The Great Car Debate

It's not a question of how or a matter of when; it just is. This has never been an anti-car blog; it has always been one of collected thoughts and pointed reports, so let the thoughts continue - scattered though they may be - in the form of the great car debate.

It's not exactly news (if it is, where you have been?) that I've made a conscious decision to purchase a vehicle. I'll be completely honest, though; CicLAvia totally distracted me a positive way. I have never felt more inspired to keep with my bicycle. It's realizing that public transportation has a fondness for 'indirect routes' that has me moving forward on the issue, this issue I'd dropped for the last couple of weeks.

Most all of us understand why routes are the way they are - they are to service the cities in which they run. And when serving the greater Los Angeles, you're going to take 'everyone's route' in the hopes that you'll get where you need to go out of it. Think about it: short-distance routes depend entirely on the number of stops, the length of time to transfer, and the walk, if any. 'Long-distance' routes - say, those that would fare better by use of the freeway - still get you where you need to go, but since it's a local bus, it's going to stay local and not express your ass where it needs to go (even if it is an express). Public transportation is a public experience, so a detour in the form of getting where you need to go isn't going to happen. Obviously.

In the last few years I've managed to lead a very centralized existence with work and school. This year, central is no longer an option, and it's been great. Granted, the time it takes to get where I need to go is a built-in opportunity to proofread work, edit, read, and return calls. But when it really comes down to it, I would save so much time with a car. Unless there's traffic, but you get the point. Anyone who knows me knows my love of Google Maps for having the best cycling and public transportation routes (and for being more accurate than Metro.net), but it's its 'driving directions' function in comparison that makes me bite my lip in contemplation.

If anything, the experience has shown me that Los Angeles is super friggin' connected despite its widely spread layout. I'm amazed at times at how many ways there are around this place. In the end, however, accessibility is the key point here - I prefer being an accessible individual and my surroundings being accessible to me. While the latter can also refer to being exposed to the elements - a factor of the bicycle I rather enjoy - it's something that can still be experienced in conjunction with a vehicle.

Did I mention how much I appreciate the hammering out of details in text?

So I'm back on the hunt, hopefully to be with car sooner than I'm projecting (a month, at the least). Look out car dealers... I'll be invading your property with my good credit sometime after I roam the streets of West Hollywood this Halloween.

Car-Lite: A New Frontier

So my mother called me last night while I was en route to a night of karaoke in Burbank. I wasn't expecting the call, but it's always welcome when my phone buzzes on account of her. We talked late last week regarding her leaving for Denver, Colorado, for business this upcoming week. Naturally, as a partial joke I told her I'd totally drive her in and 'look after' the car for her so she doesn't have to pay for parking at the airport. But seriously, I've done it for friends and family before and they appreciate the saving of the dollars. No shuttle, no taxi, just a willing friend/family member who will take responsibility of what they request while they're gone - in exchange for wheels.

So yeah, it was a joke-slash-sidepoint-slash-realistic-offer. Imagine my surprise when she took me up on it.

When I got her call, I had missed the connecting bus down Hollywood Way in part due to pride and in part due to a slow driver (details I will not go into at this time for fear of irrelevance). Let's just say that the prospect of a vehicle at my disposal for the next eight days sounded wonderful. Personally, I also found it interesting that the opportunity came quicker than anticipated, considering how much I've been toting around my intentions so recently.

That said, when applicable I'll be documenting my experiences with the car because it'll be an experiment of sorts... how acclimated will I get to the vehicle in a week's time? Will I slide into it smoothly? Will I feel "lost" without it once it's gone? Just how badly do I want a car and what comes with it?

Not that I'm going to sway myself in another direction. You'd better believe I'm going to invest in a car; there's no question. I just find it interesting that life sometimes offers situations to occur suddenly - to either cement an idea or deter from it. That's been happening a lot, actually, in other areas of life... another post for an entirely different blog, of course.

So yeah. That's where I am. Expect many a detail.

Happy Monday, all.

Sayonara, Metro

So it's not exactly news, but I'm going to soon be purchasing a car. Anyone who knows me knows that I've been saying so for a few years, but I've been seriously shopping in the last week or so. Most of this is year/price-comparison and insurance-quote-comparison, but I'm thinking in the next month or two to have a set of four wheels at my disposal.

Friends have joked that at that time I should change my Twitter account from CarlessValGirl to something more fitting.

I've been taking public transportation on and off for about five years. Within that five-year period it has been workable. However, the last six to eight months have definitely been far from pleasant. From buses that don't arrive on time to buses that don't arrive at all, to having to deal with wonky Sunday schedules and even weekday schedules that aren't conducive to having much of a life, it's gotten to be a bit of a thorn in my side having to fight with Metro day-to-day. Predictable commutes are one thing, and taking the Orange, Red, and Blue (etc.) lines are fine in and of themselves. The Rapid buses aren't a problem, either. Rather, it is the local bus system that is making it an inconvenience to get around in LA. Since I live in the relative suburbs of Los Angeles and not over the hill... well let's just say I'm in the market for something a bit more practical in making spontaneous jaunts as well as fixed.

Now, monetarily, going Metro is probably a good idea right now. Even more so, riding my bicycle is probably a lot easier on the wallet. I don't intend on giving either mode of transportation up, at least not my bicycle. Don't believe me? I don't think I ever shared the story of the few times I've house-sat for my folks for a couple of weeks. They let me borrow one of their vehicles so I could get to their house, my house, work, school and wherever else. It was great. But after about three days I kinda went stir-crazy. I felt like I was zooming in a capsule without feeling the air on my face. I actually panicked. It actually sunk my mood to such a low degree that I rode my bicycle into work the next few days, came home, and drove the car to their house. I have a feeling that when it comes to some local things I will make full use of my bicycle. For recreation, for here-and-there things. But if I have to run around town? It would be nice to have a car. Trends in the availability of the local bus arrivals, etc., have driven this point home more than ever expected.

Bicycling is as much a part of who I am as anything else, so I won't be giving that up. But as far as most other things go, it has been my view that it is only practical to go without a car in Los Angeles if you're at a place in your life where everything is centered and you're not looking to expand upon it. I'm twenty-five years old. Single. I'm not at that point and time yet.

Maybe I'm frustrated. Maybe I haven't explored all the options. But in this case, the car would be the option, not the sole everyday go-to. Tell me how many people in Los Angeles will tell you that.