This picture represents the kind of traffic that I was in last night and again this morning. You think I’m exaggerating? I I promise ya’ll that I’m NOT. Would I lie to my blog family?
I’ve had it! Vehicle fires, accidents, construction, road closures, stupid drivers, dead animals, debris in the road, alien sightings and any other damn thing you can think of.
Seriously, I have a commute that make most people cringe. I leave my home at 7am, drop of Little MrTDJ by 8am and get to work by 9am. Yes, it’s nuts, but it’s been my world for the last year and a half, so I press on. I love my job with the federal government and I’m blessed that my mother wants to take care of Little MrTDJ on a daily basis. (Thanks a million MamaTDJ!!)
But, as of this morning, I’m done. I’ve had enough. Something has got to give. Either MrTDJ and I have got to move closer to my mother (have you seen property values in Prince George’s County? Ha! Yeah son, not gonna we able to sell our house any time soon), my mother has to move closer to us (leave her lovely house on the hill? Ha! Nah man, not gonna happen) or I’ve got to get another job (don’t like the sound of it, but it’s the only option with any viability – who has contacts in Baltimore at SSA or CMS and wants to help a sista out?)
This is my log of what we encountered today.
6:57 am – LittleTDJ and I hop into the ride, content for different reasons. I’m smiling because we’re actually early as opposed to late. It’s only 3 minutes, but you’ve gotta celebrate the small stuff. He’s humming and kicking his feet because his bottle is exactly the right temperature. Our cheers and revelry did not last long.
7:18 am – I change my radio from DC stations to Baltimore stations and hear the impending story of doom. “Vehicle fire in the tube. Harbor Tunnel shut down in both directions. I-895 backed up for three miles and delays are building.” I start to hear a ringing in my ears. Shit. Although that’s not the route I take anymore since I have to drop off LittleMrTDJ, this means that traffic all around the city of Baltimore will be troubled.
8:11 am – eleven minutes late to drop off the dude. Why? Because of a new slow spot for about 2 weeks now. Some idiots in the Maryland State Department of Transportation decided that it was time to do a construction project. I know most of ya’ll don’t know the roads I speak of, but try to imagine what I’m describing. Along the Baltimore beltway (I-695), they’ve decided to take away 1 of the 3 lanes for construction. Where has this brilliant construction occurred? Here’s the nutty part – it’s along a pivotal 3 mile stretch where two other major interstates, I-295 and I-95, meet I-695. Can you say traffic hell, every freaking day? Whoo saaaaaa!!
8:14am – Upon passing the dude to MamaTDJ, she suggests that I take I-83 to work, since everyone else will be taking 1-95 as an alternate to the closed I-895. Great idea MamaTDJ! I hope back in the car and start traveling the new route that she’s instructed me on.
8:33 am – are you kidding me? Seriously North Avenue is closed???? There are police cars, traffic cones and yellow crime scene tape. GTFOH!! I can see the sign to I-83 a half mile or so in the distance. Nope, gotta detour. Where in Baltimore is MrsTDJ? Hell if I know. Get MamaTDJ on the phone and she routes me up Eutaw Place, onto MLK, etc, etc. She may well have been singing the alphabet song because it was turning into jibberish to me.
8:59 am – I’m starting to laugh because I’m close to my breaking point. I arrived to MLK and was the 5th car in a line of 6. What in the sam hell is going on to make me miss 4 lights? Da fugg???? Finally, my turn. Shit. Stuck in the intersection. I keep creeping up, hoping to clear the crosswalk. I do, but SURPRISE SURPRISE – MLK is closed!! Fire engines, smoking bus and news crews. I call my work buddy AJ and let out a string of curse words that you should never, ever say to your good good girlfriend who loves the Lord as much as AJ does. (Sorry AJ – keep praying for me, I’m a work in progress!)
9:34 am – AJ knows the city, so she routed me through the Arts District, around by the city courthouse, up toward the biggest and scariest cemetery I’ve ever seen (looks like an old prison, doesn’t it?), back around to I-895 (past the fire) and to work.
9:35 am – Sitting in the parking lot. I’ve seen more of Baltimore today that I’ve ever cared to explore. Tired. Irritated. Tense. Unprepared for any stupidity at work. Yeah right. Good luck with that.
When was the last time you were in traffic so bad you wish you had a chauffeur?
Or better yet, a space ship like the Jetsons? The show was set in 2062, but I won’t make it that long given my current commuting woes. Assuming I’m having a good run and am alive in 2062 at the ripe young age of 86, I doubt I’ll be excited about flying cars. But today? Damn, I wish they were a reality.
Do you think we’ll ever be zipping around town in flying cars and space ships?
My word!! May your next commute be issue-free!! May I never have a commute like that. Amen.
Amen, Amen, Amen!
I can’t take much more; at least not this week!
During times like that I’m glad that I live in a boring city with not much traffic. 🙂 Good luck!
Man, there is definitely something to be said about small towns and boring cities! I’m so envious of people who live 5 or 10 minutes from work and traffic is a complete non-issue.
i don’t know why i thought you were in DC….i am all kinds of confused….i can do DC traffic but that bmore traffic WITH the fact i don’t know bmore yes scary indeed i can only imagine, you are a brave one because i would have been like BUMP IT and went the hell home
Ha! Sorry. Didn’t mean to confuse you. *lol* You were right – we live in Capitol Heights, but I commute up to B’more. Been doing it for about 5 years. Not so bad until little dude came along; he adds a whole other dimension.
ummm so you know i live in district heights/forestville right…..small world!
