Some fought themselves, some fought each other,
Most just followed one another
Lost and aimless like their brothers
For their hearts were so unclear
And the truth could not appear
Their spirits were divided into blinded
Hemispheres.
AUTOMOBILE COMMUTE
5:00 am – wake up to the sound of archaic 4-year non-iphone cell phone alarm. Shower, dress and drink protein shake made with soy and whey powders from Trader Joes.
5:45 am – hop into company car and drive onto the 101 freeway south. Traffic is kind of light. Drive through downtown L.A. with no traffic hiccups, then transition onto the 5 south. Turn on Democracy Now with Amy Goodman as she interviews an expert on the U.S. Government’s giveaway of billions of our tax dollars to the biggest banks. American’s just hit home, not caring, transfixed by whatever junk is on their flat-screen T.V.’s.
6:15 am – the traffic going north on the 5 north is ridiculously thick. Completely replete with vehicles, like a clogged artery. The tens of thousands of cars and trucks limp along at a turtle’s pace, every lane stuffed like a turkey with vehicles. To think that people drive 30, 40 even 50 miles each dawn from their McMansions in the suburbs into downtown L.A. to work. And then they voluntarily repeat that process going back to the suburbs, teeth clenched, knuckles white on the steering wheel as they put themselves through another afternoon’s torturous commute so they can ‘relax’ with a triple Scotch in their hands in their about-to-be-foreclosed homes in some housing tract with names like Apricot Ranch, or Castle Estates.
7:00 am – take a satisfying leak and then fill up reusable steel mug with coffee at the usual gas station. Blast Rush’s 1978 Hemisphere’s CD.
7:45 am – arrive to Port of San Diego one hour ahead of schedule for meeting. Chill out in Port’s parking lot, watching The War Tapes on mini-DVD player.
12:00 pm – head back to L.A. Smooth sailing until 1:00 pm when I take a lunch break at a taco joint.
1:30 pm – the traffic on the 5 north is outrageous. Semi-trucks belching filth into the air, SUVs hogging up the road. Thousands of cars everywhere, vying for space, speeding up then coming to a ragged halt every 100 feet. It’s ridiculous. G-d, I’m so glad I don’t drive to work everyday. Why do people spend so many hours of their day festering on these highways of hell? To develop patience, I suppose. I’m thankful I use public transit 5 days a week to get to work, except when I need the company car to drive to some meeting far away.
3:30 pm – arrive back to downtown L.A. completely drained and exhausted after paddling my way frantically through that huge Amazon River of commuter vehicles. Need 3 days to fully recuperate.
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