Potpourri

Sometimes I'm just not in the mood to have strangers in my car. Maybe I want to blast my music or sing along. Yeah, you're not the only one who does that. Maybe I'm in a bad mood and don't want to be friendly to strangers. So occasionally I'll skip out on slugging and try the normal lanes. But I almost immediately regret it when I get far enough on the ramp to 395 that I can see the traffic. Damn it, Anna. Couldn't just do your normal routine, had to risk it.

I don't think I have the patience to work anywhere in northern Virginia where slugging isn't an option and the only choice is to crawl to work. Music couldn't even save my sanity if that were the case.

Also--the man who rode in my car this morning smelled like potpourri. I wanted to ask how he managed to do that.

Shout Out to my Coworkers

I talk about slugging at work a lot. Partially because they're the first people I see after my morning slug experience when I just have to tell someone my stories, and partially because of the reaction I got from most of them when I first mentioned it. Most of them had never heard of it, and when I explained how it works, they were somewhat baffled that people would get into cars with strangers like that. But now a couple of them just think it's hilarious how much I love to talk about slugging. And my one coworker, E, loves the idea of slugging in general, I think. 

She told her husband that I had slugs in my car one morning, and his reply was, "Ew, did she leave her windows open when it rained?" I honestly wasn't surprised because before I'd heard about slugging, I'd probably have thought something similar. 

One of my coworkers, B, told me that I got in her head so much that one afternoon she went and tried to pick slugs up at the Pentagon because she lives in Springfield, too. Now she picks up slugs every afternoon. Her first experience wasn't a great first impression, though. She came to me the next day complaining because she took three riders and the two in the back knew each other and talked the whole way home. So loud that she couldn't hear her radio. I had to laugh because that has never happened to me, and of course it happened to her on her debut slugging trip. I made sure to tell her that that is a rare occurrence, and she should have just turned up her radio or something. Slugs aren't supposed to talk unless the driver talks, per the Slugging Etiquette/Rules, but on a rare occasion I've ridden with slugs who knew each other as well and they'll talk to each other anyways. 

While we were having this discussion another coworker came in and said that, oh yes, he'd tried slugging before. The one time he tried it he said that he had someone tell him to change his radio station while he was jamming to Twista. Hilarious image, first of all, but I had to laugh at him, too. I play country music every afternoon and no one's ever "told" me to change my radio station or turn it down. That's another one of the rules of etiquette that slugs are supposed to follow. It's not their car, they can't tell you what to play. I told him he should have just said no, or turned it down a little. I try to keep my music down to a certain level, but I'm not going to put on boring WTOP radio because it makes me want to fall asleep.

I told B she should give it another try because it's really beneficial and most riders aren't like the first ones she had, and now she picks up slugs every afternoon, I believe.

Sometimes I Just Can't Stop Laughing

Uncontrollable laughter. Sometimes it happens randomly and I laugh at something that probably isn't that funny for approximately 20 minutes. It almost always happens when I'm with my siblings, to the point where other people can't understand us. And sometimes it happens when I'm overtired and delirious. 

My close friends in high school, or the ones that had any 5th period class with me (for some reason I was always delirious in 5th period) have a lot of experience with my uncontrollable laughter. My best friend in 8th grade came to the beach with me and experienced one of my most outrageous giggle fits and probably has a better memory about why I was laughing than I do. I have no idea why, but at the time I couldn't stop laughing.

 

Anyways, I'm sure other people occasionally...maybe not as often as me...laugh uncontrollably randomly. But it gets more awkward when I have an urge to laugh uncontrollably while I'm slugging, in a car full of quiet strangers (most of the time). It's only happened a couple of times, I swear.

1. I was reading Tina Fey's autobiography and I forgot where I was. I tried to look out the window away from the book, like that was going to stop me from remembering what I'd just read.

2. I couldn't help but fell asleep in the backseat one day, when I didn't have a book to read and I was really tired (I swear it only happened a few times), and it happened to be on a day when we packed 5 people into a sedan because the line was long and the driver was generous. I woke up in a jerk, after having a dream that I was falling. And not one person looked over at me, but when I realized where I was and what had just happened I started cracking up, and then trying to stifle my laugh.  (Puglisi siblings know the noise I make when I'm trying to stifle my laughs. It was rough.) I think it was almost funnier that no one even flinched.

As a driver the urge usually comes when I look in the backseat and see two grown men passed out with their heads leaning back and mouths open, or snoring, and I'll just about lose it. (People will snore--rarely, but they will-- and that's when everyone else in the car usually looks around and kind of chuckles.) I'm like their mommy dropping them off at the kiss-and-ride at school. It cracks me up. I drive "grown-ups" to work. I don't know why that's funnier than driving slugs that are my age. I guess because some of them are literally my friends' parents? And probably because about half of the people I drive are serious men who go to the Pentagon and do important things, I'm assuming. I don't know how else to explain it, it makes me laugh.

What sparked this whole post idea in my mind was the man that got into my car this morning. He was one of the Army dudes going to the Pentagon, and he got in my car and had a bag or briefcase of some sort he wanted to put down. My sweater that I had worn the day before was in the backseat in the middle, and he looked at it and said, "Do you mind if I move your child's sweater?" without a hesitation. I held back the laugh, and told him no problem. I didn't even bother to correct him because, honestly, I'm 5 feet tall it probably did look like a child's sweater. But it cracked me up. I should have rolled with it and been like, "Oh I forgot that she left that in here." My child's sweater. If I were my Grandma, it would have actually been from the kid's department because she could fit into their clothes and would shop there. It was a sweater from New York and Company, why did he assume it was a child's. It just seemed so funny.

