Drunken Owls and Other Delights

It's Friday and my WAH day, so I drop into the usual schedule: start the week's laundry, listen to KEXP's morning show while I do my usual day job stuff, and take a look at what new music releases are dropping today (new Green Day and Stone Temple Pilots, by the way). I kind of treat it as an early weekend start as I get to relax a bit more without having to worry about commute or anything else.

I realize that since I've started the commute again, I've turned into That Masshole Driver, and I'm not happy at all about that. I'm barking at the UberLyft drivers blocking lanes and Gappers* in the middle lane going slower than every other car on the road. I'm shaking my head at the driver ahead of me going slow in the fast lanes. I'm honking at the cars that are trying to sneak into my lane without a signal. I'm frantically gesturing at the other car at the four-way stop sign that just stares at me when they have the right of way, then decides to go when I've lost my patience and pull forward. Every other driver is an idiot.

[* - Gappers are what I call that driver that leaves 2-3 car lengths ahead of them on a slow-moving surface street for no reason at all, thus letting all the other cars cut in front of them, causing our lane to go even slower (and all those behind us to get into the faster lanes to pass us and cut in front). It's even more aggravating when they stop at a light (on a flat grade, mind you) and don't pull forward. It seems to be a CA thing as I don't remember Boston drivers ever doing this. I could be wrong, though.]

So what I'm saying here is I'm turning into That Aggressive Jerk Driver and I'm really not happy with myself. I need to calm down and get rid of that mindset. It's kind of hard when you drive in the Bay Area, but that's no excuse. I don't want to be a Masshole Driver. I need to work on this.

It took me two hours to get home last night.  TWO. FUCKING. HOURS. It usually takes me on average about one hour and change, but Thursday's traffic included a twenty-minute backup at the Bay Bridge tolls (thanks to solo idiots in the carpool lane trying to squeeze into the cash line at the last second) (noted: East Bay drivers are all either insane or idiots, but that's another gripe entirely), backup in downtown SF, an idiot Uber driver stopping in an open lane, and the best one: a fire truck double-parking to take care of a sick person on the sidewalk, and the bus next to me cutting me off and THEN stopping in the second lane to let off/on passengers. Not to mention me almost hitting a pedestrian in the crosswalk because oncoming traffic causing glare.

Don't get me wrong -- I feel for all of you commuters out there who have to contend with this on a daily basis, and for a longer distance. I'm lucky that my trip is only about 30 miles and relatively smooth sailing (aside from the Ninth Circle of Hell that is the McArthur Maze. Whoever planned that abomination needs to be flayed.) My anger is not towards the commute itself: my anger is firmly directed at Upper Management at my Day Job who are putting me through this completely unnecessary bullshit Because Teamwork! and all those other horseshit excuses they keep giving me.


Sad News: I did not get that Possible Job Opening I so dearly wished for. You guessed it: "we went with someone with more experience."
Not So Sad News: The business was so impressed with my interviews that they were convinced I'd otherwise be a really good fit there, and highly suggested I try out for other positions there.

I'm still a bit annoyed that I didn't get the job (again: how the hell do I get experience when it's so goddamn hard to break in and get it in the first place?), but on the plus side, that was a really unexpected personal rejection call and I'm touched they did that. I've been impressed with the business so far that yes, I will most definitely try out for other positions there. I don't think I've ever worked anywhere that ever did that.

It's like getting a personal rejection letter from an editor or agent that took the time to say they'd like to work with me in the future. I've never gotten that before.



In other news, I hate that I'm so freaking EXHAUSTED by the time Friday rolls around. I really don't want to end up wasting all my evening hours doing nothing when that's the only time that I can truly dedicate time for my writing.

Bleh. Hope everyone has a good (and less tiring) weekend!

Despite my sore throat and leftover sniffles from yesterday, I'm here in the office getting ready to crunch some numbers. FUN! I've got a pack of Halls in my pocket ready to be used when need be, my box of Kleenex is full-ish, and the workload doesn't look too terrifying. I think I can manage. I was sorely tempted to work from home today but felt I could survive here if need be.

Also--catching the #1 bus up the street from our new place at 6:05 drops me off at Clay and Van Ness at about 6:20, where I would catch the 47 or the 49 down to Market Street and to work. Of course, today was one of those off-days where one bus had the next one coming in 17 minutes and the next one was in 45, so I walked about five blocks (all downhill, thankfully) and by the time I got to the second bus stop down the 47 pulled up. So yeah, looks like that connecting bus may be a pain in the butt. On the plus side, the #1 bus is plentiful so I can get off at California and walk up one block to that on the way home without having to wait too long. That said, I got to work at about 6:40ish, WELL before I need to sign in. So all in all, despite the connecting bus hiccup to work, looks like the commute won't be all that bad.