Paul and I have decided to sell my Mustang and have listed it on a couple web sites. In the meantime, we have decided to see what it might be like to not replace it. As a result, we have been living with just one vehicle for about a week now. As part of these efforts, I have started taking the bus to work (Paul is also biking to work fairly often). I walk 3/4 of a mile to the Bellevue Transit Center and catch one of three Express buses to Microsoft. My bus ride is 9 minutes and free due to the "Flex Pass" Microsoft gives employees. Door-to-door, my new commute has averaged 29 minutes (yes, I track it in Excel) - about 5 minutes more than my car commute.
I really want to get a scooter to ride to the Transit Center (not a Vespa, an old school push-with-your-foot scooter). Where I walk is pretty flat and I think I could buy myself a few minutes on either end that way. I know many of you will make fun of me if I do that, but I don't care! I will be reporting back to the blog at the end of May on how much money these efforts have saved us. I'm pretty excited to find out myself!
One other thing that I have enjoyed about my new lifestyle is that it reminds me of living in Manhattan. NYC characteristics I have resurrected:
1) Urban bag lady. When you commute on foot, you have to carry everything with you. The other night when I met Cindi for the movie, I stopped at Bartell Drugs on the way and bought a few things that I needed so that when I showed up to Jamba Juice, I had a laptop bag, a purse, and a Bartell shopping bag. It was just like meeting Sonya after work for dinner and both of us walking into the restaurant with our hands full, juggling bags, headphones, cell phones, etc... I love it!
2) Dressing warm to a fault. Walking around outside and/or standing at a bus stop can get much colder than normal building-to-car living. As a result, I have been wearing some of my heavier coats, even though it's May. On my way to the Transit Center this morning, I did get pretty warm but it's better than standing there freezing waiting for the bus.
5 comments:
King County has a bike helmet law. Do you think the same applies to scooters? If so, you definitely need one with E-Luxxx printed on it. That would look great! :0)
The bag lady part is true!!!! Your bag becomes your trunk. It's amazing the stuff you end up carrying around all day or learn to go without because you don't want to carry it home.
I am going to leave the scooter part of this post alone, I am still trying to picture you scooting through down town Bellevue. Yea, still can't believe you of all people would come up with and follow through this
This makes me happy on so many levels!
1. I totally support conserving gas.
2. Mass transit is, like, so good. the only negative here is that your ride is only 9 minutes so you won't get much reading in.
3. I LOVE the idea of you riding a scooter to the bus!
4. I am going to the movies after work tonight and I will be carrying (a) my messenger bag, (b) my laptop, (c) my gym bag, (d) a bag that I have been carrying back and forth all week with stuff I bought at Costco for our Celebration a month ago and have to bring a little bit each day to work.
Can't wait to hear the report at the end of the month!
addendum: I had to leave my gym bag at work. I was too ambitious and it was waaaayy too heavy to take all of that with me.
I was just thinking that maybe you should write a post about how much you love ping pong and winning awesome prizes like gummy handcuffs. Or maybe you should just wear the handcuffs like a bracelet to scare the crazies in downtown Bellevue eyeing your scooter.
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