What I'd imagine a child's sweater would look like. 

Ok-not really but it was the best I could find.

Maybe you had to be there. Had to share it anyways. My child's sweater. Too good.

Sneaky Slug and the Mystery Lot

I was picking up slugs at the Pentagon this afternoon, and I already had one lady in my back seat who was going to RV so I told the next man that approached my window where we were headed. He then asked, "Old Keene Mill?" which I took as needing clarification as to where the slug lot I mentioned was--perhaps he didn't know the name of the lot he went to? So I said yep, and he got in the car. Two minutes later as we were getting on the HOV lane he said, "Actually, I get out a little bit earlier on Old Keene Mill road at Daventry."

Little background here. Daventry is a completely separate slug lot, much farther down Old Keene Mill closer to 395 than Rolling Valley. Oh, and basically nobody goes there. Especially in the afternoon from the Pentagon. I rarely see riders asking for a ride to Daventry in the afternoon at the Pentagon, but when I do see them they're always desperate and often end up getting dropped off in some random location.

Map of the Parkway with a star where the Sydenstricker Lot is 

located.

I looked at him and said, "Umm..I take the Parkway exit, I don't go down Old Keene Mill." He then proceeded to say, "Well that's why I said OKM for clarification." We resolved the situation by him offering to have me let him out on the side of the Parkway. "We both win!" He says. Oh yes, we both win. I now have to pull over, on the shoulder of the Parkway to let you out because you sneaked your way into my car without telling me where you were really going. Win, win, pal. 

You're probably thinking, why didn't I just go down Old Keene Mill, instead? 1. OKM traffic is seriously insane. So many traffic lights and I don't think any of them are synced. One time I sat at the first traffic light after exiting 395 for 10 minutes. In that time, I can be all the way down the Parkway and at the slug lot. So yeah, I just stick with the Parkway.

By taking the Parkway I can also drop slugs off at either the Rolling Valley or Sydenstricker lot, because Sydenstricker is right off the Parkway, and it's just faster to get to Rolling Valley that way. So when people walk up to my car at the Pentagon, I tell them I can go to either, or if there's a line of people when I show up I'll ask where the first two people in line are going because it's really kind of sporadic as to which lot has more drivers on a given day. (RV is actually a little bit out of the way because of a light I have to sit at exiting the lot, and it's a couple streets past my house, but I feel their pain having been an RV slug before...)

Back to the real story. 2. Even if I had conceded and gone down OKM so as to drop him off on my way, it's still hard to pull over where Daventry is and get back into traffic because you kind of just pull over into a compact bus lane. So it's somewhat rude to jump into someone's car without letting them know you aren't actually going to the slug lot that they mentioned. Work that stuff out before you get in the car. Sneaky, sneaky Daventry-man. And 3. I had a softball game to get to so I couldn't really spare the time to go out of my normal way, since I was already a little behind schedule, too.

As soon as he got out of the car, the lady in the back seat (who happened to ride with me in the morning, as well--I always find it humorous when that happens) and I vented about how that had been not only rude by dangerous to ask me to do that. Then she said, "Well, remember him for next time so you don't pick him up." Done and Done. Good bye, Mr. Sneaky Daventry Slug.

Slugging Statistics

I was trying to find a picture of an ad that I saw on the side of a Metro bus for slugging (Sidenote: I think that's hilarious. They're supporting a different form of commuting that's free and doesn't benefit them? I couldn't find a picture of it so I'll have to do some scouring on the road if traffic is bad one day) and I came across this slugging thread: http://www.city-data.com/forum/northern-virginia/855393-have-you-tried-slugging-do-you-3.html.

This is the excerpt that I found interesting:

"Total persons using the HOV lanes are 52,600 in the 6:30-9:30 a.m. time frame. In comparison, Metrorail carried 41,300 passengers across the cordon and VRE carried 4,310 passengers. The remaining roadways to the core area carry 87,280 people in 80,000 autos and 4,400 bus passengers during the 6:30-9:30 a.m. time period.

The Shirley Highway HOV facility is the best example in the region of a successful HOV operation. From 6:30-9:30 a.m. in 2002, the two HOV lanes carried a total of 31,650 people in 8,635 vehicles, compared to the four conventional lanes which carried 23,510 people in 21,310 vehicles. The Blue and Yellow lines of the Metrorail service in this corridor carried 16,700 people in the same time period.

That's an average of 3.7 people per vehicle in the HOV lanes, and 1.1 people per vehicle in the regular lanes."

 In summary, in 2002 the two HOV lanes stats from 6:30-9:30am on I-395 (Shirley Highway) were as follows:

HOV: 31,650 people in 8,635 vehicles
Regular lanes: 23,510 people in 21,310 vehicles.

That would be why the regular 395 lanes are usually so much more packed than the HOV lanes. Captain Obvious? Maybe. Still an interesting stat. And I'm not really a big stat person. My number of strike-outs in college was too far above what I'd have liked for me to be one. 

