2006/06/17
Convenience Versus Time
Short of a medical emergency, the train is a great way to travel if you're on a time crunch, just not here in North America.
Over the past few months I've had the pleasure of riding the rails (by choice - travel agent was shocked that I didn't want to rent a car) on business trips within the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, France and England.
Not once did I have to worry about getting lost, stuck in traffic, taking a detour (intentional or accidental), finding somewhere to eat or heed the call'o'nature. I was also able to read books, catch up on work, make necessary calls on the silly-phone, and yes, even take in some of the scenery racing by.
For me at least, convenience and the value of my "time wasted" is a matter of perspective. Unless your work explicitly involves driving yourself from point A to point B to point C+3, compare how much time you would spend driving to how much you make an hour. That half-hour driving yourself each way to work is time you're choosing to sacrifice...What book could you have read?What podcasts would you have listened to?What landscapes would you have missed,
watching tail-lights and tail-gaters,
along the same gray asphalt?