Very small world indeed. We’ll need to get up Miss Lady! I see you over there embracing your health and fitness. I normally walk/light jog at the PG Sports and Learning Center or Suitland High. Let’s get together.
Traffic was real bad in the area about a month or so ago because of (fatal) wrecks. These fools drive like well….fools. Luckily most of them weren’t on the road we take to go to work. The last time I remember traffic being horrendous on a daily basis was because of construction about 9 or 10 years ago. While I knew of some back roads everyone else knew the main go to ‘back-up’ roads too. On the weekends, I made a point of exploring other ways in and out of LR so I wouldn’t be stuck again. Some of the roads were out of the way but I figured I’d rather do that (and still move and make it home at a decent hour) than sit for hours on end. I mean what if I had to pee, it’s not like I could just get out and squat in front of a zillion people. At least I could pull over in the country. LOL
Girl, I’m so envious that you can specifically recall days when there was traffic because they are so few and far between.
Um, yeah, I’m happy that you didn’t have to flash the world to handle your business. =)
Geez! That was a harrowing story. I wish for you a much better commute from here on out! I would’ve lost it and went back home! That cemetery still has me frightened!!!!! Is that for real?????
Isn’t it creepy looking? And the road that I was on dead ends directly into it. **shivers** Hoping I won’t ever need to detour that way again.
It would be nice, that’s for sure. These DMV drivers at THEE worst. It’d be nice to just fly over and/or around them.
Man, some days I wish I was driving a truck that had a ram bar in the front. Drivers in this area are just idiotic!
Wow…I’m just glad you finally got where you were going. I’ve never been in traffic quite that bad, but I would have to say the closest I’ve come is when I lived in DC and had to use the beltway one morning…can you say terrible?
Ugh! I hate the DC Beltway too. I normally take the BW Pkwy, which has it’s own little brand of lunacy going on, but is typically better than the Beltway.
Aww man. That sound terrible. It gets pretty bad down here too but that right there. Uh uh. I think I would have broke down and cried then went back home and got in the bed!! If you have to drive for 2 hours every morning to get to work, is it the same in the evenings too. Are you getting home at like 7 pm? Whoa. I couldn’t do it. I would agree that something would have to give.
**sighing deeply** Unfortunately, yes, we get home between 7:30-8pm. It used to be an hour before I had the little dude, which was fine. But now with drop off and pickup, I have to navigate the DC traffic and the Baltimore traffic. Inevitably, at least one of those systems seems to fail me at least once a week.
We need to start praying that you can sell your house and move closer to the places that are important to your life now. Traffic is terrible and it always seems like it rush hour 20 hrs a day!! Just be safe!!!
Amen sis! You know you were next on my speed dial if AJ hadn’t answered, right? =)
I feel you! Whoo Lawd, do I feel you! It’s always some shenanigans!
Isn’t it? I feel for you as well and all the other folks that navigate that Mo County traffic.
OMG I would have anxiety out the wazoo, cute about the right temp baby bottle..aww.
Go
Serenity was short! And my stress ball did NOT help that morning.
I was on a project at SSA and had to do that commute for like 2 weeks. It was bru-tal and what made it worse, it rained like 3 days.
You know what rain does to a commute in our area!!!!
By the way, I feel your PG County house selling pain!
Rained this morning and yep, complete misery dude.
I wish I still knew some of the old homies from NY. Hubby joked about burning that joint down! *lol*
Lord have mercy! Stories like this make me think that perhaps living in Mississippi has more benefits that I thought. The last “jam” I was in extended my commute from 40 minutes to about 60.
What you’ve described? I can’t handle traffic like that. Just cannot do it. We were contemplating a move to Houston once up a time. One two hour traffic jam on a Saturday and that idea was OUT!
I hope that something (not your sanity) gives soon!
See, like I told ArGal, I’m so jealous that you remember and describe a specific traffic jam.
Hell, I can name the days that I don’t hit traffic. ARGH!
Your stories never fail to crack me up!
I changed jobs about 3 years ago and now I have a fairly sweet (for Atlanta) commute that takes me about 30 minutes and avoids the highway. I’ve done the whole commute downtown and spend 1hr15 minutes in the car. I’ve done the thing where if you don’t leave the house by 6:15AM you might as well go in after 10AM because traffic is just too bad.
Having now tasted the sweetness of a reasonable drive to work, I will NEVER give it up. I don’t care if could make an extra 20K. My sanity and time is way more important.
Aww, good for you re: the closer job! You’re right – I’m willing to take a pay cut. Might have to scale back some other things, like the 1743 cable channels we have, but it would be worth it.
and yet there was an overturned tractor trailer on 495 today after the 270 🙁
WOMP WOMP WOOOOOMP!
people sat on the road for 2 to 3 hours..just SITTING NOT MOVING ANYWHERE.
Glad i didnt get stucck in that mess.we took the long way to work this morning but I wouldn’t complain as long as I was actually moving. *WHEW*
Grrrrhhhh!! And doesn’t it seem to be worsening? Even on the days when nothing specific is happening, the ride to anywhere just seems to be taking longer and longer.
First time visitor- I think.
Maybe your mom would be willing to come to you 2 days a week. That could help maintain sanity.
Wow, mom and I were just talking about some kind of modification that last night. The biggest problem is that she’d be going with traffic. Although my drive is long (and this day was horrendous), technically, I drive against the majority of traffic. We’re thinking of her meeting me at my office a few days a week though.
Thanks for stopping by!! It’s always nice to “see” a new “face”. =) I hope you’ll visit again.