Cutting in Line

My friend S who I have mentioned before also slugs into work, and happens to work with me as well. She told me about one of her mornings at the slug lot last week and it brings up another understood rule of slugging--one that's very tempting to break sometimes, especially on rainy days, and I admit I've broken a couple of times, too.

As she was walking up to her lot last week, a driver in a taxi cab* asked her where she was going. She said, "Over there," and pointed to the slug line. I laughed at her pleasant response to the man, as her tone clearly came across as 'do not disturb.' He clarified asking her where in DC she was headed, and she told him. He said he'd take her, and here's what's wrong with the situation: He wasn't behind the other drivers waiting his turn to pick up the riders in line, he was basically scavenging the lot for riders arriving at the lot to pick them up before they got to the line. In short, he was cutting. This really takes us back to our 2nd grade selves waiting in line for the water fountain after recess, I know. But slugging is a very polite system in theory and people that do this are often scoffed at by their fellow sluggers.

I've been on both sides of it. When you're standing there in line and waiting for cars to come it's very frustrating when you see a car swing around and pick up people walking to the slug line. Unless it's an organized carpool, it usually makes the people in line shake their heads or sigh, as they're left to wait for more cars as the people that just arrived at the lot get a ride immediately. There is another rule that says if the driver knows someone in line and yells out their name to see if they want to get in, they can get in. I haven't seen this happen at the lot I go to now, but I have seen it once or twice elsewhere. But that's different from skimming the parking lot to catch riders before they get to the line. In my experience though, even when I see drivers who know someone in line, they still follow the general protocol and take the first 2 or 3 riders, and then just say hello to their friend as they pass them.

When I used to go to a different lot in the morning, I had to walk alongside part of a neighborhood road to get to the lot, since the lot had minimal parking spots. There was one lady who lived in one of the houses nearby, who would drive around and ask where people were headed as they walked towards the lot. I tried to decline her request at first, because I knew it wasn't really fair to the people in line. The next time she asked I got in and felt kind of guilty as we drove past the lot and there were people waiting. I saw her pretty frequently, and one time she said she'd just give me a ride to the lot and if there were no cars I could ride with her. I ended up getting out of her car because the line of cars was so long when we pulled up. It got to the point though where we knew each other and if she had other people with her I didn't feel so bad about going with her. I only rode with her a couple more times, but that's actually how I met my first "slugging friend" who ironically drops her son off at my boyfriend's mother's house for daycare. Small world.

With all the variables of slugging protocol, I'd say in general there's certainly riders who have no remorse about breaking the understood rule that driver's shouldn't scoop up slugs without getting in line and will get right in without looking back. There's also occasions where some will take the opportunity when it's handed to them, but I think the majority of slugs would turn down a ride from a random driver offered in this manner out of courtesy to the other slugs and drivers. Maybe that's me being naive, but from what I've experienced, at least at the lot I go to in the morning, is that slugs have a certain courtesy for other slugs. The afternoon line is a whole different story...

*Taxi cabs only have to have one other person in their car to use the HOV lane.

14th Street Bridge Traffic

I only had my lunch left to make when I looked at the clock and it was 7:15. I quickly made my lunch with the knowledge that if I didn't make it out of the house in the next 5-10 minutes I was risking a long wait at the slug line. I was in the car by 7:21 and when I got to the slug lot a few minutes later, there was a long line of cars and only about five or six people waiting for new cars. I always leave my house hoping it's going to be a day like this where it's much more likely that I'll be in a car within a few minutes. I started to make my way through the line of cars since the people in line had already turned them down, and my Republican Talk Show driver was car number three. Success.

Traffic wasn't too bad, and I got dropped off right in front of my office. Riding with RTS is always quiet and uneventful, and door-to-door it took me 45 minutes to get to work. Pretty good considering we did wait in some traffic and getting across the 14th street bridge is always a delay. But I think the shortest it's ever taken me in the morning has been about 30 minutes total, on a day with amazingly zero traffic. It's kind of sad how happy it makes me when I have days like those. I think I feel like I'm beating the system and it just satisfies me. I guess it's the little things that get you through the day.

And even on the best traffic days, it could take even less time if 14th street wasn't so jam-packed and messy. Merging everywhere and I don't know, maybe people stop to look at the marvelous river we're crossing. I'm usually engulfed in a book or playing Angry Birds on my iPhone but if for some reason I don't have mental stimulation, I'll just take a breath and relax and look at the cherry blossoms as we pass or something. So maybe the drivers are doing the same, who knows. Most days it could take only 20 minutes or so to get to the 14th street bridge from the slug lot, but once you're there you sit in traffic for an equal amount of time just to get from the bridge uptown. It can be frustrating when you're so close but yet so far, but I do ohave a better understanding of the layout of 14th street DC now.

We Know.