Slugging Success

Since I've gotten my route down, slugging has been working even better for me. It only takes me about 4-5 minutes to get to the Pentagon in the afternoon leaving Crystal City to pick up slugs, and that's just because of stoplights and the traffic cops at the Pentagon. Then it usually takes me about 15-20 minutes to get back to the slug lot once I pick up slugs. I'm usually only on the HOV lanes for about 6-8 minutes. Sometimes it seems longer because of the distance I'm covering in that short time, but typically I am going 60-70 mph on the HOV lanes (it's ok, Dad, even though I know you aren't reading this, the speed limit is 65).

Seemed fitting.

Once I exit the HOV lane, it only takes about 10 minutes to get back to the slug lot because I take the Parkway instead of Old Keene Mill Road. OKM road in the afternoon is seriously painful. The Parkway doesn't get bad until right after the exit that I take to drop off slugs, so it goes much more quickly than OKM. I feel like I have inside info knowing this, because I think about 90% of the slug drivers going to Rolling Valley lot take OKM road in the afternoon. If you suggest this to the riders, they are usually more than happy about it, and is another way to achieve "prototype slug driver" status.

A couple days ago, I hit every light, picked up slugs immediately at the Pentagon, and traffic was great on the HOV lane. I think it took me maybe 22 minutes to get home. It was heavenly. That used to be the amount of time it took me to walk down to the slug line in DC. Seriously, sometimes it's the little things that get you through the day.

Prototype Slug Driver

My older brother (check out his awesome blog here) commented on one of my blog posts asking if any of my passengers had complained about my "erratic use of the gas and brake pedals yet." Good one, brother. 

But then I started thinking about it and I used to hate slugging with drivers who would speed up in traffic just to slam on their brake .8 seconds later, or change lanes like it was their job only to get nowhere further than the car next to them originally. There were lots of other more quirky traits that made it annoying to ride with certain people, and I would kind of sigh when I saw their car pull up for me to get into.

So when I picked up slugs for the first few times, I was pretty paranoid. Ok I won't lie, I still am pretty paranoid about my driving when I pick up slugs. It makes you really conscious of all the little bumps you can feel in your car, and exactly how hard you're pressing on the gas or when you let up on the gas, and so forth. I basically want to be the best driver they've ever ridden with. Not only in terms of driving ability, but cool-ness, if you will. Yes, I'm basically 16 years old and I want to be the cool driver that everyone likes!

I always ask the riders if they're too hot or too cold to let me know, try to be polite, keep my music at a normal level, or I'll ask where the first people in line in the afternoon are going because I will go to either slug lot in Springfield and I want to be fair. I also secretly pray that my passengers like country music because then I really have an in as the cool driver. It makes me feel somewhat lame when I realize how much I want to be liked by these strangers, but I do. I guess just because I always had my favorite drivers and who doesn't want to be liked?

CC Walker-Talker

I picked up slugs both this morning and yesterday morning. It's been reliable for me in the morning lately, and I definitely prefer picking up slugs and getting on the HOV lane to sitting in the crawling traffic.

Yesterday I actually had riders that were going to Crystal City. Up until then, each time I picked up slugs in the morning I was dropping them off at the Pentagon. I'll pull up and say Crystal City or Pentagon, because Crystal City riders are kind of hit or miss to find and are rarer than Pentagon riders. I was glad I finally got some CC riders because it's less out of my way and the traffic at the HOV exit is much better once you split off from the Pentagon drivers and go to the right instead of sitting in the line that turns left. I did end up going out of my way to drop them off a little further into CC than where my parking garage is. But I kind of felt like that was me "giving back" again as a former-passenger because I've had drivers that have gone a little bit out of their way so that they could drop me off closer to work, and it's just nice. Plus I had no idea where the "normal" drop-off for CC was, so I just went with the flow.

Today I went back to the Pentagon to drop slug off, and one of my riders was definitely a talker. Not to say that I mind, because it usually makes the time go faster and I like meeting new people and socializing, anyways. But it does depend on the person. Sometimes as a driver (or even as a passenger before) I just wanted the other people in the car to be quiet for one reason or another. If it gets to that point it's probably because they are obnoxious or annoying, because ask B, I like to talk. All of my afternoon slugs have been quiet and I just play my country music and tell myself if they don't like it, oh well.

I found out this guy usually goes to CC but just that day he had to go to the Pentagon. So I'm sure I'll be seeing him again. I heard parts of his life story, we talked about slugging patterns and odd slugging stories, and he asked about my job, etc. The normal traffic conversations, discussing the new building off 395 that has no commuting plan whatsoever and is going to be a massive headache when workers are transitioned there, the usual slug convos. It did make time go faster and he didn't question the status of my university or anything like that. (My last "talker" asked me if Penn was a real Ivy league school or a fake one, because he thought it was a fake one.  And was I sure it was a real one? Well, it's not as GOOD as the other ones, right? I should have said, we're the party school Ivy, and left it at that.) The ride took about thirty minutes total, so not too bad.

I'd seen that guy before when I used to be a passenger, and just from standing in line I knew he was a talker. So I knew what to expect when he came over to my car. I don't know names so I'll dub him CC walker-talker. Apparently he walks back and forth between the Pentagon and CC a lot, whether to the Pentagon slug lot in the afternoon or if he can't get a ride to Crystal City in the morning. It's not far, and I'm pretty sure a lot of people do that because the Pentagon slug lot is just easier to get rides to and from.

