This image, courtesy of Sigalert, is the bane of my existence, my red cross to bear! I spend an inordinate amount of time on this stretch of freeway. If only divine intervention could save us all from this sin of the modern world — road congestion!
I’ve written a lot about how I have to plan activities around traffic patterns in Los Angeles. Plans often get waylayed because of traffic snafus in this city. Heck, it can even become a tool to seek revenge if you’re in a position of power — aka Governor Chris Christy’s Bridgegate Scandal! I also remember one of the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame inductees a couple of years ago (I forget who though) almost missed the event because he was stuck in traffic in Los Angeles. No one is immune and it often feels as though we’re all just pawns in this urban game of life.
I’ve certainly had my share of plans that went down the tubes because of getting caught in traffic. It’s conceivable that some day not being able to get where we need to go might become a matter of life and death. I suppose at that point you would call 911 and get a police escort or ambulance to get through the gridlock. Today, I had a situation that fortunately was far from life and death, but it was pretty darned unpleasant anyway.
The day started off great. I was pretty psyched this Monday morning, heading into work a few minutes early (New Year’s Resolution). I got plenty of sleep last night so I’d be ready to take on a busy work week. I glided along in lighter than normal traffic for a Monday morning on my so called “reverse” commute. I attributed my light traffic to masses of people hung over from drinking too much and eating too much crap on Super Bowl Sunday. Thankfully, I wasn’t one of them.
I arrived at work a few minutes early and was settling into what promised to be a productive day. Then, about an hour into the day, my stomach would put the kibosh on my productivity. No, I didn’t indulge in any unhealthy Super Bowl foods or alcohol as I was already feeling a little off yesterday. It seems I had some sort of bug. But, what was I to do? There it was 8:30 a.m. and I was trapped — miserable, sick and trapped. It seems the Super Bowl indulgers who travel South down the 405 were running late and would leave the 405 clogged for hours to come. I felt like the entire team of Seattle Seahawks put together on the 1 yard line with no ability to get to the end zone. Torturous.
It would have taken me 2 hours to get back home and let’s just say there was no way I would have made it without severe consequences! I was forced to stick it out at work. I got through my day somehow and finally made it home later that afternoon. Thanks to my “reverse” commute, it only took me 50 minutes to get home during the off peak time.
This incident will force to me in the future to re-think when I should just stay home. If I’m not feeling well when I wake up, it might not be worth taking a chance to see if I get better. I wouldn’t want to get stuck again because of traffic in Los Angeles.
I think my next post will be 10 Costs of Traffic Congestion!!
Stay tuned!
Marci