Tales from the commute

Started: 2006-10-26 20:00:00

Submitted: 2006-10-26 20:23:47

Visibility: World-readable

Monday: Prior to heading to work, I visited the Boulder County Clerk office in Longmont to register Motoko. I tried the same thing at the Boulder office last Wednesday and failed because the dealer's title clerk had typed her name in a box on the back of the title rather than written it; even though she signed in the box immediately below, that typed name wasn't good enough. I sighed and called the dealer, who sighed and gave me their FedEx number to send the title to Fort Collins to get it fixed. I wrote a large check for the remaining taxes on my used vehicle and walked out with a matched set of vehicle registration cards (one for my file and one for the vehicle, I think; at least, that's what I've always done with them) and a pair of license plates. On may way into work, on the Diagonal just north of the traffic light Airport Road, the light changed to red while there were ten cars between me and the light. The front vehicle in the left lane stopped for the light and was promptly rear-ended by the second vehicle; I saw a puff of smoke and heard a sick crunch. Oddly, there was a county sheriff SUV waiting to cross the Diagonal on Airport Road; he hit his lights and was on the scene of the accident in, literally, ten seconds.

Tuesday: Despite not having a really good reason to do so, I drove into work instead of taking the bus. (My quasi-excuse was that I waited a few minutes too late to catch the 0750 bus.) On my drive, I waited for the same train twice: first on Ken Pratt Boulevard just east of Nelson Road, and again on Pearl between Foothills and 30th. (I passed the train on Ken Pratt Boulevard after waiting for it, but it caught up as I waited in traffic on the Diagonal at highway 52.)

Wednesday: I took the bus, which was five minutes late, and discovered that my driver was a newbie. He completely missed the optional stop at 47th and the Diagonal; when the passengers yelled he pulled over and let the disembarking passengers disembark. He missed the turn from the Diagonal onto southbound 28th and performed a three-point u-turn just before Iris narrowed from four lanes to two due to construction. We made sure he got the turn onto Canyon, and I got off at 19th so I didn't have to wonder if he was going to make it into the Boulder Station in one piece.

Thursday: The first big snow of the year. My driveway had three inches of wet snow over an inch of slush. The main roads were equal parts slush and water. The Diagonal was merely wet but traffic was absurdly slow; it was stop-and-go from Airport Road through highway 52. My thirty-five minute commute took fifty-five minutes.