Car Rides and Life Decisions

Posted on November 17, 2011November 17, 2011 by ashleyjillian Posted in UncategorizedTagged birthday, blogging, cold, humor, Life, Los Angeles, no sleep, personal, traffic, Valentine's Day, Writing, zombies

gross generalization: bad days really make you rethink your life

So I had a good day at work today, but my commute is epically long so I decided to check out the closest 24-hour fitness to kill some time/allow traffic to die down before heading home. This gym is one of the worst areas of town, but as someone who went to college in a bad area, I thought I would be OK with it. I also clearly like to pretend to be way more badass than I actually am. I walk into the gym and turn the corner to locker room and there is a security guard in thug stance. There are also sweaty thug-types using free weights and glaring at me. I walk into the locker room, and I see a sign that read “escorts are available to walk you to your car.” I fled like the little prissy white girl I am. Time at gym: four minutes.

Traffic doesn’t die down over the course of four minutes. Especially not during rush hour in Los Angeles. Time in traffic: 1.5 hours.

45 minutes in, while going 0.5 MPH in Westwood, I came to the conclusion that I need to make my moving day sooner, otherwise I might just die. I’m way too busy to commute for three+ hours everyday and not be a zombie. I have a stress/lack of sleep cold (cute) and I haven’t been hungry in about a week (my wallet is OK with this). My life is awesome in so many ways, but it would be so much better if my commute was 10 minutes. Apartment search begins this weekend, wish me luck :D.

Hugs///

p.s. I turn 23 this Friday. so weird. I do enjoy when life changes (new job, new place, new pli) coincide with birthdays. It makes everything all neat and tidy, and I am super into that.

p.p.s. I hope you are making Valentine’s Day baby jokes this and next week, because I feel like a lot of us were.

42 thoughts on “Car Rides and Life Decisions”

November 17, 2011 at 10:14 am Reply
Jacob Spire says:

Is it wrong to ‘Like’ a post where you write how you had a bad day?
Happy birthday, and good luck with moving/commuting/that cold!
1. November 17, 2011 at 2:28 pm Reply
  ashleyjillian says:
  
  thank you! and I will take a “like” in any way I can get one 🙂
November 17, 2011 at 12:13 pm Reply
Elyse says:

Good luck with your hunt! Are there any rooms available at your office …
1. November 17, 2011 at 2:28 pm Reply
  ashleyjillian says:
  
  hmmm, the office next door was recently vacated
November 17, 2011 at 12:58 pm Reply
actionfiguretrish says:

i’m in the DC metro and i went from your current commute to being 15 minutes from everywhere. LIFECHANGING. you don’t even know yet how much cooler it will really be!!! good luck, seriously. commuting is a secret vampire. and happy birthday!
1. November 17, 2011 at 2:29 pm Reply
  ashleyjillian says:
  
  Thank you! ❤
November 17, 2011 at 1:37 pm Reply
Byron Suggs says:

Good luck with the apartment hunting!
1. November 17, 2011 at 2:29 pm Reply
  ashleyjillian says:
  
  thanks for your kind words! Hopefully I have awesome luck w/apartment hunting. Or at least a few good stories.
November 17, 2011 at 2:39 pm Reply
zendictive says:

a b-day tomorrow? If I do not see ya post tomorrow, I’ll know your out wrestling the day for every ounce of sunshine you deserve… Happy Birthday… (~_~)
1. November 17, 2011 at 9:30 pm Reply
  ashleyjillian says:
  
  Thanks! 😀 😀 😀
November 17, 2011 at 2:50 pm Reply
thewaiting says:

I nearly fell out of my chair last week when I read an article of the “Best Public Transit Cities in the US” and LA was prominently featured. Um, doesn’t traffic in LA have the reputation for having Dante-esque traffic? And if so, why hasn’t this savior of a transit system been heralded as the best thing ever before? Serves me right for reading Yahoo! News.

Anyway, get the heck out of there and have a happy birthday 😀
1. November 17, 2011 at 9:37 pm Reply
  ashleyjillian says:
  
  Thank you! LA public transit it pretty awful — I used to take it home from high school (I was too cool for the school bus) and it has this really specific smell of nickels and tuna. Also, lots of sketchy sketchy people.
November 17, 2011 at 4:34 pm Reply
John Haslett says:

Change can be a wonderful thing if you embrace it. I had many changes in my life and almost every one was a blessing. Enjoy yours and move somewhere safe.
1. November 17, 2011 at 9:31 pm Reply
  ashleyjillian says:
  
  haha I am not sure if I can afford safe, I am probably going to end up with “safe enough”
November 17, 2011 at 7:08 pm Reply
delightfulness says:

Hmm…maybe you shouldn’t visit St. Cloud, MN. I would hate to see what would happen if you encountered the ridiculously stupid drivers here coupled with the commute time…(I’m picturing mind control, explosions, rocket launcher…)

On the other hand…maybe you should visit. 😉
1. November 17, 2011 at 9:32 pm Reply
  ashleyjillian says:
  
  sounds thoroughly unpleasant. noted.
November 17, 2011 at 8:33 pm Reply
Bob T Panda says:

Loved your post…I used to live in a “marginal” (read: BAD) area when I was in school. Always amazed I survived. Good luck with your search. Life is too short to have to commute 3 hrs a day. Happy Birthday Eve! May I introduce you to the concept of the Birthday Season? You get one day for each year old you are, except for “significant #’s like 21, 25 and any year ending in zero. Then you get double your birthday season days. This year, only 23 days. Have a ball.
1. November 17, 2011 at 9:33 pm Reply
  ashleyjillian says:
  
  Thanks! I like how you think, but that seems like it would be rather intensive around the birthdays of my grandparents.
November 17, 2011 at 9:36 pm Reply
becomingcliche says:

Happy birthday!
1. November 17, 2011 at 9:37 pm Reply
  ashleyjillian says:
  
  Thank you! stay awesome 🙂
November 17, 2011 at 10:22 pm Reply
Jason says:

Birthday twinsies! Well, almost.
1. November 18, 2011 at 6:14 am Reply
  ashleyjillian says:
  
  when’s your bday? Scorpios are the bestest.
November 17, 2011 at 11:14 pm Reply
bestbathroombooks says:

Happy B. The Ventura Freeway is a bitch. Don’t miss it. At all.
Les
1. November 18, 2011 at 6:15 am Reply
  ashleyjillian says:
  
  I do the 101 to the 405 (Calabasas to LAX) and back. so awful.
November 18, 2011 at 1:02 am Reply
katecrimmins says:

Happy Birthday! 23 was a good year!
1. November 18, 2011 at 6:15 am Reply
  ashleyjillian says:
  
  thank you! I hope it’s an awesome year for me. haha
November 18, 2011 at 1:49 am Reply
barkinginthedark says:

4 minutes is quite a reasonable time to spend at a gym. continue…
1. November 18, 2011 at 6:16 am Reply
  ashleyjillian says:
  
  thanks for always picking out the parts of my post that amuse me the most. 10 points.
November 18, 2011 at 2:46 am Reply
philosophermouseofthehedge says:

Used to drive a commute like that. It was insane. I was insane. No way to live…especially at 23! Happy Birthday. Sending you positive energy to assist in search for new place.
1. November 18, 2011 at 6:16 am Reply
  ashleyjillian says:
  
  thanks for being so sweet! d’awww
November 18, 2011 at 3:07 pm Reply
lovelylici1986 says:

Echinacea and vitamin C should be your friends!

Good luck with finding a place. Long commutes SUUUUUCK. I leave my house at 6:45am to get to work at 9am. Mostly because I have to get a bus on the absolute opposite direction of where I work in order to get a bus there. -_-
1. November 19, 2011 at 6:56 am Reply
  ashleyjillian says:
  
  yikes! I read somewhere that you should make $50k/yr for every hour of your commute to make it “worth it.” I think we are probably both probably in the red.
November 18, 2011 at 8:19 pm Reply
sandylikeabeach says:

I spent two years commuting 82 miles one way. It was mostly highway driving but still took about 3 hours a day. Then I moved and my commute was 2 miles – much better. Good luck with the apartment hunting and happy birthday!
1. November 19, 2011 at 6:23 am Reply
  ashleyjillian says:
  
  double thanks!
November 19, 2011 at 1:14 am Reply
joem18b says:

I like this new LA movement where you celebrate your birthday in jammed-up traffic on the freeway where you spend the most time stuck during your normal commute.

You put a little plastic birthday cake up on top of your car with a blinking light in it and the cars stuck around you honk hello and the drivers hand you little presents through the window.

But make sure the blinking light isn’t red or you’ll get a ticket. I didn’t know about that part. 😦
1. November 19, 2011 at 6:59 am Reply
  ashleyjillian says:
  
  darn, too bad I didn’t have work today. I will do this in 3-years when my bday is on a Monday
November 21, 2011 at 10:27 am Reply
lizziecracked says:

Hope you had a successful apartment hunting …..and Happy Belated Birthday!. I figured I could still squeeze it in since it’s the end of the weekend..ok technically not but work with me. Hope it was a great one. 23 wow! I can’t remember 23 lol. The whole year.
Peace 🙂
1. November 21, 2011 at 9:45 pm Reply
  ashleyjillian says:
  
  haha I am still looking, I barely started looking two days ago. I am super hopeful :D. And thanks for the bday wishes!
November 21, 2011 at 3:40 pm Reply
Main Street Musings Blog says:

Wow, four minutes! That’s a whole minute longer than I spend at the gym! Happy Birthday!
1. November 24, 2011 at 12:17 am Reply
  ashleyjillian says:
  
  thanks!
November 23, 2011 at 12:16 am Reply
The Hook says:

Awesome post! Enjoy 23 – I know I did!
Youth rocks – especially when you’re good-looking and intelligent like you!
1. November 24, 2011 at 12:18 am Reply
  ashleyjillian says:
  
  awww, thanks 🙂