memoryloot

Lesson learned… Always check-in at least an hour before your flight takes off. We arrived 37 minutes before our flight and was denied boarding until 1:35PM. Our flight was suppose to leave at 7AM. Yes, 6 hour delay. To top it off, we didn’t even get to make that flight and was asked to wait another 2 hours. We didn’t get into Boston until 12:10AM.

At least we made it here and collected our luggage, which arrived before we did. Time to get some shut-eye. It is almost 5AM here! Yikes!

The ride back was another story. The train was crowded and getting into Pershing Square was interesting. Lots of people walking around. More hustle and bustle than I’m used to in Downtown LA. I almost got lost because I didn’t know where my bus was suppose to pick me up. It worked out fine since I got on a bus with open seats. Eventually along the trip the bus got crowded to a point that the bus driver denied entry for some people at a stop. It gave me the opportunity to explore the carpool lane heading East into SGV. It’s a hidden lane which starts near the Union Station. The lane runs in seclusion from the way we’re used to seeing. The Cal State LA stop leaves you at the bottom of a bridge where you either take the elevator up or take like 10 flights of stairs so that you can cross over to the campus. My bike was still securely locked up. I got home with my back soaked in sweat. It was cool but not cool enough to be wearing a jacket.

I’m definitely going to try to commute this way as much as I can. It was stress free and fun. I felt like I did something to help our over congested freeways and took another car off the road.

I came into work as described in my previous posting. Left the house at 7:30 AM to ride to Cal State LA. I locked my bike and walked over to take the bus. The bus came right on time and I didn’t even have to wait. When I switched over to the train, same deal with no waiting. It was so convenient. I got in about 8:49 AM. Not bad for a stress-free commute.

The bus was a bit crowded but I eventually found a seat. The train was practically empty. My theory is that we have more people driving into work than taking the train, therefore trains are rarely crowded. Other places like NYC, the subway commuters outnumber automobile commuters.

I did my second 5K run this past weekend. Less hills and it showed in my time. Here are the results. I’m #118 on the list. I was a minute and a half faster than last week. It was still tough. I don’t know what it is but during these races I exert a bit more effort and try to run faster than I normally do. I think it’s that you get so competitive and think that you can beat that person or this person. But in reality, I should be running at my own pace. A fun experience nevertheless. Now that I have these races out of the way, I’m going to focus more on my triathlon training. Well, the bicycling and running portion of it at least. We’re racing in September so this should give me plenty of time to train. At the same time I’m going to train for next year’s LA Marathon.

Radiohead concert August 24th and 25th @ The Hollywood Bowl! Tickets go on sale this Saturday at 10 AM. You know I’ll be going. Most likely to both shows. I can’t wait! It’s been too long since the last concert.

Today I’m taking my first steps in being “Green”. I’ve completed my plan on commuting to work without the need of my car. Here’s how the plan will pan out: I will be riding my bike to Cal State Los Angeles. Leave my bike in a bike locker which I will rent from the school for $10 every quarter or 10 weeks. Take the Metro line 484 or 490 bus from the campus to Downtown LA. Transfer over to the Red Line train which stops directly across the street from work. This will cost about $50 a month.

It will probably take some getting use to following a schedule to leave from home and work, but I will have more time to enjoy some music or read. I’ll start on a Tuesday and Thursday only schedule. If I enjoy it, I’ll probably do it more frequently. The only problem is carrying stuff to go to the gym and my lunch. That is the only reason why I would drive. That can simply be rectify by adding a pannier. I can’t wait to put this plan into play. I’ll be saving money, helping the environment, and getting exercise (not that I don’t have enough).

If you’re interested in doing the same go check out the LA Metro site. They have a great trip planning tool to tell you what buses to take for your destination.