Do all drivers have a favorite road, or is that another quirk I've taken for granted most of my life because I forget that not all people are car people?
I guess this is a pretty open-ended question. The inspiration behind it came during my new drive to work, which may come as a surprise. Some people actually do think about driving while they're driving! What a concept.
At any rate, My old drive to work was pretty straight-forward. (Lame driving pun not intended!) That's the beauty of the interstate, isn't it? Or should I say, the beauty of living 3 miles north of the interstate, and working about one mile south of the same interstate. Sure, there were times when said interstate was backed up for one reason or another and I'd have to find an alternate route, but luckily I'm familiar enough with the city side streets (and thanks in part to GPS and map apps) that it wasn't a problem to exit early and bypass the obstruction. I think there were only two times in five years I needed to find other ways to cross the St. Croix River, though, which was a bit more of an issue because the next nearest bridge is a bit out of the way. Not un-doable, though. Not by a long shot.
My new drive just has too many options. I'm not great at making decisions when there are too many options and all the time in the world to make them. I still get to take the interstate to work, but then I have to decide which highway I want to branch off to and when. I've tried both of the major options this week and they're both about the same, time-wise, but one feels faster and less stressful. I was actually surprised at the "less stressful" part, because it was the option I thought I would not like.
And that got me thinking about how we have favorite roads, and why. For example, my new commute now affords me the opportunity to drive on highway 36. For some reason, I have always enjoyed driving on highway 36. Always. Ever since I've been driving, it's been one of my favorite roads. I lived in the "wrong" part of town (hahaha!) to actually use it on a regular basis, but I always liked driving it, and I kind of still do. And I've always tended to avoid 35E, again for reasons I'm not quite clear on, except that it seems like it's always backed up. Again, by "always" I mean for as long as I've been driving, which is about 30 years, and I grew up in the cities and learned to drive in the cities, so it really honestly has been that long. Ditto for 694. I don't know, I'm just surprised because, in my head, I thought I would like the 94 to 694 to 36 commute best, because 694 and 36 are only two lanes and therefore would be...I'm not sure what adjective I'm looking for here. Un-super-speedway-like? But, after trying the 94 to 35E to 36 route, I found I was actually much more comfortable and calm and happier on the latter route. I felt safer because 35E had more lanes. I guess a lifetime of NASCAR watching has rubbed off on me: the same amount of cars going the same speeds in a larger space is generally going to be safer because they have more room to pass. When they get all bunched up, like they do on the 2-lane highways where everyone is still trying to do 75 even though the speed limit is CLEARLY MARKED as 60, it's much more frustrating and worrisome because the cars get packed together like sardines and I'm always thinking ahead to wonder what this drive will be like when it's icy and snowy.
Yes siree, some of us certainly do think about driving while we're driving.
😊
We're in the unique position right now of having two houses in which we are interested. Talk about opening a window when He closes a door, eh?! And amazingly, as of a few minutes ago when I checked the MLS website, both were still Active (meaning available and not Pending or Contingent, meaning that the sellers have accepted offers on them). We have already looked at one of them, and are looking at the second one tonight. Based on what we've seen so far on the online listings, it's already a tough call. One seems to have the House advantage, the other has the Land and Outbuildings advantage. They're the same price, and their Locations are relatively similar as well (not that they're in the same area, actually they're in different areas, but basically equidistant from our ground zero. I think. We'll confirm that on Consideration #2 this evening.). As I said, we looked at one already and the house is beautiful! It basically meets all of our criteria and does not need any work, but we have some misgivings concerns about the land on which it sits. Both places are one-owner homes, but the one we haven't looked at yet is a much older home -- and although the photos and the listing show that it looks to be in good condition (dated décor-wise, but that can be fixed), we know all too well that the devil is in the things that aren't pictured. Like the mechanical room, namely the floor and whether it has water on it. And what the carpet smells like, or what the floor feels like when you step on it. Little things like that.
In one week from today, we officially sell our current home to our son, almost exactly 17 years to the day that we bought it. Crazy, isn't it?! If you would've told me six months ago that this would be happening, I would've laughed you right out of town. But here we are. About to do this. The boy is chomping at the bit to get us out of here. I wonder what it's like, taking over the house that you grew up in?
Alright, lunch break is over. Back to work for me! (Working from home today. It feels weird. The new office is so new and awesome that I was almost kind of sad about not going in today, and then I came to my senses and remembered I don't have to spend 2 hours of my day driving, and although I love driving, I also love being home even though it's a disorganized mess right now. Limbo is fun.) TTYL!
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