Rush Hour and Rain? No Thanks.

How did a 30 minute commute turn into a two-hour agony?

I hate being late. I hate my alarm. I hate that I didn’t hear my alarm. I hate oversleeping. I should have woken up at 6 AM, but instead, I opened my eyes an hour later. Maybe it was because it had been pouring all night.

Anyway, I got up. My sister was sleeping like a baby, and my mom had already left for work. I would have appreciated it if she had woken me up, but she always says: Everyone is responsible for their own things. In that sense, I mostly agree.

I didn’t know what to do. First, I texted our usual taxi driver, asking if he could come at 7:30 AM—the time I’m supposed to be at the bakery for my internship—but he didn’t reply. Next, I messaged another driver—no response either. Then, I downloaded Indrive to book a taxi, but it made me a bit hesitant, so I didn’t open an account.

Desperate, I looked up taxis on Instagram and found a company run by women for women called GoGirl. I sent a WhatsApp message with my address and destination, but they replied that they didn’t cover my area. đŸ˜«

It was already 7:50 AM. I was anxious and frustrated because I really wanted to get to my internship. 

So, I texted our usual driver again, asking if he could come at 8:30 AM. I was semi-dressed, and it was still drizzling. I hadn’t even had breakfast.

But then—a light at the end of the tunnel! 🌟

At 8 AM, the taxi driver sent me a voice message saying he was available right now. Best news ever!

I rushed to put on my pants, grabbed my things, packed a piece of bread with cheese, brushed my teeth, and just in time, the taxi arrived. I yelled up the stairs to my sister:

"Ya me voy, Don Julio me vino a ver!"

I didn’t know what I had signed up for. I was eating my breakfast along the way when the traffic started getting heavier and heavier. It was 8:30 AM. I had finished my bread and was looking out the window at a long line of cars ahead of us. The radio was on, and in that area, it was raining more or less steadily.

We weren’t even halfway there when I realized I wouldn’t make it by 9 AM. I started feeling sleepy, and the car wasn’t moving. The line wasn’t moving. I thought, Why? WHY? WHY?

There was a construction zone, and right in the middle of it—a telescopic crane. I swear I stared at that bloody crane for 20 minutes before we finally moved. By the time we reached the halfway point, it was already 9:30. We were still stuck in traffic, but at least it felt like there was some movement.

We crawled past the bridges (slowly, but we passed), the airport, and the bus terminal. When we were finally close to the bakery, traffic was still bad, so Don Julio made a last-minute call: instead of turning right at the usual corner, he turned two blocks earlier to avoid the congestion.

I finally arrived at the bakery at 9:45 AM (and my shift ends at 12). The poor guy was exhausted, and I’m pretty sure he won’t be picking me up at rush hour again. 

Honestly, I hope I never go through that again either.

I thought he was going to charge me extra, but he was so fed up—and maybe just relieved to be done with it—that he charged me the usual fare.

I put on my apron and hairnet and offered my apologies for being late to the lady boss. But honestly, I don’t think she cared much—she was too busy. Was that a good or bad thing? I don’t know.

She assigned me to the piping bag station, where five people were filling bags with 15 grams of royal icing for the Valentine’s Day kits. So, I spent the rest of my shift tying and cutting piping bags. It was boring, and we made a ton… and there were still more left to do.

In total, I think there were over a thousand in white and pink. I headed out at 12:45 PM. I couldn’t leave earlier—I had to make those $6 I spent getting here worth it, at least for 45 more minutes.

I took the bus and got home around 1:30 PM. I told my sister the whole story, and she laughed. Later, my mom came home, and she laughed too. Then, my sister left for work wearing a raincoat, and I laughed.

At the end of the day, without a doubt, it’s clear to me that rain and rush hour don’t mix.

Pdta: El dĂ­a de hoy fue el dĂ­a en el que me di cuenta que no tengo ni la menor idea de cĂłmo irme si mi hermana o un taxi no me lleva. AsĂ­ que tengo que revisar quĂ© bus puedo coger y dĂłnde lo puedo coger. 

Lo mĂĄs chistoso fue que mientras almorzĂĄbamos, mi hermana me dijo que se levantaba continuamente en la madrugada pensando que tendrĂ­a que manejar en la lluvia. Y al final se quedĂł tan dormida que no nos llevĂł ni a mi mami ni a mĂ­ a ningĂșn lado.😆



Tuesday, February 11th, 2025.




Comments

Popular Posts