I swear this won't be a constant topic here. This post, and maybe one or two more as part of the analysis of this grand experiment, then I'll STFU. Promise.
So day two of the train/coworker commute. So far a win.
Getting to and from work for 2 days and only putting 8 miles on my vehicle? WIN!
Leaving my travel mug full of coffee at the train stop where I transfer? FAIL
Oh, well, I've saved enough in 2 days to almost buy a new travel mug. So far, break even.
So yesterday I was complaining about the commute thing at lunch, and a coworker mentioned he literally drove by the last train station I mentioned in my other post. And as my projected commute time would put me at that station not too far off from when he would be passing by, he said that he'd be glad to stop and pick me up and drop me there on the way home. Nice. So that would turn an hour bus ride into about a 20 min car ride. We tried it today and it worked pretty well. I think I'll be able to do this about 3-4 days a week. There is a day or two every week I'll have to have my car, but otherwise I think this will work.
Gas prices are crazy! Not as crazy where I live as other places, but there isn't a great public transportation infrastructure where I live either, so it kind of balances out.
For example, I spent some time trying to work out how to get from my home to my office via the local public transportaton. It is 17 miles (+/- 1 mile or so depending on route) from my house to my office.
If I go purely on the bus part of the system, then it is a 2.5 hour trip one way. Yes, 2.5 hrs, including 2 transfers. It's because some of the suburbs around here tightly restrict what roads the buses can use and that greatly reduces the amount of routes available.
If I drive 2-3 miles to the closes light rail station, then it's about 45 mins by train then about an hour by bus. I have to take a train southwest so I can get on a train to go north. After going north for a bit, I get ona bus and go west (while going north and south on the way), but at least there are no bus transfers.
So, why not telecommute? Very good question. I have broadband at home, my office provides VPN access, and I have done it occasionally when meeting repairmen, or doing some overtime. I get way more done because I've reduced the drive-by office interruptions. But it won't ever be a M-F, 9-5 kind of thing. Won't be allowed. The owner of our company got his MBA in the 60's and has that old-school attitude of "If you're not at your desk, you're not at work". Ok. Whatevs.
Oh, and the real kicker here? My vehicle gets about 15-16 MPG city driving on my standard commute route. So it takes a gallon to get to work and a gallon to get home. ~8.00 a day to commute.
This is the inaugural post of a new section of this blog - I'm Just Sayin'. You'll figure it out as we go along.
Today in IJS....
So Monday a coworker offered to pick something up for me at a store she was going by on the way home and bring it in Tuesday. She was going there anyway, and it would be out of the way for me, so she offered to pick up what I needed. I took her up on the offer. They informed me that it wasn't a certainty that she'd actually get to the store, so she'd call me on the way to work Tuesday morning and let me know for sure that she had gotten said item.
Well, Tuesday morning came. I had decided to pick up the new Journey album so I left home a little earlier than usual. I did my commute and my stop along the way, taking about an hour in total. All this time I got no call, and I arrived at the office after the time she told me she usually got there, so I never stopped by the ATM to get any cash to repay her. Oh, I was informed that was no problem at all and the next day was fine, yadda, yadda, yadda. Great.
The next day (today), I stop by the ATM and bring in money. I'm in my chair at my desk all of about 5 minutes, and not fully caffeinated, when she passes by and on her way says "Do you have my money yet?". Well, I semi-lost it. I mean really! First of all I said I would have it. Second, I'd been at work all of maybe 5 minutes. I'd barely gotten Outlook running, much less gotten through email or even spoken to anyone else at the office. On top of that, there is basically an unwritten rule around here that people shouldn't interact with me before 9:30-10:00 A.M. This person has been here long enough (almost as long as me) to know better. Also, please - she sits maybe 3 cubes away from me. As soon as I figure out which end is up I'll go see her and pay her back. Does she really have to go all mafioso on me and come asking for payment? I guess I should just shut up and be happy that she didn't ask for any interest. GEEZ!