Busted

My friend and former coworker, H we'll call her, sent me a link today to an article about cops having an increase in HOV violation busts in the area. (http://www.wtop.com/?nid=41&sid=2421793). The subject title of her email was "because you are the maven of all things commute related." Made me laugh. Then I thought about it and I laughed some more because how did I become the person who everyone comes to with their commuting stories. It's kind of funny. (Thanks H.) But I get pretty into it when people complain about commuting in this area. And I can usually relate. Enter slugging sales pitch here. I should really be their marketing cover girl. If "slugging" was a company. Or a formal thing at all.

Regarding the HOV violations and the cops being on increased patrol of the HOV lanes, it's definitely true. I see them out there all the time. I saw two cars pulled over this morning getting tickets for not having the necessary number of people in their car.

To ride on the HOV lane, there must be 3 people in your car. Thre are a couple of exceptions:

1. If you are a cab, you only need two riders.

2. If your car is a hybrid, you can ride on the HOV lanes regardless of how many people are in your car.

3. Motorcycles are also allowed on the HOV lanes.

It's pretty often, too, that the cops will just stand at the exits from the HOV lane and check out each car as it goes by to make sure they aren't violating the HOV restrictions. Personally, I would never take that risk because as you can see in the article, the fines are pretty lofty:

First offense is a $125 fine;

Second offense is a $250 fine, plus three points;

Third offense is a $500 fine, plus three points;

Fourth offense is a $1,000 fine, plus three points

And with my luck, the one time I would try to break the rule the cops would be there waiting for me. Whenever I see people pulled over for that violation on the HOV lanes I wonder what they were thinking and if it's their first offense. No way I'd want to pay $250 after already being caught for that once. I hope they had somewhere really important to be and were just desperate in the horrible 395 afternoon traffic.

But I find myself being biased and first thinking that they probably do it all the time and just never thought they'd get caught. Then I get mad because those people add to the HOV lane clogs that happen occasionally. Maybe if those people weren't breaking the ruuuule we'd always be going 75 mph on the HOV lane instead of having some delays.

So I don't feel bad when I see them pulled over by the cops. Not fun for them though. Especially if they've made it all the way to the HOV exit and they're probably thinking to themselves, "haha didn't get caught again!" That's kind of humorous of the cops, actually. Let them enjoy the ride then slap them with the fine. Touche.

Getting Situated

I've been on a brief hiatus from blogging because:

a. I was testing out the commute last week to see which routes worked best, the time differences, etc. 

b. last week was shorter due to the holiday 

and 

c. on the days I did try to pick up slugs in the afternoon last week Crystal City one-way streets, my lack of knowledge of the area, and my lack of patience got the best of me and I ended up either taking back roads home or sitting in 395 traffic. 

A: I'm getting a better mental map for the area over there as well as for the parking garage which is under construction and has minimal directions regarding where the exits lead to until it tosses you out onto a one-way street heading in the opposite direction you want to be going, of course. I've found a good route to take to pick up slugs, as well as a good route to take for days when traffic isn't bad or days when I leave early, etc. so I don't need to or can't pick up slugs. 

Time-wise, today it took me about 20 minutes from the time I picked up slugs to the time I dropped them off. I was probably only on the HOV lane for about 8 minutes. It was glorious. And door-to-door it was about 40 minutes which can be shortened if I hit the street lights at the right time, and get used to the commute so I'm sure of where I'm going. It's definitely longer door-to-door not picking up slugs and taking regular 395, as well as way more painful. It may seem weird having strangers in your car, but I'd rather do that than stop and go 150+ times on the way home with a max speed of 20pm on 395. Like I said, I have a lack of patience especially with traffic.

C: I don't really want to talk about, but I will.  After sitting in the 395 traffic going home once already last week, I knew I wanted to get into the habit of picking up slugs at the Pentagon instead. So I set out to do that one day last week and I ended up on a street I hadn't been on in the area and the street signs up ahead were hard to read until it was too late. I ended up on Route 1 South and would have to cross over like four lanes of traffic immediately to get back to where I wanted to be, so I just said screw it and kept going South. I had another similar experience the next day, where I ended up getting frustrated and just getting on 395 South. Why was this so difficult--go North from Crystal City and it's hard to miss the Pentagon, right?

Friday I was so annoyed with my commute from the day before that I decided to just bail on attempting to pick up slugs and I figured the traffic wouldn't be too bad since it was Friday and a lot of people don't even go into work. It wasn't as bad as the other days but it still wasn't great.

But today, I wasn't going to sit in that 395 traffic. I was determined not to be an idiot for a third time attempting to pick up slugs. I had picked up slugs once the week before from the Pentagon, so I really don't know why this whole parking garage change was messing me up. I knew what street I needed to be on to get to the Pentagon, the parking garage spitting me out in a different location was just throwing me off. So I managed to find my way back to the exit of the garage that I was familiar with, and lo and behold, it solved all my problems. Thank. Goodness.

