It’s amazing how LA traffic works.
I had to be in Burbank at 8:30 a.m. this morning for a proofreading training. (Good class, by the way. Learned a LOT.)  According to Google Maps, that would be 33.1 miles, and 38 minutes or up to 1 hour 30 minutes in traffic.
Just to be on the safe side, I decided to give myself 2 hours to get there, leaving the area around 6:30ish.
605 to the 5 North and onward. Traffic was flowing. It was no autobahn but it wasn’t bumper to bumper.
It was about 7:15 a..m. when I got to the 101 junction. A few more slow downs here and there and suddenly the road opened up. As in, I was going 80 mph kind of open. Another 5 minutes and I was in Burbank. I drove around to find gas and parked my butt at a Starbucks to kill time.
Holy shit. I got from the O.C. to the Valley in less than an hour! Since I misplaced my car stereo face plate, it FELT like it was a long drive without any music to get you through. But damn! I am sure if I left at 7 a.m., this journey would have a much different turn out.
On the way home, the same thing. I ran out of the conference room as fast as I could. Conveniently I parked by the stairs on the first floor, just the opposite end of the building from the ONLY exit in the place. I got out in 5 minutes and I was flying down the 5.
A roadside sign blinked, “To 605 – 20 minutes.”
At 4:15 p.m. on a pre-storm evening? Yeah, right!
And guess what? 20 minutes later, I WAS on the 605. By 5 p.m. I exit my on ramp heading home.
Mind you, around 4:30, Nhien called me. She was STILL in the parking lot at the hotel, trying to get out while I was already half way home.
Again, I’m sure if I left at 5 p.m. I would’ve still be on the freeway at 7 p.m.
LA traffic. You just never know!
The one thing I do know is that tomorrow night’s traffic can be as bad as it wants to be. Why? Because we are having a bus party on our bus, that’s why!
After hearing stories of people reminiscing their other commuter buses or train where they’d have pizza or birthday cake on the bus, I took the initiative to rally my buddies on the last bus out of town for a holiday party. Someone’s bringing apple cider. I’m bringing cheese and crackers. Someone else’s bringing cookies. And lord knows who else are bringing what. (No booze on the bus though. This ain’t the bar car!) It should be fun.
So, Enrique Iglesias, bring on the LA Live traffic, bro. Bring. It. On.