I drove in today. This might not sound unusual, but I usually take the train, except for Fridays when I drive with my husband.

You’ll note, those of you paying attention, that today is not Friday.

Nope. Not one bit. So here I am, or at any rate, there I was, driving all by myself through the wilds of traffic, when it occurred to me: a) I shouldn’t drive PC (pre-coffee), b) I really want a coffee RIGHT NOW THANK YOU, c) honking my horn does not make coffee magically appear (but it pisses off the prick in the SUV behind me so that’s cool, and d) there are THIRTEEN REASONS WHY I LIKE CHICAGO MASS TRANSIT!

In no particular order:

1. When the bus driver honks, coffee doesn’t appear either. BUT, it does mean that I don’t have to pay attention to whatever it is that she’s honking about.

2. My commute, from my house to my office, is between sixty and ninety minutes. This gives me time to write and knit.

3. I’ve made all sorts of cool stuff on the train. Right now, I’m working on a lace shawl and my Master Knitter homework.

4. I love my AlphaSmart 2000 because I can sit it on my lap and type away. On a one day commute, I can get up to ten pages of material, between 2,000 and 3,000 words.

5. It’s nice to get to work without road rage. (I don’t GET road rage, mind you. That’s what the horn is for.)

6. I get a lot more exercise. I wear a pedometer, and average between five and seven-and-a-half miles of walking daily. The larger numbers happen when I walk to the farther bus stop, that lets me off a mile and some-odd from my house. Walking calms me down, and lets me work out stuff in my mind. It’s strange, but I’ve noticed it helps to slow down if you want to speed up. Zen? Yeah. But hey. It works.

7. Here’s a more serious one. (Yes, I can be serious.) It’s like going through a sort of metaphysical buffer between work and home to take transit. Because it’s an enforced quiet time with me, myself, and three million of my closest friends, I get two hours a day of chill time. It turns out, this is good for my psyche.

8. It works better for my psyche to NEVER EVER EVER FORGET MY IPOD. Jus’ sayin’. Cell yell? Don’t be that person.

9. If you do run into that person, you can bury them by that other one, over there. ~points~

10. Is there a statute of limitations on putting the cell yeller out of my misery? o.O…

11. It’s good for the environment. Yeah, yeah, I know that’s the new black. But really, it is. I used to run a transportation reduction program when I was fresh out of college, so do you WANT a lecture on airborne particulates?

12. It slows down my day. This may sound odd, but in today’s day and age, I really do need it. If I drive very day, I find I feel rushed. If I take transit, I don’t. It’s as though that enforced slow time, one hour in the morning and one at night, help keep me calm.

13. I can do my morning pages in the morning on the bus and train. This keeps me sane.