S the Good Samaritan

Sadly, I don't work with S (P.S. check out her blog!) anymore so we don't walk to the slug line together anymore, either. But she told  me about her slugging experience today because it had to do with the line I used to go to. It used to take longer for my line to get rides than the line S was in. Our slug lot is huge and there's a wide array of destinations that the drivers go to from there in the morning, mostly in DC. However, in the afternoon standing at the slug line, there's two lines. The other line gets more rides because it's closer to the exit from the HOV lanes (see this post) and I think drivers want to get the strangers out of their car sooner rather than later, plus they often have other places to go in the afternoon than all the way to our slug lot, about 4 miles down the road.

Anyways, for whatever reason, there's less drivers that go to my slug lot in the afternoon from DC than there appear to be for this other slug lot. I know for a fact that some drivers who leave from my slug lot, take riders back to the other slug lot in the afternoon. I've seen some of the drivers as they call out the name of the other slug lot and recognize them as drivers that leave from mine in the morning.

So it's a running joke between S and I, when we show up to the afternoon slug line and my line is short and hers is extremely long. When she looks at me with sad, puppy face, I just yell back to her 20 people away, that she'll still be in a car before me, so she should be quiet. And it usually happened that way. (It should be noted that it wasn't this long of a wait every day, but it was always the other line that went faster than ours. It was like we were the last ones picked in kickball, sometimes.)

This picture was just funny. 

So finally, to the point of the story: S was driving by the afternoon slug line about two minutes before 6pm when the HOV lanes open to everyone, and she saw two slugs standing in "my" line still waiting. She decided to pick them up, the Good Samaritan that she is, because she knew the pain I sometimes went through as a Rolling Valley rider. When they got in, she told them that her friend goes to RV and she knows it's always harder to get a ride. They replied, "Oh, so you've heard our RV sob stories. Tell your friend, thank you. We really appreciate this ride."

Slugging is a very humbling way to commute. You really are eternally grateful when you get a ride after waiting for a while, or when it's really hot (or cold) out, or you really have somewhere you need to be. Some days are better than others, so it makes it all worthwhile, but on days like this where the riders were still waiting for a ride at 5:58pm, the gratitude oozes out of you. And oh yeah, it's free. Did I mention that?

Giving Back

I decided not to risk getting stuck in unbearable traffic this afternoon, so I went over to the Pentagon slug lines to pick up some slugs after work. I got kind of turned around getting over there, but once you're close enough to the Pentagon it's hard not to find it.

The Pentagon parking lot is hectic. Tons of cars. Traffic cops telling you where to go and doing it in a not-so-efficient manner (in my experience). I made it over to the circle where the slug line that I needed to go to was, and passed by a few other slug lines in the circle before reaching mine. The Pentagon's slugging system is very formal and organized and they have signs for the locations permanently placed in the concrete. What is difficult is getting around the other slug lines in the circle to get to yours because there are cars trying to merge back into the circle once they've picked up slugs, and you're trying to get over to the right at the same time. Shocking there aren't more fender benders. Although I have seen some fights.

Anyways. I got to the front of the line and picked up two riders. My second rider was a middle aged asian woman who when she got into my car said, "Oh, perfect. Thank goodness. It's so hot out there!" It may seem silly, but if you've ever slugged, you know that feeling of being sooo grateful there is a car going to your destination right as you walk up to the line. I felt pretty good being on the other side of that equation. 

Then she stuck an umbrella in front of her face to block the sun from her entire body and I just wanted to burst out laughing. It was a struggle, but I can report back that I did not laugh in her face. I just smiled. And then decided to share it on my blog. Maybe you had to be there. 

Either way, I felt good about picking up slugs and returning the favor I've been on the other side of so many times, even if I wasn't returning it to the specific people who picked me up.

Jealous Pangs

Patience is a virtue. That's the lesson learned from today's commute. 

But, having enough gas in your tank is also necessary. Especially when embarking on an unpredictable commute. And I did not. Or at least I was worrying that I didn't. And waiting in line at the slug lot where there were about four cars in front of me also going to Crystal City (CC). 

After realizing I'd have to wait a little while because of the other CC cars, I decided to try the other slug lot nearby because I didn't have much gas left. I figured there might be less cars there because it's a smaller lot and I would just take some slugs to the Pentagon instead. I got over to the other lot, and there were there cars and no people. I waited for about five minutes and only one person came up. After 8am, that lot is pretty slow. I finally caved and decided to get gas and just stick it out on 395 solo. 

Parts of 395 weren't bad, but there was a lot of bottlenecks and congestion where there was merging going on. I looked over at the HOV lanes to see if maybe they were having a bad day, too. Maybe they were having some "unexplainable" traffic congestion like sometimes occurs on the HOV lanes. Nope. Flying right by. As I sat there crawling behind brake lights. 

I was the person I used to feel sorry for as we were going eighty in the HOV lanes. "Ha...I could never do that. That's painful." And it was. And the driver and other slugs would agree. Craziness. If it wasn't for my Darius Rucker cd, I don't know what I'd have done. Ok, that's an exaggeration. It's survivable. Then again, it wasn't the worst traffic I've seen on 395 before. But why do that when you can pick up slugs and be there in at least half the time. I totally wished I had filled up on gas the night before so I could have just sat in the slug line and waited for riders. (Darius did make me care less about the traffic I was sitting in, though. Love his latest cd.) I just sat in my car, occasionally glancing over at the HOV lanes and sighing. I usually plan so well. I forgot how my gas tank lies to me when it's closer to E, and ends up dropping faster than it should. It also lies to me when it's full, and will take forever to budge at all. Maybe I should get that checked.

