Daily Commute

Today I was sitting at my desk at work, listening to my jams (the Ensign on 'the Mormon Channel' app) and I just sat back and thought for a second, "I have a good job." It startled myself because I don't know how many times I have thought that. It's not a bad job, but I don't recall ever really just 'appreciating' it before. The thing that makes it the most difficult is... my daily commute. :(

I just payed $260 to ride in a UTA van pool from Draper to Hill Air Force Base. It's a monthly rate that fluctuates depending on the number of riders, the van mileage, and the price of gas. So it could go down, but I think it will rise steadily the next couple of months. Next month it will definitely rise because we had a guy drop out. Lucky guy. So I drive my car from Orem to Draper, catch the van, and ride the last half of my commute in the van. Even though the van is expensive, it's still cheaper than driving myself up there alone five days a week. I did that for about a month and was filling up with gas every other day.

My Schedule

I wake up at 4 am, leave my house at 5 am, get to work around 6:15, leave work approximately 3:45, and get home at the earliest 5 pm. That's 12 hours I am gone every Monday through Friday :( My friend Tabbi referred to it as: "An east coast commute without the benefits." I had to agree wholeheartedly.

Benefits of the Van Pool:

* I don't have to drive. This decreases my chances of getting a speeding ticket by 100%. If you know me, you know that this is very important.
* I am saving the Earth. I like to do my part and recycle. While this isn't a huge factor, it's nice to know I am contributing :)
* I can usually sleep for at least 15 minutes on the ride to the base in the morning.

That might be all. It's all I can think about right now. Here is a fun fact: the government pays for their employees to commute. So most of the people I ride with pay only a small amount to commute. Contractors, like me, don't get any money to commute, so we pay it all in full ourselves. Lame. I pay taxes too. Where is my benefit?!

Anyway, today, even though I have been complaining about the commute, I am grateful for my job. I like the experience I am gaining, the skills I am learning, my awesome coworkers, and the fact that I can listen to TV shows or the radio while I work. But, if you know of any technical writing positions closer to Orem, please let me know. Thanks (from both Mike and I).