getting it back...
Minneapolis took one more step in its quest to make itself better. The Light Train Transit System was inaugurated this weekend. Yet to travel in it. But I am happy to have yet another option for going from one place to another in an efficient way - using public transportation.
Having grown up relying on public transportation for the most part, I came to hate it. It was my dream to drive around in my own vehicle. Go where ever I wanted whenever in the least possible time and most possible comfort. For the past one year I have been having my car and used it extensively - mostly to go to work. A good 30 miles each day. Now for the past month, after having joined the new company in downtown, I hardly use the car. I walk, jog or take the bus to work.
And more importantly I seem to have so much time for myself during commute. Commute has transformed from one that ate my time to one that is giving me time. I concur with the guy who wrote in Ode about how most of the ideas he came up with were during his walk or bike. Especially walking alone is such a nice feeling. You set your own pace. Though there are a million other people around you, you get the feeling you are alone. Free. Un bound by the constrains. I can see faces going 'what crap'. What exaggeration. But trust me. These are my feelings. May be I am alone in experiencing this.
May be its got to do with biology. I believe when we walk or bike, there is a small surge in the flow of blood to the brain. Yet not too hard to make you tire. Hence this great feeling. So much so, now given a chance, I would walk even if it means taking longer to reach. Don't feel like I am missing something or will be slow and hence inefficient. Just feel I am catching up on all the lost time in traffic, keeping an eye on the road and the moron in the next lane who might decide to into yours for no particular reason.
Apart from all the economical and ecological benefits, public transportation gives us such a wonderful opportunity to just observe people. We might think we get into a bus, sit at one place and get down when our stop comes. Yes. It can be just that. Or you could convert those 10-15 minutes into a very enriching session in the study of human behavior. Simple examples. Drivers say 'good day' when passengers get down. Its interesting to observe how many respond and how. What the reaction of the driver is after he is cold shouldered by passengers. Reaction of another bus driver when this one says hi on seeing him come from the opposite direction. Nothing very valuable you might say. It just makes my day interesting.
Anyway, wishing you all happy walking jogging and biking. And don't forget to say how sorry you are to all those who are behind the wheels.
Having grown up relying on public transportation for the most part, I came to hate it. It was my dream to drive around in my own vehicle. Go where ever I wanted whenever in the least possible time and most possible comfort. For the past one year I have been having my car and used it extensively - mostly to go to work. A good 30 miles each day. Now for the past month, after having joined the new company in downtown, I hardly use the car. I walk, jog or take the bus to work.
And more importantly I seem to have so much time for myself during commute. Commute has transformed from one that ate my time to one that is giving me time. I concur with the guy who wrote in Ode about how most of the ideas he came up with were during his walk or bike. Especially walking alone is such a nice feeling. You set your own pace. Though there are a million other people around you, you get the feeling you are alone. Free. Un bound by the constrains. I can see faces going 'what crap'. What exaggeration. But trust me. These are my feelings. May be I am alone in experiencing this.
May be its got to do with biology. I believe when we walk or bike, there is a small surge in the flow of blood to the brain. Yet not too hard to make you tire. Hence this great feeling. So much so, now given a chance, I would walk even if it means taking longer to reach. Don't feel like I am missing something or will be slow and hence inefficient. Just feel I am catching up on all the lost time in traffic, keeping an eye on the road and the moron in the next lane who might decide to into yours for no particular reason.
Apart from all the economical and ecological benefits, public transportation gives us such a wonderful opportunity to just observe people. We might think we get into a bus, sit at one place and get down when our stop comes. Yes. It can be just that. Or you could convert those 10-15 minutes into a very enriching session in the study of human behavior. Simple examples. Drivers say 'good day' when passengers get down. Its interesting to observe how many respond and how. What the reaction of the driver is after he is cold shouldered by passengers. Reaction of another bus driver when this one says hi on seeing him come from the opposite direction. Nothing very valuable you might say. It just makes my day interesting.
Anyway, wishing you all happy walking jogging and biking. And don't forget to say how sorry you are to all those who are behind the wheels.
posted by d'na | 10:13 PM
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