For the last six years, my typical work day has been this:

• 7:00am – 7:15am – ALARM. Pet the cats then get dressed.
• 7:15am – 7:30am – Eat a banana with peanut butter and scroll my phone.
• 7:30am – 7:45am – Bike to work.
• 7:45am – 4:00pm – Work.
• 4:00pm – 4:15pm – Bike home.

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Since moving to Doylestown, my work day looks like this:

• 6:15am – 6:20am – ALARM. Roll out of bed.
• 6:20am – 6:30am – Eat a banana with peanut butter and check how bad the traffic is.
• 6:30am – 7:45am – DRIVE TO WORK.
• 7:45am – 4:00pm – Work.
• 4:00pm – 5:20pm – DRIVE HOME.

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I knew when we moved that this would happen until we relocated the business. I know it’s temporary. I’m not asking for sympathy, but boy this commute sucks.

Why does it suck exactly? Here are the main points:

• I have to go to bed earlier because I wake up earlier.
• The mornings are rushed with the thought of ‘getting on the road earlier‘.
• The act of driving in traffic is stressful.
• I’m constantly seeing the GPS update in real time which is maddening.
• I stop at the gas station at least once a week.
• When it takes that long to get home, there’s no desire to run errands. I know I have to get cat food, but after an hour and 20 minutes, I just want to chill for a minute.

But the worst part is simply that there is no winning. Traffic is unbeatable. I can leave at 3pm or 6pm and it’s still there. Every day there’s an accident, a stopped car, a closed lane, something that when you finally drive by it after sitting still for 15 minutes you say “fucking hell, THAT is why we were stopped for so long??“. Two Friday’s ago it took me an hour and 50 minutes to get home because of accident. It’s a constant state of being defeated, and it wears on you.

But this blog isn’t for complaining. What are the POSITIVES of spending 2 and a half hours in the car each day??

• I am crushing podcasts and audiobooks. I honestly can’t imagine doing this with FM radio only.
• While sitting in traffic is wildly inhuman, there is something unifying about going through the misery together. I feel like I’m part of the machine with all the other frustrated commuters.

But that’s about it. There’s not much bright side or silver lining to this.

In a few weeks the business will be moved (hopefully) and the commute will be down to 30 minutes each way, not perfect but much more manageable. However, until then, I am seeing the enthusiasm-deadening drives that some people go through every single day.