Just proves the philosophy I live by - don't loan out anything you can't afford to lose. Make a loan (even an implied one as in this case) and be prepared to never see whatever it is again. If you get it back (or get repaid), then that's a bonus.
What a cliche title. I almost went back and changed it to something else, but I'm trying to practice that discipline of "just write and leave it alone" (my own words). Eh, oh well.
So I broke down and bought the new Journey CD yesterday. "A Walmart Exclusive! (tm)". Yes, that Journey. Oh, haven't you heard? They found a new lead singer that sounds just like Steve Perry. But better, in my opinion, but I'll get to that later. The new lead singer is Arnel Pineda from the Philippines and he's had a very storied life to this point. And how did they find him? Youtube, of course! Not some stupid "Replace Steve Perry" reality show, but Youtube. CBS Sunday Morning did a great piece on him this last Sunday. Check it out (courtesy Youtube, of course!):
Very inspiring story, don't you agree? Well, that plus the fact that the Walmart Exclusive! (tm) was a 3 disc set for 11.88 compelled me to get one. I have caved to the "gotta have it" pressure.
The 3 disc set contains the following: Disc 1: New material written by the original band (minus Steve Perry) and recorded by the new lineup. 11 songs. Disc 2: The classic Journey hits rerecorded by the new lineup - the original band plus Arnel Pineda. 11 songs. Disc 3: A DVD that is a video of their first concert together - the new lineup, that is. In Las Vegas. In March.
So I get the set on the way to work yesterday. First thing I do is open it up, then stick in disc 2. Yes, disc 2. Why? Because Journey (the great years) was part of the soundtrack to my life during high school and college. I wanted to hear the new old stuff before hearing the new new stuff. I fire up iTunes and proceed to "import" the CD. Interesting side note here: When iTunes went and got the track names, 2 of them had typos in them. Does anyone know what service iTunes uses for track names? "Importing" complete, I then stick in disc 1. Oh, nice! iTunes can't find ANY track names for disc 1! Do I want to import anyway? Yes, and I'll go manually edit them in later. AARRGGHH!!
So I crank up disc 2 and listen to a couple of tracks. Now, mind you, this is at work so there are plenty of interruptions. I get through 1 song, and partly through another. Then the interruptions start. Both visitors and IM. I manage to get through most of the rest of the new stuff here and there over the morning. Stupid job. But anyway, so far I'm liking what I'm hearing. In my current iTunes collection I have Journey's Greatest Hits. Done by the original lineup. Naturally, some of the same songs are on both discs. I hesitated just a minute before typing this, but actually I like the new singer better than Steve Perry. I can actually make out lyrics I couldn't make out before. I know this will bring out the haters, but I have to say this new lineup makes me happy that Steve Perry is being a brat and refusing to talk to the band (see CBS Sunday Morning story above).
That afternoon, I get to disc 1. As a review I read in the NY Times (thanks, bugmenot!) said (paraphrased), if you're a Journey fan, then you'll like this. And they're right - pretty classic Journey stuff. Then I hit the song "What It Takes To Win" and heard the line "There is no I in TEAM". aarrgghh. FAIL!
So, in a nutshell, what are my thoughts?
Disc 1 - 3 out of 5 stars. Considering a 2 simply because of the line "There is no I in TEAM". Disc 2 - 4 out of 5 stars. Leaning to 5, actually, because of how much more I like the new singer. DVD - Not yet viewed. I will update this post with a rating for it and an overall rating when I get a chance to view the DVD.
The nutshell of the nutshell? If you were a Journey fan back in the day, then this is well worth the 11.88 for the Walmart Exclusive! (tm). Except for having to both shop at and financially support Walmart. But that is for another post.
If you're not a Journey fan from back in the day, but are even interested, I'd say for all this content it is still worth 11.88. But what do I know. I'm writing this review for free, without even any links to anything that'll give me a kickback if you buy something.
