I find that Pink Floyd’s second line from the song “Time” describes this post best. Did you know the average American wastes two weeks of our life each year sitting in traffic? It took me 45 minutes to get home from work yesterday. It usually takes 15-20 tops. I thought it was ironic that this little tid-bit of information popped on the radio while I was sitting in a entrance ramp on 394. Lets figure you start actually driving in traffic at age 18. If you live to be 80(which is the expected rate in the U.S. at this time) thats 62 years of driving. So 2 weeks a year for 62 years is 124 weeks or just over 10 months. Almost a year of our life is wasted sitting in fucking traffic. We are not here to be sitting in traffic wasting away time. Literally. By the time I turn 80 I hope I can last at least one more year to get back that year I lost sitting in my car, watching the tail lights in front of me flicker on and off. Add that and the fact that barrels of crude oil hit an all time high a couple of days ago, the reasons to continue driving a car are becoming slim. I am not here to waste my time in traffic or break the bank on a tank of gas. If I could I’d get rid of my car. I just hope that sometime in the near future I will be working closer to home so I can ride my bike to work. It makes me wish we had the kind of public transit the Europeans have. My brothers host family in Germany didn’t even own a car. You can’t get you’re license over their until you are 18, its hella expensive too. But public transit is far beyond what we have. If you want to use a car, its cheap to rent one over there. Flights over there are cheap too.
Speaking of cars. The hunt for a new one continues. I am looking for 3 things. 1. Reliability. I want a car that is known to last long and not have problems. So basically anything NOT made in the U.S. 2. Affordable. I would like to buy a new car or a car a few years old. I was able to pick my uncles brain this weekend(he’s been selling cars for years) and it sounds like with where I am financially it can be done. 3. Longevity. I want a car that has a ton of gas mileage. I’m talking in the 35-40mpg, maybe I could to hybrid and get 45-50mpg. We’ll see. I’ve found a couple of good deals on some 07′ Civics, but I am also considering a Hyundai, Nissan, or Toyota. This week is pretty hectic, but I plan on getting out to dealers next week.
Well, I’ve got a long day of errands, laundry, car fixing, and one-dogs to enjoy. Oh, and for all you coffee drinkers out there the Cameron’s Breakfast Blend is one of the best bag of beans I’ve had in months. I’m out.
daily quote – “I think his assessment is off the mark” Vice President Dick Cheney in a Wall Street Journal article criticizing Alan Greenspan’s memoir which blasted the Bush administrations handling of the economy
today’s bike term – monkey-motion adj. magazine writer speak for a full suspension bike
