The first half of last week, my morning commute was a whopping 2 and a half hours in the morning.  Going home was much better at around 1 hour and 45 minutes, but still – over 4 hours a day just to get to and from work?  Factor in the 9 hours spent at work and I barely have enough time to get ready in the morning, eat dinner at night, rest, get ready for bed, and sleep in the remaining time.  Plus it’s been drizzly and cold, which makes things all the more miserable.

The sudden spike in commute time (it used to take me an hour and a half or so) is due to added construction along the 405, particularly in the Sepulveda Pass.  They’re shutting down Sepulveda going through the mountains, which means everyone is forced to use the 405 and congest even more than usual.  It’s absolute insanity and I’m getting really tired from all the driving.  I’m thinking of renting a place nearby just to alleviate the stresses of driving so much and give myself more time to rest at night.

At least now I have the SafeCell App on my phone so I can earn points for not using my phone while driving!  Once I save up enough I can redeem them for items at hundreds of retailers.  It’ll make my commute much more rewarding as I focus on driving safely and imagine as my points rack up.  🙂  Now if only I could find a good radio station to listen to… I’m so sick of all the music they cycle through and the boring talk shows that just repeat themselves.  I’m even sick of the commercials I’ve heard time and time again!  I tried audiobooks, but haven’t found any good ones since I listened to the ones I really wanted to hear.  Panda suggested podcasts, so maybe I’ll look into those.