There was a man behind me in line this morning who was successfully able to elicit a similar response from me and the two people in front of me in line at that point. That response was,"WE KNOW." Which I followed up under my breath with a, "Good lord," and the lady who had literally 3 seconds before become the first person in line (aka the caller) extended to, "We know how it works." I was partially highly amused at the situation and partially legitimately annoyed by the man.

This situation came about because the line of people this morning was extra long, and the line of cars was long as well. The majority of the drivers were going to the Pentagon/Crystal City area, and it seemed most of the riders were not. One guy asked me if I knew where all of the cars were going, and I told him they were all going to the Pentagon. He looked at the line of riders in front of us, I'd say about 12-15 deep. Then took a deep breath and said, "Guess I'll go to the Pentagon!" He smiled as he said it, and just kind of shrugged it off as part of the system. Every few minutes one or two others would leave the middle of the line to get into a car, with a look of resignation on their face.

I finally neared the front of the line, with three people including the caller in front of me. This whole time I'd been in line, the line of cars was wrapping around the parking lot. The caller was all the way at the end of the line of cars so that he could call them out as they arrived. The next person in line was all the way back with us. Not the most efficient way I've seen it done, usually the second person will go kind of halfway, so as to relay the message. (Often reminds me of relay drills at softball practice for any former teammates reading this.)

Nobody played the relay today, but luckily the caller had a loud, strong voice (someone in line suggested it must be his Navy training.) So we could all hear him fairly well, even with how far away he was. Except for that man. Who kept saying, "What?! What did he say?!" before we had a chance to relay the message to the rest of the line behind us. It got to the point where all three of us towards the front of the line would repeat the message from the caller, directed at the man.

The caller found a car going to his destination and therefore got into the car and yelled, "New caller." When the caller gets in a car, the next person in line becomes the caller. Again, a simple rule of slugging that appeals to the common sense as well. The lady in the front of the line was about to move towards the line of cars to become the caller, when the man behind us yelled, "Someone new needs to go call the cars!!" with a major stress on the word 'someone.'

This was when we the three of us ahead of him turned around like, are you kidding me man? Give it half a second, we're all aware of how the system works, thanks. And the man in front of me was someone I recognized as being a stickler and enforcer of the slugging rules (Here on known as Stickler), as well as voicing his opinion about others following them. So I was definitely not surprised when I wasn't the only one who said, "We know" to the man in response. I was glad that others shared my sentiment to let the impatient, demanding man know that we have all slugged before and are not just going to stand there doing nothing.

Shortly after I became the caller, and still no one stepped out to relay, even though I had to walk back and forth to yell the car's destination since I was so far away that there were cars in between me and the rest of the slug line. It was very frustrating and by the time there was finally a car for my destination I had to settle for 5 blocks away. (Yes, I got there almost exactly at 7:30 like an idiot and waited 20 minutes for a car since there were so many people in front of me and only a couple of cars came through for my destination.) I also happened to get in with Christian Music Sing-Alonger, and Shortly after I became the caller, and still no one stepped out to relay, even though I had to walk back and forth to yell the car's destination since I was so far away that there were cars in between me and the rest of the slug line. It was very frustrating and by the time there was finally a car for my destination I had to settle for 5 blocks away. (Yes, I got there almost exactly at 7:30 like an idiot and waited 20 minutes for a car since there were so many people in front of me and only a couple of cars came through for my destination.) I also happened to get in with Christian Music Sing-Alonger, and traffic was awful due to an accident on 395. Definitely not one of the best mornings of slugging, but I was entertained by the reaction fellow sluggers had to the impatient rider when everyone else had to wait this morning, too.

Lloyd the Driver

This morning was funny. I actually got to the slug lot around 7:25. So not much earlier than the 7:30 cut-off from my theory*, but a good time to see if the 7:30 theory was accurate, anyways. And it is. There were two cars almost right away heading to my destination.

I got into the first car, although the second car was actually going a block closer to my office, because I felt like that's just lazy and unfair to the first car. I kind of laughed at myself for wanting to go to the second car instead. Such a bum I am. The lady must have been having a bad morning or something though. She couldn't settle on one destination and she was clearly frustrated. She gave two possible streets she would go to, and one of them was mine so I got in. But once I got into her car, she saw that there were more people going to L'enfant. So she goes, "Ohh....if I had known. I'd go to L'enfant..." It was just the two of us, so we were still waiting for a third so we could leave. I decided to make it easy on her since I knew there was a car behind her I could also get into, conveniently dropping me off a block closer. I smiled because once again, I should have gone with my gut. (An example of why I say, 'once again,' is the number of times I changed my picks for my March Madness bracket. Just one example.)

