"Turn Off Your Blinker"

I think commuting might be the universe's way of trying to keep us in our place.

Think about it. You have essentially no control over any aspect of it. It doesn't matter if you're driving or biking or taking the bus. I guess if you're walking you have some semblance of control, but not over the weather, which can easily add 5-10 minutes if you're walking through the aftermath of a snowstorm.

When I drove to work, I think that was the angriest I'd ever been in real life. If the person in front of me put on their turn signal, but then didn't turn or switch lanes, I didn't ignore it. I didn't think to myself "Huh, they must be listening to a really good song and not realize their blinker is on." Instead I would think "I am clearly driving behind the biggest fucking moron in the world, who is trying to attack me personally by not turning of their damn blinker."

That's obviously insane. Even if someone cuts you off, which does suck, they probably aren't trying to be malicious. Maybe they're late for something important. Or didn't realize they had to be in the right lane to turn. Maybe they're distracted or just having a bad day.

Maybe.

But even thinking about those people is making me mad. Because get your shit together, people. We're all on the road and we all have places to be but if you don't follow the rules and allow this damn zipper-effect-merge-situation thing to work, then all of society might as well give up now.

I wish there was a way to put a message above your car for the other drivers to see. Not to yell at them but to give some context for what you're doing. I won't lie, I've been in the wrong lane and then cut someone off and I wish I could throw up some kind of note that said "Really sorry about that! Late for an interview and honestly have no idea where I am - these roads are confusing."

I think that could help people calm down. I was at a rotary the other day and the person in front of me stopped completely and stayed stopped for at LEAST a minute (though I was enraged and it could have easily been 15 seconds). 

They had so many opportunities to get in there too. My first thought was that this idiot had never driven in a rotary before. But I even checked the license plate - Massachusetts, so there goes that excuse. Though if they could've given me more information, I might have been less tempted to lean on my horn and drive around them (which I did refrain from doing, by the way).

Perhaps they're a nervous driver. Or they were checking their GPS. Either way, I think if I could have known what they were doing and thought of them as a real person and not a black Camry-shaped obstacle, I would have been less annoyed.

The bus is better for me but also different. I know the bus drivers have a schedule keep, which they only kind of keep if we're all being honest, but can't they hang out for like... 30 seconds? I know the fact that I chase the bus four days out of the week is 90% my fault. BUT if the busses actually followed a schedule I could memorize, I wouldn't be in this position. Some days it's there at 6:45 but other days I get there at 6:40 and it doesn't show up until 6:55. How am I supposed to function in that anarchy?

It takes me roughly 12 minutes to get ready in the morning(this is real, you can time me), so the bus being irregular literally cuts into time I could be in bed. And I have a serious problem with that. But if you use public transportation, you're completely at it's mercy. My only request is that the bus drivers take a quick look in their mirrors to see if someone is running after them frantically with bags and hair flying every which way. That person might need to get on your bus and not wait for the next one (because you're wrong and it doesn't come by "every 7-10 minutes.")

I've only walked to one job. It was in college and it was across the street and I was never late. Unfortunately living in walking distance from your job is not a realistic thing for those of us working in cities we can't afford.

Conclusion here - commuting sucks. Get a podcast, make a mix, call your mom, or grab a book because it will be less than fun. Just remember everyone else is as annoyed as you are at the hour/traffic/that-one-guy-listening-to-music-so-loud-you-can-hear-it-through-his-headphones-and-or-windows.

But also, turn off your FREAKING blinker if you AREN'T CHANGING LANES OR TURNING.