Supply and Demand

Slugging is just like any product: it relies on supply and demand. There is a tangible shift in power from days when there is a long line of cars and you're one of few people looking for a ride, to days when you're in a long line of people waiting and there's not many cars available. 

When you walk up and there's a long line of people and not many cars, you're way more susceptible to taking a ride that will drop you off eight blocks away. When you're one of fewer people in line and there's a lot of cars, you can be more picky, so that you get a car that takes you exactly where you want to go. 

On days when there's more cars than people, or the cars are going places that the people in line have turned down, you'll see some drivers calling out their windows to see where people are going. They'll often change their mind and tell you that they'll take you to your location because they've been waiting a while. They may reach their head out and just say, "Hey, where....ARE you going?" 

Desperation reaches both sides of slugging. Often you'll see slugs in line, suddenly sigh and walk towards one of the cars in line that they previously turned down if they've waited too long or think they'll be late for work. I try to hold out until it's really been too long, before I accept something outside of my 4-block range. Because I know that with my luck, if I accept a ride from a car going farther away than I'd normally accept because I'm tired of waiting, 2 seconds later a car going to my exact location will show up. I prefer to wait. 

S knows all about this theory of mine, and one day she ran into me on the way to work when I was coming from a bit farther away. She just started laughing and said, "I see you accepted a ride over here, huh?" Yes, I'm lazy. But the theory usually works in my favor.

My Miss List

While I am excited to shave some time off my commute and get a change of scenery, there are some things that I will miss about slugging in DC:

1. The Walk:

The walk down to the slug line is actually kind of nice. Unless I'm in a huge rush, it's raining, or it's extremely hot out. But you know...otherwise. I usually walk pretty fast so it's a little exercise after sitting in front of a computer all day, and S usually walks with me so we make jokes and talk about the day. We're basically a couple. An odd couple. If opposites attract...
2. The Buildings:

Checking out all the old, historic, important buildings that I pass to and from work. I didn't used to really look, but then someone asked me where some important building was and I honestly had no idea. So I started looking around more and taking in the scenery, and I really love some of the architecture.

3. The W:

I know the one above this is about buildings, but I will specifically miss walking past the Willard Hotel on 13th and Pennsylvania every day. It's just so pretty. I want to go inside and wander around or just stand outside and stare at it and wait for Albert Haynesworth dare to come back, or someone more important pull up in a black sedan or limo. I always see important-looking cars around it, and cop cars, and I just want to walk up and ask who's staying there. I know Beyonce stayed there last year. Sigh.

4. My Carpool:

Occasionally I ride with a carpool in the afternoon when our schedules match up. Sometimes it's nice to get picked up a few blocks from my office so that I don't have to risk it being a bad day at the slug line and have to wait there for 20 minutes to get a ride. And they're pretty entertaining, too. Yesterday when she picked me up she greeted me with, "Hello sunshine!" How can you not like that?

5. My favorite morning drivers:

I've become attached to some of the drivers for my location. Not all of them, but my select favorites I will miss. It's a comfort-zone thing.

6. No Metro:

I hate the Metro, especially during rush hour. This just means I'll probably end up becoming the driver sooner rather than later. But we will see.

DC sluggin'

Next week, I will be starting a new job in Crystal City. Don't worry! I can still slug! (If this is the first and only post you have read, refer to this post to understand).That's literally everyone's first or second concern when they hear my new job is in Crystal City. "But...can you still slug?" It's typically genuine concern (although one of my coworkers had a more sarcastic tone to it...he is skeptical of slugging and shall remain nameless) and I choose to interpret their concern to mean that they love reading my blog so much that their day would be less entertaining without it. Or maybe they just enjoy overhearing my morning story time with S where we exchange any funny slugging stories across cubicles loud enough for the entire sparsely populated office to hear. Since I only have like 8 followers. Or maybe modesty isn't my best trait and they are just concerned about me being able to continue slugging for financial reasons. Since right now I pay nothing for my commute. Nah, genuine concern for my finances? I'm going with the first reason.

To summarize, yes I will be slugging still. The only difference is in the afternoon, it doesn't appear that drivers from Crystal City go to my slug lot where I park in the morning. So while I can slug from the morning lot to Crystal City, I will need to metro to the Pentagon and slug from there in the afternoon. Not a big deal. And I'm sure I will still shave at least 15 minutes off of my commute since I won't be sitting in any 14th street traffic! Perhaps I'll transition into the slug driver in the near future...that'd be interesting.

Car-sick, tired, but still laughing (Thanks Tina Fey)

I stepped into my office building feeling nauseaus this morning after riding with one of the worst lane-changer-slug-drivers to date. Not only did I feel sick, but it was one of those mornings where traffic was backed up from the start on the HOV lanes, and then without any explanation as to why we had just crawled for 8 miles, opened up and was smooth sailing the rest of the way into DC. I hate that. There was no accident. No cop sitting there causing everyone to panic and immediately slow down 20 miles per hour. No huge merging issues. Inexplainable backed-up traffic.