Things just kept picking up, because as I looked into the window of the next car just to double check that he was going where I was going, I recognized him as someone I used to ride with pretty frequently. I guess I inadvertently pushed my morning schedule back ten or fifteen minutes over the past few months, so I haven't caught him in a while. But he reminds me distinctly of Lloyd from Entourage. And it makes me smile every time. Another bonus is that he plays pop music in the morning instead of the overplayed-by-sluggers WTOP station.

The commute was shorter since I was in a car earlier when the traffic was a bit lighter, and I had time to pick up breakfast and still get into the office early. And now I'm just happy it's Friday.

*Slugging Theories post

Slugging Theories

I think I'm finally going to acknowledge the theory I have that if I arrive at the slug lot at 7:30am, there will be no cars pulling up going to my destination until about 7:45. Every time I show up at 7:30, I end up waiting until 7:45 anyways. I used to get there a little bit earlier and I could get a ride, so I think that if I showed up 5-10 minutes earlier perhaps there would be some cars for my destination. But 7:30 is the cutoff. That's why I started being lazy and leaving my house around 7:30-7:40. Getting there earlier didn't help, it just meant I had to stand around for 10-15 minutes. I think I'm going to try going a bit earlier if I can get myself out of my bed, and see if the pattern is true.

Regardless, the line was exceptionally long this morning, and I had to accept a ride a few blocks from my office. Really not a big deal. I'm not that lazy. I can walk a few blocks. Especially when it's nice in the morning. It's just so convenient to be dropped off right in front of your office. Spoiled, I know.

I rode with my carpool yesterday afternoon and noticed the slug line was crazy long then, as well. My friend went to the afternoon slug line yesterday, and told me that some fellow sluggers were discussing how the gas prices were influencing more people to start slugging. Makes sense. Gas prices are astronomical with no decline in sight, as far as I can tell. Watching your money flow out of your wallet as the gas tank creeps closer to empty as you sit in rush hour traffic on 395 can't be an optimistic start to your morning. With an increased amount of riders though, we need an increased amount of drivers.

Usually I've found the drivers are the ones who have their parking covered by their company, or have a unique schedule such that they need to drive in the morning in case they need to leave at an odd time in the afternoon. Some people also drive because they have to be somewhere at a certain time without fail and can't rely on the fate of the slug line getting them there on time. But mostly, it's the ones who have their parking paid for. Or don't mind paying for the absurd DC parking garage fees. "Early bird" fees, meaning you arrive before 9am (time varies with garage), are still ridiculous, ranging from $9-$25 in the 14 x 6 block area around my office. The Early Bird fee at my parking garage is $10, and that's one of the cheaper ones.

So while I'd love the independence that comes with being the driver in the slug lot, I like to leave that splurge for days like Federal Holidays when the roads are traffic-free.

Afternoon Singer

I recently started carpooling with a couple of fellow sluggers in the afternoon. It began when I got in their car one afternoon , and they started up a conversation about slugging and I said that I had walked from pretty far away to get to this particular line, because the other lines near my office didn't have drivers that went to my slug lot where I was parked. We figured out that she wasn't too far from me, and since she had another rider already who carpooled with her, if I could meet her a couple blocks from my office in the afternoon, we could bypass the slug-line and go straight to the HOV lane.

This afternoon though, my carpool driver left work early, so I walked to the slug lot like I used to do every day with my friend and coworker, to be known as S from here on out. I was at the front of the line for my lot, and she was about six people deep in the line for her lot. But she was at the front by the time I got into a car, because there's usually more drivers going to her lot than mine (whole other story).

Anyways, I got into a Mini Cooper with a lady I'd never ridden with before. I got in the back because the guy who was getting in with me was very tall, and well, I am not. I've ridden with a lot of "talkers"* lately, and she was another one of them. Not that I mind, but it's amusing to observe the different styles of drivers. She had some kind of new computer technology in her Mini Cooper where the radio would be, and she was playing Pandora off of her iPod. Blasting "The Fray" and the like, obviously very proud of her new technology. She noted to the passenger in the front seat that she could also check her Facebook on this. "How great is that?" By the last stretch of our ride, she was singing along.



*Talkers are drivers that I've found love to have conversations with the sluggers and are eager to have us respond, as opposed to the quiet drivers who like to ride home in silence and don't like to start a conversation, nor continue one that a slugger starts, except for a simple "thanks , have a great night," at the end of the drive.

Chatty Charlie

3/10/11:

There was a long line of cars today, since it was raining, and not as many riders. When I walked up to the white sedan and saw the man in the driver's seat I knew it was going to be an interesting ride into work. The last time I rode with him he talked the entire time, and as I was playing on my phone or reading email, he made a comment about how young people these days are all about ipods and such. He may not have said it directly, but I was in the front seat and I took it to mean, "how come you aren't participating in our conversation and would rather play with your iPhone."

