Thursday, February 03, 2005
Up or Down, Left or Right?
Well, I've been spending the past week or two preparing and moving into a studio down by Lake Union in Seattle. I'll post a picture of the view out my window in another post as I finally just got my phone service connected and I'm now waiting for Earthlink to provision my DSL line next (in other words, "Dialup, baby!").
What this also means is a little commute across the 520 bridge from the Eastside over to Seattle and back each trip. Fortunately, I get on at the last entry ramp and get off at the very first exit ramp on both ends so it makes the trip tolerable in most traffic. The bridge is not exactly one of the most loved of routes in Seattle, especially to daily commuters. Lots and lots of tech workers cruise over to the Eastside from Seattle each day to get to their jobs (with Microsoft's Redmond campus contributing to those numbers in no small way).
It does seem like a lot more Type A's drive this commute than any other so it's interesting driving. Like this morning. I got seriously cut off by what appeared to be another soccer Mom-type driving a Beemer SUV. As she swerved into the VW-sized space between me and the guy in front, I couldn't help noticing one of those ever-so-fashionable and ever-more-ubiquitous Yellow Ribbon stickers plastered on her rear door. Something about Supporting Our Troops or Breast Cancer. Anyway, it was something that shouted out to me that this was Someone-Who-Cared-Goddamnit-Even-Though-I-Drive-Like-an-Idiot-and-Just-Cut-You-Off. And so I spent the last part of my drive to the studio thinking about people like this:
Are they nice people trying to behave like bad-asses (behind the wheel of an SUV) or are they simply nasty people pretending to care (by virtue of having a cool sticker? Or t-shirt?)? Hmm -- social conscience as fashion statement... What a concept!
What this also means is a little commute across the 520 bridge from the Eastside over to Seattle and back each trip. Fortunately, I get on at the last entry ramp and get off at the very first exit ramp on both ends so it makes the trip tolerable in most traffic. The bridge is not exactly one of the most loved of routes in Seattle, especially to daily commuters. Lots and lots of tech workers cruise over to the Eastside from Seattle each day to get to their jobs (with Microsoft's Redmond campus contributing to those numbers in no small way).
It does seem like a lot more Type A's drive this commute than any other so it's interesting driving. Like this morning. I got seriously cut off by what appeared to be another soccer Mom-type driving a Beemer SUV. As she swerved into the VW-sized space between me and the guy in front, I couldn't help noticing one of those ever-so-fashionable and ever-more-ubiquitous Yellow Ribbon stickers plastered on her rear door. Something about Supporting Our Troops or Breast Cancer. Anyway, it was something that shouted out to me that this was Someone-Who-Cared-Goddamnit-Even-Though-I-Drive-Like-an-Idiot-and-Just-Cut-You-Off. And so I spent the last part of my drive to the studio thinking about people like this:
Are they nice people trying to behave like bad-asses (behind the wheel of an SUV) or are they simply nasty people pretending to care (by virtue of having a cool sticker? Or t-shirt?)? Hmm -- social conscience as fashion statement... What a concept!