So I was pretty tired when I got into the building. Our concierge noticed, as it would have been hard not to since I stepped through the door mid-yawn, and made some comment I can't remember because I was still waking up. Basically he just laughed at me and teased me saying he hoped I didn't fall asleep at my desk today. He's a fun guy. Always smiling. Shout out to him for always making the start of our day pleasant even when we feel like walking zombies (eh, eh, B? little zombies shout out, too?). He slugs in to work, too, so he knew what I'd just sat in on 95. I found out later that I looked so tired that when S walked in this morning, and told him she was tired, his reply was, "Oh, no, you're not tired! Anna...now SHE was tired!" He likes to stir it up.

Anyways. I still felt a little nauseaus from the car ride, so I got a soda (Coke-Zero Cherry, of course, because Coke-Zero alone tastes like absolute crap) in an attempt to make my stomach feel better. Did the car ride really make me that nauseaus you ask? Let's see here. The driver was clearly agitated that traffic was so backed-up, explaining that he usually comes in much earlier, and attempted to change lanes every 30 seconds, only to make no progress. Because traffic was going no where. Obviously. At one point we were stopped because of a school traffic cop, and at the last second he tried to get into the left lane and ended up with a slight tail end still in the right lane. Definitely necessary. So we continued this all the way up the road to the HOV lanes, and well into the HOV lane traffic, as well. Left. Right. Left. Right. Sighhhh.

"Ch-ch-ch-chhhh-chhhh." He kept making this noise as he changed lanes and asked if traffic was usually this bad at this time, because again, he didn't usually go in this late. I assured him that no, even at this wildly late hour of 7:45am traffic was not usually like this, as I glanced sideways at him every time he made that weird, "Chh-chhh," noise. What was that?


Oh and did I mention it smelled weird in his car? I stuck my nose in my Tina Fey autobiography, "Bossypants," hoping to take my mind off of all this and get a few laughs. In the past week while reading this book in the car, I've had more than a few moments where I couldn't stop myself from laughing out loud. Her renditions of her first job, honeymoon, and what it's like on a photoshoot are hilarious and so sarcastic, I love it. I was hoping that this morning would be no different so that I could make him equally uncomfortable with my somewhat suppressed and seemingly-random laughing as his odd noises and obsessive lane-changing were making me. (This did happen. And he didn't seem phased.)

All in all, pretty not-fun ride this morning. Mildly uncomfortable. Never seen that guy before, and I hope he reverts to his normal 6am shift so that I don't ride with him again. The only big plus was that I did get dropped off right in front of my office. Success.

Slugging Etiquette Rule #2

Rule #2: A slug does not ask to change the radio station or adjust the heat or air conditioning.

This is another main rule listed on the slugging website that I've seen both followed and completely disregarded. The first part of the rule regarding the radio station, in my opinion, is a given. It's their car, their radio, and you should just listen to what they have on without complaining.

The lady who was telling stories about That Guy told me one about another lady that she is actually friends with, but can be a bit overwhelming to deal with sometimes, telling her (not asking) to turn down her radio. The driver is someone I enjoy riding with, but her music is a bit out there, and definitely not my type. I have put my headphones in before when I was in her car, because it was extra loud that day, but usually I just deal with it. This woman actually said, "Turn down your music!" The driver was rather put off by the nature of her friend's request, and That Guy happened to be in her car as well. When she responded to her friend, she said, "For YOU, I will," as if to send a message to the guy in the passenger seat.

I've never heard anyone else tell a driver to change their radio station or turn it down, and I have witnessed a wide variety of radio choices by the drivers. One driver I like to call Spanish Reggaeton because the couple of times I rode with him in the morning he was blasting it on his radio. 8am, man. Then there's Republican Guy who I like to ride with because I think the morning talk show is hilarious, but I'm sure not everyone that rides with him likes listening to it as it's usually pretty controversial conversations. I've ridden with drivers that play classical music, NPR radio, hot 99.5, and even audio books. The audio book lady was particularly uncomfortable because it was some sort of romantic novel. Very awkward. I definitely put my headphones in during that car ride, but the volume on her radio was up there so it was hard to shut it out.

The second part of the rule regarding the temperature in the car is a separate subject. Often the drivers will inquire as to whether it's too hot or too cold in their car, out of courtesy. Unless it's at an extreme one way or the other, I just reply with, "I'm fine." But I have ridden in a few cars either in the summer when they didn't have air conditioning, or the winter when they were absolutely blasting the heat, where I've said otherwise or tried to make my discomfort noticable to get them to adjust the temperature.

One driver didn't have AC in his car, and my friend, V, was riding in the same car as me that day. He had the windows rolled down going about 80 mph on the HOV lanes and the wind was blowing in our faces. V finally spoke up and asked him if he could roll the windows up, and that's when he told her he didn't have AC. She turns him down now as a result of numerous bad experiences in his car and she's never turned down a driver before. I think if it's really that cold or hot in their car, it's acceptable to politely ask if they would mind turning the air up or down, or rolling up the windows.

Most people won't be offended or appalled that you asked if you ask to turn the temperature up or down politely, but if you do it in a rude way that's where it could burn some slugging bridges. And it's not the same as telling them to change their radio station, so this rule is really two rules in one.

On the Flip Side

On Friday my friend was in town to check out some graduate schools in DC and was staying with me, so I decided to drive in to work for a couple of reasons.

