30 Day Writing Challenge--Day 13--Your commute to and from work

My commute to and from work has become much easier in the past month now that I have a new car. I had a 2003 Subaru Forester that I bought back in Chicago, in February, during a snowstorm. I LOVED that car. His name was Charles and he served me well. Taking me to horse shows, to Florida for a couple of years, and back when I needed to come home to Chicago. It also got us here to California, although there were times in the mountains of Colorado that I thought we were never going to make it. Charles was totaled in an accident back at the end of June and it took awhile for us to get the settlement. In Los Angeles, it takes at least 2 months to get an accident report due to the amount of accidents that happen here every day. So for the 3 months that I was sans car, save the few times I rented one, my commute was not exactly difficult, it was just long. I had to walk or take 2 buses to a subway station, from that station I had to get on another bus that would drop me off about a mile from work and I would walk the rest of the way. It was usually crowded, hot, and I'd have to leave a couple of hours before I was supposed to be at work just to get there on time. It was good exercise and all in all, it was probably a little less expensive, but I wasn't a fan.

Now that I'm back with a car full-time, the commute is a little more enjoyable. I leave my apartment building around 7:15am (earlier if I pick up a co-worker or have to get gas or hear about an accident on the news), and decide whether or not someone will be nice enough to let me turn left out of our driveway and wait in the line of cars to get on the 101 freeway. If no one is budging, I turn right and go around the block which usually takes less time than waiting in line. Then I go up the ramp and wait at the light to merge with the traffic heading through Hollywood. This part is usually smooth, although lately, there have been some major back-ups at Sunset. I pass the Church of Scientology, the Capitol Records building, the nice homes in the Hollywood Hills and head up the Cahuenga pass. Then it's downhill past Universal Studios Hollywood and time to merge with the people coming off the 134. It's at that point that we slow down. Majorly. I have a setting on my car where I can see my average speed and it's between 13 and 15 mph. But it's ok. I listen to the radio, or to a podcast. This is the longest part of my commute through the valley. It clears up a little at the 405 split, but then once we get to the Encino exit, we're at stop and go traffic again. I get off the 101 either at Winnetka (if I want to stop at Starbucks), or DeSoto and head to work. Once I'm off the freeway it's only about 5 minutes past the hospital where I had my kidney stone surgery, and past many apartment buildings and some office buildings to work. I go to my designated parking space and I'm usually done driving until the day is over. The reverse commute is about the same time, sometimes longer. Now that Daylight Savings Time is over, I am always amazed at the number of people that don't turn on their headlights, even though it is dark when we leave work. I usually listen to a podcast on the way home, and mostly pay attention to traffic. I will say that one of the malls around here has put up a Christmas tree that actually "sparkles" which is kind of neat. I enjoy looking at that and also at the sign that tells me how long the commute will be to downtown, which gives me a good idea of when I'll be home. Sometimes I stop at the grocery store or for a quick fast food dinner on the way home.

30 Day Writing Challenge--Day 5--A Place You Would Live, But Have Never Visited

There are lots of places I would live that I have never visited. I think number one on the list would be Italy. I love "Under the Tuscan Sun" and would love to have an adventure like that. I've also heard great things about Italy, the different regions, the different foods...it all sounds wonderful to me. I would also live in New Zealand. The pictures I have seen are gorgeous! Also, my ancestry is from Norway so I would live there. I'd have to learn the language but I think I could do that. I would have to be near water though so I probably wouldn't head to the desert.

It's funny to think of living in a place I've never visited, but I have to say that the first time I went to England, I fell in love. I could have stayed there with no problems. It's also a bit strange because I was always seen as someone who didn't like change. My parents didn't take me on a trip to Hawaii when I was younger because I said I preferred being at home. But in my lifetime, I have moved an average of every 2 and a half years, sure some were within the same state, but it was still uprooting and starting new.

When I met my current boyfriend I said I would never move to California, yet, here I am. I had only been to Los Angeles once, on a business trip before, never been to Pasadena or Hollywood for that matter, and now I have lived in both. I also thought I would never live in Florida, but I lived there for a bit. I wasn't a big fan of it, but that's the nice thing about how we live these days. You can easily move from place to place. No covered wagons, not much disease and you can be in a different country in a matter of hours. It's exciting discovering new places. There are always new restaurants to eat at, new places to travel to, new people to meet.  I think home is a place where you feel comfortable not necessarily a geographic location.