want to be independent of those darn buses. I want to pay for one fare—the train—and not two because I had to transfer from a bus. If I was cool enough to ride a bike, and cool enough to take the train, I think I'd be pretty darn cool. Hmm... better get a helmet.
Well, apparently hell has frozen over. Not only did it open on time, there haven't been any crazy accidents yet, and oh wait, what was that? The Arizona Cardinals are playing in the Super Bowl? Yes, hell has frozen over. Suspicion confirmed.
But I digress. Now that Mike's schedule has returned to some semblance of normalcy, I only need to drop Katy off in the mornings for 3 weekdays instead of 5. So two days a week, I can actually try to take public transportation to work and home again.
We've had a bus system for longer than I've lived here, so that is nothing new. The problem with me taking the bus to work is that I have to transfer at least once, and that adds up. The stops are so frequent that it takes over an hour to get to work. If I drive to work, I can get there in about 20-40 minutes, depending on traffic.
Enter the METRO, our new train system. I can Park & Ride or take a bus to connect with the rail. If I Park & Ride, I drive a couple of miles out of my way and end up at a train station a little further than I should need to be. But once I get back to the station, I can go home in my car immediately. If I take a bus, I have to be subject to the whims of the bus drivers, who aren't that great at keeping to their schedule. During peak times, the trains come every ten minutes. But my bus isn't as frequent, even during peak times.
The whole deal ends up taking about an hour if I get to the bus stop at a good time. Considering I have to transfer from bus to train, what's the difference between just taking the bus? It shouldn't matter. But, let me tell you, it does! The train is cool! And sometimes I like thinking I'm cool!
Why am I explaining the ins and outs of Wendy's Commute via Public Transportation? Because this is Wendy's Pointless Story Hour. (Duh!) But something funny did happen this morning. I walked out the door to catch the bus, and just after I got out to the sidewalk, I noticed my bus was approaching. I still had to get up to the intersection and through the light to get to the bus stop, though. Uh-oh. But wait, the light is turning green! My bus is going to be on the other side, and I will have to wait 20 minutes for the next bus! NOOO!!
Let me pause here to interject that at my present body weight, fitness level, and with recurring ankle tendonitis, I am in no shape to be running. I'm not even wearing my orthotics today. But I went for it anyway. I flat-out sprinted to the intersection, across the street in the crosswalk (even though I did not have a "walk" signal), immediately thanked God for making sure I didn't get run over by a car turning right, and ended up catching the bus. Phew!!! To be perfectly honest, I did not believe I was actually capable of running like that. I thought surely my chest would bounce up and hit me in the face or something if I tried to actually run.
After catching my breath and silently cursing myself for wearing a jacket (I was starting to sweat), I got off the bus about 10 minutes later. My bus was a couple of minutes ahead of schedule. I had about half a block to go to the train station in downtown Tempe. Once I got there, I would have to cross the tracks to the opposite platform and activate my bus card before the train arrived. I started to worry because this is a section of track that curves, so I wouldn't be able to see the train coming ahead of time. I stepped it up and started to half-run (I think they call that jogging? Or yogging?). Turns out that I made it just in time! If I hadn't hurried, I would have missed the train.
So the stars aligned for me this morning. I got to work almost an hour after I stepped out my front door, because I got a little jump on the schedule. I'm glad I don't have video of myself sprinting to the bus. I'm sure I gave some people a chuckle.
I'm going to start working on the stationary bike at the gym, because I have a plan. *evil laughter commences* While I work on bicycling indoors and losing weight, I will continue what I'm doing now with the bus and train. But if I get through the summer (which is autumn to everyone else) and I prove to myself that I could bike to the rail in relatively easy fashion (time and distance), then for my next birthday I'm going to get a bike. I want to be that girl, the one hanging her bike up on the rack in the train and then locking it up in the parking garage at work. I want to be independent of those darn buses. I want to pay for one fare—the train—and not two because I had to transfer from a bus. If I was cool enough to ride a bike, and cool enough to take the train, I think I'd be pretty darn cool. Hmm... better get a helmet.
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