Friday, July 30, 2010

Why My Commute Has Turned Into The Universal Back Lot Tour

When I visit Southern California I always try and visit Universal Studios to take the back lot tour.  The movie nerd in me loves it.  I've even been on the VIP tour where you can get even closer to actual sets and there are not as many annoying tourists.

And while I enjoy this, I am not enjoying the fact that my daily commute has become like this beloved theme park attraction.

FLASH FLOODS

Last Friday some big storms dumped a lot of rain on the Chicagoland area.  They closed highways and had mandatory evacuations of some neighborhoods.  This meant that for about, oh, the first half of my week I couldn't take some roads because there was water on them.  Sure, my Jeep could have made it through, but they had to close the roads so the whimpy little Hybrids wouldn't drown.

CHASE SCENES

When I am running late I sometimes decide to take the highway because it can get me to work in about, oh, 10 minutes.  But because it is road construction season in Chicago, that means the highways aren't as practical.  The other day I thought I would try it.  I went to go merge onto the tollway and suddenly realized that the on ramp was about 1/10th of its previous length, which meant every car getting on had to hit the gas pedal and go into overdrive.  The car behind me decided to really hit the gas, lurch to about 80 mph, which was a slight problem because I was only going 55.  So he blasts past me, the orange cones, and the state trooper, who proceeds to chase after him like he stole something. 

JAWS

Okay, it may not be a man eating shark, but those baby raccoons that ran up behind me when I got home the other day made me scream like I was Quint in the sharks mouth.

PSYCHO

Okay, maybe this just describes my entire commute, but I did see a guy in what looked to be a dress in a pickup truck the other day. 

Maybe next week will be better.  Or maybe it will resemble the Dinsey Studios tour.  Hello Catastophe Canyon!

~ The Office Scribe

3 comments:

Ed said...

Sounds like you've had a shitty week.

Unfinished Rambler said...

I wish I had that much excitement on my commute to work, but it's only about a mile to the library, so no such luck...unless running the gauntlet of trucks going to natural gas wells is your idea of a movie. Not mine.

abendkleid said...

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