My Love And Hate Of Heavy Traffic

Well, we’re waiting for the snow to fall again. The most recent projections are for four to six inches which roughly translates to either a dusting or fifty degrees and sunny. I guess we will just have to wait and see what happens. I am just going to prepare myself for blaring brake lights as soon as a flake hits someone’s windshield while driving to work in the morning.

I never understood the overreaction that overwhelms people while driving on the highway. The slightest amount of precipitation and you would think that the world is coming to an end. Half the people on the road slam on the brakes while most of the other seem to go as fast as they can in what looks like a feeble attempt to outrun the weather.

This was largely the case this morning on my way into the office. Fortunately, the traffic seemed to be light and I was even able to take the highway to work the entire way. Anyone who lives in the Philadelphia area knows that a smooth ride on the Schuylkill Expressway is a rarity. In fact, given the weather one would have thought that hell had frozen over with the road being so clear.  

While the roads were clear, the office was bumper to bumper emails and meetings all day. From the usual account work to lodge emails pouring into my personal account, it was a deluge of correspondence that seemed to never end and all I could do is keep throwing balls in the air in an attempt to juggle. It was one of those days that felt like sitting in traffic… just when you think things are opening up, more cars merge onto the interstate and slow you back down. While progress was made, it wasn’t the kind that you were expecting and by the time you got to the end of the day, there was a lot of things that had to be pushed back to the evening or the next day.

However, while I despise sitting in traffic (especially behind a Nissan with New Jersey plates) I enjoy the same feeling when it comes to work. There are always dozens of things that have to be done, emails that have to be sent out, projects that have to be completed, and writing that has to be created and edited. While there are a few days that can be considered ‘regular’, this is not your usual nine to five job. In what might deem a twisted way I love this work and the long hours that we all put in at the office as a team. Given the long days and the way we treat one another it really is more of a family than anything (quirks and all) and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Bring on the snow and bring on the traffic.