A Failed Attempt at Being Green(er)

First a little history: I didn't get my drivers license until I was 25 (The Wiff didn't get hers until she was 28). I didn't really need it up until that point. I lived in the city and I could easily bop around on public transportation (the dreaded T), my bike, my feet or I could mooch a ride from one of my friends. Plus, the dumb jobs I had up until that point were usually close enough that most of those forms of getting around worked fine.

Then I got a job where I actually had to drive around all day as part of the gig. Well, poop. That means I'm gonna have to learn to drive or something. So I did (thanks Rene and Bruce! oh, and Gary too!). Then I bought a car (affectionately named Sally but also not-so-affectionately called The Leper). A 1983 Mercury Marquis. It broke down a lot. I mean a LOT. But it was mine. And then I gave it to my sister Mary (and it broke down on her. A lot. Sorry Mary).


ooooh..sexy!

So blah blah blah and we move away from the city (not the royal 'we'...The Wiff and me). We moved far enough away that it's actually kind of a pain in the booty to get into the city where, unfortunately, our jobs are. At least that's what I had been telling myself for most of the time that we've lived out there. But last year they started construction on our commuting route and it totally fudged up the ride in. It was taking well over an hour to get into Cambridge. It's only 15 frickin' miles. It was time to abandon the car and go back to taking the train. Actually, I'd never taken the commuter rail before. It was always the regular trains and/or busses for me cuz I'm classy like that.

I made the jump back in October and for a while there, it was ok. I didn't really mind giving in to their schedule. I didn't really mind most of it really. I'd get on the train, go to North Station and then walk over to my office here in Kendall Sq. Then at night, reverse the route. It was kinda nice. A short-ish walk in the morning, and another at night. Stare out the window of the train and listen to music. No traffic. No big whoop.

Then the delays started. And winter happened. And I started to notice how annoying my fellow humans are, especially in close quarters before I've had my coffee. Hmph. I figured I could endure though because I'm doing the right thing here. I'm being a responsible citizen or whatever by actually using our mass transit system. This is ok, I would tell myself but I wasn't listening anymore.

I started to find more and more excuses to drive in to work. And then one day last week during one of those guilty-feeling drives into work, Charlie Card judging me silently from my bag in the back seat, I said quietly to The Wiff: "I hate the train." She was concerned mainly because we'd miss our walk. But I argued that we could walk after work along the beach (awwwwwwwww) since we live right there. And it would be a much nicer walk than the one we do from Cambridge to North Station. Pretty good argument. And bonus, they have finished the road construction on our commuting route so our commute is now 35-40 minutes. When we take the train and walk it can take an hour and a half. We were getting home at 5:45 or so. Now we get home at 5:10. Hmmmm. More time to go for a walk or just relax or whatever the hell.

But dude, you say, what about the environment? Gas prices? Your shitty cars? The retards out there on the roads? Well, I say, Feh. Meh. Pffth. F Them. I have to be completely honest. I cannot stand taking the train everyday. It's ok once and a while but as my main form of transportation it just doesn't work for me. Not when it takes as long as it does and I get all sweaty and gross on my walk to work. I'm pretty revolting actually. I was actually considering having a complete change of clothes with me every day if I was to continue to take the train and walk every day in the summer. Me in the heat and humidity is downright awful.

So the train can blow me. I'm driving.