Today I got out of bed at 8:15am and was sitting at my desk in the office by 9:20am. Yesterday I walked out of the office at 6:35pm and was home (after a pit stop at the groceries) by 7:20pm….
Did I suddenly develop the ability to teletransport myself, you ask?
Not really. Over the weekend, my offices moved locations and overnight my daily routine went from being a 50min-2-transfers-15min-walk commute (twice a day) to a 20min-direct-4-metro-stops-7min walk commute ….
In other words…. I am in seventh heaven!
Anyone who’s ever lived in a big city and relied on public transportation to get around knows what an incredibly tiring thing this is. Climbing up and down stairs inside subway stations, running from one platform to another to catch a metro transfer, being pushed and shoved inside subway tunnels, standing and sitting inside wagons, going from hot and stuffy to cold and windy, rocking along with the rest of the passengers as the wagon slows down, stops, opens doors, charges and discharges passengers, blasts warning siren, closes doors and slowly takes off only to repeat the whole process again a minute later at the next stop and this for 12 or 15 times throughout the trip…. It is simply exhausting.
I love the metro… I love the concept of it and I love that it gets me from A to B whenever I want to and I especially love how with my simple little metro pass virtually any street in Paris is accessible to me. But when the routine of a metro commute sets in, the same exact route every single day, the changing trains, the waiting on platforms, the standing up to let people on the wagon or sitting down when it empties out, the cramming and jamming of peak hours, when all of this adds up as in twice a day, five days a week, twenty days a month, 12 months a year…. Well, you get to a point where 110 minutes of this on a daily basis seems like a damn long time and by the time you get home at the end of the day your entire body feels like jelly even though you spent the majority of your time sitting at a desk in front of a computer.
Ok, so I don’t have that beautiful view I used to have in my old office. I don’t even have an office anymore for that matter, I am now sitting in the middle of a large empty openspace, my desk wedged in between my boss’ office and the sales team’s platform…
But man, if that’s what it takes to avoid a whole hour of metro zombie riding, then I don’t care!
So be it! I get to lazily get up and out of bed in the mornings right around the same time Hubby is rushing out of the apartment; and I get to be back home early enough to check a show or two on tv before hitting the gym. When the summer comes, I’ll be able to walk to work or ride a velib’… Heck, I might even be able to jog back home and skip the gym altogether!!
Man is it good to have extra time.
Fned.
1 comment:
Now that's what I call good news! Reminds me of how I felt when they finally finished the periférico! My place of work didn't change, but the route did, and it sure shortened the ride! You sound like you know how to appreciate this turn of events, taking the loss of an office in stride as you contemplate all the advantages and possible uses of this new block of extra time - twice a day no less!
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