Driving in the Bay Area...

Now that I have become a regular commuter, I have been irked by the driving situation in the Bay Area.  Luckily, I am in the North Bay and I am doing a reverse commute, so my issues probably aren't as dramatic as others who drive into SF or Oakland each day.  But I have been thinking about these things, each time I get stuck in traffic and I decided to share them with you all.  Just some simple ways that the North Bay can help ease the commute and traffic on its thousands of drivers each day.

• Grass Fires - For three times in the past two weeks there have been severe stoppages because of grass fires.  Each time the fire has been in the same area.  

Solution: Water the damn grass!!  If it keeps happening in the same spot consistently, get someone out there with a hose.

• Fastrack - This is similar to the EZ Pass that many of us have learned to love over the years.  The Fastrack is the Bay Area version for the numerous bridges that span this 20 square mile area.  In concept, the Fastrack is fantastic.  The problem is that many people still do not use it.  Serious commuters seem to have understood the power of the Fastrack.  The recently forced car poolers to pay for traversing the bridges and required them to use the Fastrack.  There was about a 3 week grace period for them to figure it out.  Well that time is up and it causes congestion on the Golden Gate Bridge everyday.  

Solution: Mark a lane on the bridge as Fastrack only.  This will help to keep non-Fastrack users out of the lane and the frantic lane switching that occurs once the cars approach the tolls.  Also, this rewards people for using the Fastrack, cuts down on the amount of toll attendants that need to be present, and helps ease the stop-and-go traffic that severely diminishes gas mileage and vehicle emissions.  Even the environment wins with this one!!

• Passing on the Left - This may just be from living in Ohio for the last two years and seeing threatening signs on the side of 81 about driving in the left lane is illegal unless you are passing a vehicle.    Well, my two years have taught me that this is the way to drive.  I drove over 36 hours from Ohio to California following that rule.  I can pretty much throw that out the window here.  People drive in what ever lane they want however they want with very little regard for those trying to follow rules we learned during driving school.  I will be on the right lane and have people come flying up on me going at least 15 over the speed limit and then be mad that they had to switch lanes into the left side where there is not a car for miles.  "I am sorry that I am trying to be somewhat reasonable in my speeding and that I am a huge inconvenience to your law breaking."

Solution: Hire Erik Estrada for CHiPs and have him drive around pulling people over.  Okay, all kidding aside even though it would be awesome.  Put up some signs encouraging slower drivers to be in the right lane and that passing is reserved for the right.  This will go a long way to reduce accidents and make it easier for CHP to actually find those who are speeding and to pull them over.

Just some thoughts for the North Bay.  Even putting one of these into effect will dramatically help with the flow of traffic and reduce the amount of stop-and-go that occurs in the area.  Please someone make these things happen!!

Until next time...

-Justin

Fourth of July...

It was a couple of days ago, but oh well.  Fourth of July in SF was interesting to say the least.  It is hard to see fireworks in the dense fog and the two best places to see it were swarmed with 100,000+ people.  So you go for the next best thing, a mini trip to Sausalito.  Our friend, Brian Mathis, joined us for dinner and then came to the fireworks with Ali and I.  Brian is a first-year in BG's CSP program and is doing an ACUHO-I internship at USF, where Ali works.

Ali made a great dinner for the three of us and we sat on the floor around the table because we had nothing to sit on yet (more about that in a second).  She also picked up an apple pie and made peanut butter chocolate chip bars.  SUGAR COMA.  Brian let us know about what he has been up to in SF and recommended to Ali and I some places we visit.  We set out to go to Lone Mountain on USF's campus, but the fog was just too much.  We could barely see the top of the steeple of USF's chapel and that was less than a block away.  The decision to go to Sausalito was quickly made.

We made it to Sausalito with plenty of time to spare.  We found a nice spot in the park, laid out the blankets, sat back, and waited.  Did I mention it was about 60 degrees here?  Well it was.  And there was a brisk breeze blowing through on top of it.  The fireworks were decent.  Nothing crazy.  Sausalito understands The Fireworks Formula, so I was pleased.

{As I was writing this, Ali decided to try burning down our apartment while making Monkey Bread.  Probably not a good idea.  Smoke detector went off and the ceiling here is much higher than at here previous apartment.  Let's just say I didn't get to it right away.}

The return trip was a disaster.  Sausalito is built on a hill and to get out of there, there were lots of winding roads, going up hills that were almost 90 degrees vertical, and all of the streets were only one lane.  It was a crazy, crazy drive.  It didn't help that we had no idea where we were, that is was pitch black, and the fog was getting thicker as we got closer to Rte 101.  We made it out safe and got back to SF.

The next day was spent furniture shopping.  For those that do not know, sales tax in Cali is almost 9%.  Fourth of July (and the 5th) marked no sales tax on any purchase for many furniture stores.  Plus many were having some type of clearance sale to usher in new models.  So after driving through southern SF, San Mateo, Daly City, Redwood City, and San Jose, we found a couch.  Dark brown leather frame, chocolate colored cushions, chaise on the left-hand side, and an ottoman thrown in.  All of that for $575 including delivery.  Best deal out there.  We then saw Toy Story 3 as a reward.  Good day.  Lots of driving, but worth it.

Pics of empty apartment are up on facebook.  Pics of apartment with stuff in it will be taken once our couch is delivered this Saturday.

Until next time...

-Justin

Our Stuff is Coming...

Finally this weekend, our stuff will get here!!  Not sure which day, mainly because the driver wasn't sure and he had a thick Russian/Eastern Block accent that I could not understand over the phone.  I think he said something like it will be here probably Saturday but maybe Sunday.  All I know is that it will finally be here this weekend and I will not have to eat frozen dinners anymore.

In other news, a new office computer has arrived and it is awesome.  24" widescreen monitor, Windows7, and accidental administrative access = Google Chrome web browser.  I cannot get my email to work, but who cares.  Email is dead right?

Well, I am in desperate need of caffeine, so that is on tap.  Pictures will be up from the new apartment and the weekend.  Ali and I will do some exploring from our new city, San Francisco.

Until next time...

-Justin