The lady who got in the car with me as the third person was apparently someone he knew from slugging. So the conversation today began as a one-sided explanation of how the driver has an upcoming trip to Japan for work. The last time I rode with him he made discussion about Japan as well, having just returned from a trip there. So I wasn't surprised when he made the same jokse about standing out in the "sea of black hair and short people" as a giant, red-nosed American. And when I got to my office the topic had somehow reached the topic of his daughter's entry into track rather than field hockey. He's quite the Chatty Charlie.

Now let me explain the trail this conversation took to get from Point A to Point B during our 45-minute car ride. From his jokes about his trip to Japan, we moved onto how he has some disease where his nose is always red. But according to him, it's really more stress-related. The other passenger claimed to have the same case, and he went on to describe just how bad his gets sometimes, and the dermatologist's solutions for it. According to him it has something to do with protein synthesis.

From there, he started talking about his solution for acne relief being to lead a more balanced, healthy, stress-free life. That led into a conversation about how teenagers want to have flawless skin, and how some of his daughter's friends have even gone on the "pill" at the ripe age of 15 just to get better skin. He then entertained us with a brief history and background of "the pill." He had to mention that of course, they most likely weren't using the pill to "prevent pregnancy," but that it still wasn't healthy to be on that at such a young age. Somehow the conversation opened to the topic of people they personally knew who were once straight and got married and had kids then turned gay, or were once gay then turned straight. That took up a decent amount of time as they both had very specific experiences with that topic. Definitely the widest array of topics covered in one of my slugging commutes thus far.

I have a feeling he won't remember me the next time I ride with him, either, and I'll get the same history of his children and his daughter who is now fantastic at track although she doubted her initial abilities, as well as another wildly drastic and everchanging conversation string.

Slugging Etiquette Lesson Number 1

Slugging is really a funny concept at times. It has specific protocol and etiquette attached to the system that you only know about if you participate. It really makes me laugh sometimes when I step back and look at the system I'm participating in. But other times, I'm 100% slugger and get absorbed in it, and if something is out of whack or someone isn't doing things the way they're supposed to at the slug line, I can get mildly irritated. Especially if it's a day where I've been waiting longer than usual.

The esoteric protocol and etiqutte of slugging bonds particpants as a community. And it's amazing to me how little people who have never slugged before know about the system. But I never knew about it either, until my coworker mentioned it to me as a commuting alternative. It's not like the metro. People who don't use the metro still know about the system. Slugging is unique in that it's like an underground system and the rules are implicitly understood. There's no one enforcing anything and the only formal declaration of the process is a website. And it's 100% free. Yet there are still very specific rules and patterns of slugging, both with individuals that you begin to recognize and with the different slug lines or lots.

Rule # 1:

The most basic rule of the slug line is that when you walk up, you must go to the end of the line. Ok, I think we all learned that in preschool. But once you're at the end of the line, you need to pay attention to the person at the beginnnig of the line, the caller. They'll be the one asking the drivers where they're going. The information asked for by the caller and given by the driver will be in the format of what cross-streets or metro station they're going to, and how many riders they can take (2-3 because they need at least 2 besides themselves to get on the HOV lane). The people in the front of the line get first pick on the car, and if they aren't going, then people farther back in the line can go. Pretty simple.

The thing that can get to me in this part of the system is when you have one of the two following situations.
1. There is an overeager person behind you who doesn't give you half a second to process that the car is going to your destination, and starts running ahead of you like a madman.
2. The caller yells out your destination for one of the cars that pulled up. You hesitate to see if any of the people in front of you move towards that car, but no one does. You've waited a couple of seconds, but you don't want the people behind you to take the car either, so you start inching that way, doublechecking that the people in front of you aren't going. THEN, someone in front of you says, "Hey, I'm going there, too!"

In situation 1, when I first started slugging, I would slink back and let them take it, and just be mad at myself for not moving faster. Or I'd wait until someone else in line who knew I was going there would speak up for me. Now...now I don't hestitate to call them out. If they're sprinting towards the car I'll call out to them that I'm going there as well. And then they're the ones who have to slink back to the line. My social skills and bluntness has definitely been honed by my slugging experiences.


Regarding situation 2, my technique to counter this situation is if I hear the street I'm going to, I'll stick my foot out to the right as if I'm about to step towards it, testing the waters. I'll gradually lean over it and if I see no movement from the people in front of me then I'll walk towards it.

But I recall one time this man came forward after I was already getting in the car and said in a brusque, rude manner that he was actually going there, too. I kind of stared at him in disbelief, because really? He waited until I was getting in the car to say something? Then I did the polite thing and said "Ok, you can take it then," and I started to go back to the line. He said "No, it's ok. Just take it." I tried to insist again, but he insisted in return. I got in the car in disbelief and the other riders agreed with me that it was odd. I felt half bad, but I took on the perspective that if you're going to wait that long to decide if you're getting in the car to go to that destination, then that's your problem.