1. I didn't want to overwhelm her with the concept of slugging at 7am on Friday morning. I planned to pick S up right before we got on the HOV lane to make the three-person requirement and to make S's commute in a bit easier, too.

2. I wasn't sure what time my friend would be done wandering DC and I wanted to be able to leave ASAP after she was done. Driving in would give me that opportunity, and I would just pick up a slug on the way home since S would still be working.

The morning went as planned. Traffic was really light since it was Friday, and we got S and made it into the city and parking garage in good time.

The afternoon was much more interesting. Little known fact: I hate driving in DC. Especially in rush hour when God knows who is going to change lanes at the last second and cut you off. I managed to pick my friend up in Dupont Circle after going around a couple of different circles multiple times. (Be quiet, B.) We proceeded to make it back past my office, and downtown towards the Washington Monument.

I had it all under control driving-wise, even though I was road-raging-it-up as cabs stopped abruptly and potholes popped up left and right. No almost-accidents, or anything. I got to the stoplight right before the slug line, and was all in place in the right lane. So proud of myself. Piece of cake. Then I see it--a car still parked in the right lane, and perfectly placed about ten feet in front of the beginning of the slug line. Great. I looked to my left to judge if I could gun it and beat the car next to me to change lanes briefly, pass the parked car and get back over. It was a van. No problem. My little Corolla could do it. (I just saw Fast Five last night, so I feel pretty lame right now.)

Of course another car was pulling in front of the parked car at the same time as me, and didn't move up very far, soI had very little space to pull over into. The tail end of my car sticking out more than I was comfortable with in DC rush hour traffic, so I was trying to get people in my car and get out as quickly as possible. I called out the window where I was going and said that I could take one or two, but that they'd have to move some of the stuff in my backseat over. The guy said, "Oh, that's ok," and just got in and didn't tell the guy behind him that I could take another.

So as he closed the door, the passenger seat window was still open and the next guy in the slug line yelled, "TAKE TWO NEXT TIME!" My road rage got the best of me and I instinctively yelled back, telling him to bite me in more or less words.

The guy who got into the car with me was someone I'd seen in line before, and had a good sense of humor. He kind of laughed and said something like, "Some people...". My defense is that I did try to get two riders. The guy didn't relay the information and I just wanted to get out of there before my left bumper got tweaked by another driver not paying attention. Poor communication between the slugs combined with DC driving anxiety caused me to break my own code of slugging, but that's ok because, as the rider I did pick up and my friend pointed out, the guy was a jerk so if I didn't want him in my car before, I didn't want him in my car after that anyways.

But don't worry, guy. Next time...I'll take two. Just not you.

That. Guy.

There's this One.Guy. Almost everything he does bugs me, and I found out the other day that I'm not the only one who groans when they see him in the slug line. My reaction is literally to roll my eyes and sigh when I see him.

I was riding in with a driver I've ridden with many times before who is very nice, has a spacious car and plays some weird music fairly loudly--but I don't mind because she's pleasant and I can put my headphones in if I want. She was friends with the other guy who got in the car with us (referenced this guy in the previous post, as well) and they were talking about some unpleasant experiences they'd had with one particular man who goes to the same destination as all of us so she has driven him before.

I don't know how it started because I wasn't really paying attention to their conversation, but after I got bored with Facebook and my email on my phone I heard her say that there's one man she is tempted to actually refuse to pick up. She doesn't seem like the type of person who would actually say no to him, but she said that she had seen someone change their destination because he was at the front of the line and the driver didn't want to take him. For slugging, that's pretty drastic.

She went on to explain her encounters with him, one of which involved him questioning HOW she was going to take three riders if she had a CARSEAT, in a disapproving tone. She said that she just looked at him and said, "three" again. (She's one of the generous drivers who will always offer to take 3.) They both went on telling stories of some of the rude things he's done in line, and after the first comment I had an idea of who it was, but didn't want to say anything. It got to the point where I just had to know. So I spoke up after their 3rd or 4th story and said, "Is it the guy with..." and went on to describe him in three or four more words. They said "yes" simultaneously and I just laughed. I said, "Oh, I know him." Their reply was, "Everyone does."

It was amusing to me that there's someone who is that rude that everyone knows him in the line and tries to avoid him. He's That Guy. He blatantly turns around and stares at me in a judgmental way whenever I approach the afternoon slug line (yes, I see him in the afternoon and the morning on many occasions). I've literally brought my hands up in an inquisitive manner so as to say, "Is there a problem?!" and turned to S in the line next to me like, is he kidding? Because he just stares at me, and looks me up and down like, what's she doing here. I'm always tempted to say something. He's stood so close to me before when I'm in front of him that I've had to inch forward towards the person in front of me to avoid his deep breathing. Another thing he likes to do is yell at people if they do the slightest thing wrong. "YES, they're going to the Pentagon!!" It's 7:30am buddy, give them a half a second to react. "SOMEone go check the cars!" The guy needs anger management or a chill pill or something.

Either way his demeanor, attitude and actions have given him a name for himself at the line. I always wonder if people notice and remember me in a certain way at the slug line (and other places too) but I hope they know me as "that short girl," "the girl who goes to 14th," or "the allergies girl," or something like that rather than "That.Girl."