February 12 of 12: Lincoln's Birthday
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Did you know that today is Lincoln's Birthday? Well it is. Of course I don't know if it's the dead President's or the car company but it is a holiday for some which if you keep on reading you'll know why I know of this. Since I'm not working I don't normally know the day of the week never mind the actual date but since my birthday is Thursday the 14th I knew today was the 12th. And if today is the 12th day of the month than it is time for 12 of 12. Chad over at the Untitled Chad Darnell Project came up with this little photo essay and from time to time I remember to do it. Sometimes I remember at 5pm and cram a few photos in to make it. To see all of this month's 12 of 12 go over to his blog and check it out HERE
Picture 1 of 12:
Walking to the gym. Since my access to my car was restricted as you'll read in a bit I walked to the gym. I slept in this morning so I was walking to the gym at about 9:15am. It was a postcard perfect day in Los Angeles today.
Picture 2 of 12:
After about 45 minutes of weight training it was time to walk the .7 miles home. So far this makes for 1.4 miles of walking.
Just another postcard perfect day picture.
Picture 4 of 12:
As a great man once said "Public transportation is for jerks and lesbians." or in my case a guy without a car. It's now around 12:40 and I'm about to go on a 4 hour adventure to get my car back. As I was in Palm Springs on Friday my car was towed away. So now I must go to the police station in West LA show some papers than go to the impound lot and get my car. I went online to get the bus route via the MTA Trip Advisor but they gave me over 90 minutes of bizarre bus directions. Looking at maps and google I realized I could take a 20 minute bus ride and walk a little over a mile and get this done. So I'm on my way on the Big Blue Bus 7 on Pico to Barrington
I get off at Barrington and walk the 1.1 miles to Butler Ave to the police station. Now that is a total of 2.5 miles walked. Once at the station a nice lady told me I needed to go to the towing place, Quicksilver Tow, on Barrington and get my registration papers out of the car and then go to the DMV and back to the police station. Long Story, to sum it up I'm an idiot. So I then walk the 1 mile to the towing station, 3.5 miles.
Back at the towing place I get to my car and get my registration and other paperwork to my car. Then walk to the DMV in Santa Monica. This is about 2.1 miles. With my iPhone mapping function I figure out how to walk to it. 5.6 miles so far.
Today is Lincoln's Birthday. Which is only celebrated by government offices including the DMV. The DMV is closed. I just walked 2.1 miles to Colorado in Santa Monica for nothing. Now since I was planning on driving home I only took a few coins for one bus ride and no cash. I'm so screwed. I map it out and think about walking the 5.9 miles home. I go online and try to find a BofA atm to get cash for a bus ride home then I remember seeing a 7/11 on Barrington and Olympic. Thinking I havn't eaten anything since breakfast I could buy a snack and get some cash using my ATM/VISA card. So I walk the 2 miles back to Barrington. 7.6 miles so far today.
Lunch via 7/11. A nestle crunch crisp bar and a Diet Dr Pepper. Walk the .1 miles back to Pico and Barrington for the Big Blue Bus 7 ride home. 7.7 miles.
Got home around 4:45 and watched some MSNBC election coverage then about 6:30 realized I had no food so I walked the .97 miles to Ralph on Pico and Beverlyhill. Rounding up that would be one mile for 8.7 miles. On my way to Ralphs I walked past a former work client who was running. Oy! Very hot straight guy running past me. My old job keeps popping up. The other day work called me because the internet was down and they didn't know what to do. Coworkers call me to hang out but I really don't. Had to stop by to pick up some personal mail last week. Oh and one of the interviews I had a few weeks ago that was related to this past job went bust. After four years of me dealing with this person they didn't have the decency to call me and let me know they weren't interested. Also a former client emailed me asking me something. I don't think I'll every escape this job.
Picture 9 of 12:
It's night time and I'm walking my last mile of the day for my 9.7 mile day. Of course I will be walking a bit tomorrow as I'll take the bus to Pico and Cloverfield and walk a mile to the DMV then the 2 miles to the Police station then the 1 mile to the tow place. But that is tomorrow. Oh I also have an 11am meeting but that is less than a mile from home. I'll bike the 2 miles to swim in the morning. Needless to say I didn't make it to either spin class or swim tonight.
Dinner and some wine. Pasta with a meat sauce and topped with lots of cheese. Oh fuck I need two more photos.
This is me waiting for the bus earlier on Pico and my street. It's not so bad taking the bus as it is waiting for the bus. I took the 7 bus as it runs every 20 minutes so it was a lot faster than taking the bus route suggested by the MTA website. I could have biked my trip today but thought it wasn't going to be such a hassle. Ugh!
Okay yeah I'm cheating. This is a screengrab and not a picture but here is the map of what I walked. The green arrow is the dmv which I walked from the very top right of the map Butler Ave and Santa Monica Blvd. All part of my 9.7 mile Lincoln's Birthday 12 of 12 / 2 Days Before My Birthday March.
How was your 12 of 12?