If you don’t mind. And you don’t. Trust me.

When I lived in Bakersfield there were two freeways. One went East and West, the other ran North and South. EASY! If you want to go West you get on one, if you want to go South you get on the other! Bakersfield was designed for blond people.

So before I moved to the Bay Area, Ben sent me a map so that I could start to familiarize myself with the freeway system up here. Because it’s so NOT BUILT FOR BLOND PEOPLE. Like the whole 280/680 thing. Both start (end?) way North and head the same direction but very near my house (where 87 intersects 280) 280 becomes 680 because they are actually the SAME FREAKING ROAD. Like a big ‘U’. So, as you are driving along suddenly 280 South becomes 680 North, except you are still going in the same direction because it doesn’t turn for a few miles. And like, couldn’t you have dumped them both into 101 WHICH GOES THE SAME DIRECTION AS THEM so that they each have a beginning and an end and you aren’t driving along and suddenly realize that you are going TOTALLY THE WRONG WAY. On the WRONG freeway. But you never got OFF THE RIGHT FREEWAY that you began on?!

So okay, to go pick up my mom the other day (after her second car accident in three months) I had to go from our place to Milpitas. It’s 15 miles away, which is half the distance I have to drive to work one way and only have to get on TWO freeways. Thank God. But to get to her place I had to:

*deep breath*

Take 85 South (one exit) to 87 North to 280 South which became 680 North to Calaveras *pick her up* continue up Calaveras which becomes 237 (one exit) get off to drop her off head up Trimble to 101 South (one exit) 87 South to 85 North (one exit) GET OFF THE FREAKING MAZE. And thank GOD for the new google maps app for cell phones because, well because I’m blond! I need to get that damn GPS receiver and Tomtom installed on the phone.

So, 6 separate freeways. SIX! To travel 30 miles round trip! I could have taken 880 which becomes 17 to 85 instead of the 101/87 route but I hate 880, even at 10PM at night, because it’s not as fun in the M3 as 87 is (except the 17/85 interchange with can be VERY fun at night when it’s deserted *evil grin*). Plus, I think 87 is faster.

I swear when I began this post I had a point.

Oh yes! To the people heading to San Francisco on 280 North at around 5:30-ish in the morning today… could you perhaps find another route? There must have been an accident on 101 North because there were more of you than normal and it’s not that I’m complaining (yes, I totally am) but you really threw me off my line. And made me late even though I left the house 5 minutes earlier than normal and was all happy that I’d be getting to work on time for the first time in a month. The 280 stretch to Palo Alto is my Wake Up Run. All windy and sloped and wide and USUALLY EMPTY. I turn the radio down and listen to the intake roar and feel every rock under my suspension. It’s ME time. ME! Not you. Okay?

Thanks!

Okay, yeah that was all.

P.S. – Go read Ben’s M3 blog. I feel bad because I kinda pressured him into using it again by threatening to link to it in every one of my blog posts. TeeHee.