I'm going to take the train places. I'm going to get this figured out.
I have two very good friends that live in the Burbank/Glendale are. This is about 70 miles round trip. My current gas guzzler gets about 14 miles to the gallon (less if it's a sweltering day), so round trip it's $25 dollars in gas I'm spending to see them, and I like seeing them, a lot. Plus I'm over the milage limit on my car lease. I'm not cheap, and I'm especially not cheap when it comes to my friends. I like to lavish time and attention on my friends. But. I hate paying petroleum companies money to see them. I hate oil. I want to take the train.
The train would only cost me about $5 round trip. I know that there is still energy expended, but I like a good rail system, and I think I'm going to buy into it. It's actually not "the train", but it's the train system. It would take three trains to get me to the valley limits. I'm a little scared to, because time tables can be confusing, and we don't teach time tables to little children like we should -- we teach them how to budget for gas. However, I think I'm going to go for it. Todd is horrified at the concept -- he imagines me getting lost, I think. Plus, he loves convenience more than I do.
Did I mention I hate oil? I hate oil. I love Daniel Day-Lewis, but I hate oil with a passion that borders on stupid. However, I love convenience. I love independence. I love cars. I love driving. This, the oil companies and their associates know. But I have to take a stand. Now this doesn't mean I'm going to start riding the bus -- because I hate buses almost as much as I hate oil. But I like trains and I like bicycles, and if I was less of a stumbler, I might even like skateboards. I like scooters, but I don't want to get pulverized by some smoke-belching bus whilst riding on one. Well, maybe for around the neighborhood or something. I also like trolleys -- and sometimes commuter buses, or shuttles, are OK. But big imposing road-hogging city buses are awful to imagine. I would if I had to, but I'd rather not.
So I'm going to pack my usually over sized bag anyway, and try the train. The Long Beach Blue Line heads almost directly to Union Station, and I live less than a quarter of a mile away from the Long Beach Transit station. It's time for those of us who have had our heads up our tailpipes to get on the train. Now I will have no excuse for not finishing A Room With A View -- and who knows, I might even have a conversation about it on the way.
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I was reading somewhere about how people are using public transportation more these days, and someone had what I thought was a pretty astute comment. The interviewer had asked about how much fuel the train was using, and the person replied, "But the train is going in this direction anyway."
I'd use public transportation myself if it weren't so inconvenient. I just can't imagine riding a bus all the way to Fullerton four days a week, and there are no train stations anywhere near where I live. I'd have to drive to get to a place to get on a train, and it hardly seems worth it after all of that.
You should finish A Room with a View. Forster is a great writer. If you haven't yet read A Passage to India, you should put it on your list. It's my favorite of his novels.
I have read a Passage to India, and I really loved it. I only have a little ways to go in A Room With A View, and I really don't know what's taking me so long. I also have Howard's End on the shelf, waiting.
I suppose I'm not much worried about how much fuel the train is using either -- I'm more concerned with how much fuel I'm paying for. I can't imagine riding a bus -- ever. But that may change someday.
Just an update -- I took the train to see Blythe today! It was a little intimidating, what with changing trains and trying to get my tickets and whatnot. Everything worked out beautifully, and I was really proud of myself. I felt very urban as I rode. I also found out that if you took the Metrolink to Fullerton from Union Station sixteen times a month, it would cost you $188 dollars. It's about a 45 min. trip. There are some catches, such as the first train back to Union Station after 10:30AM is around 3:11PM, so I imagine if you had to pick up kids it wouldn't be the best. But imagine! A 45 min trip home, from Fullerton to downtown. I think that's just fantastic. I wish the train went everywhere I wanted to go. I'm definitely taking it next time I go to Universal Studios for a concert or Hollywood/Highland (or the Bowl, which has a shuttle at H/H).
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