an occasional morning ritual
Mar. 2nd, 2010 05:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
so, for those of you unfamiliar with boston roads, route 2 heading out of the cambridge area turns into a highway for a while. shortly after it becomes a highway, there's a big BIG long uphill stretch of road. i mean, trivial for a mountainous area, but significant for boston.
i first started driving that piece of road many years ago, i had a piece-of-shit pickup truck that couldn't accelerate very much or very well. by the time i got to the top of the uphill stretch of road, even if i started out at 55mph, the truck would be struggling along at maybe 30mph.
lately, to shake up my morning routine, i've started going to work by driving out route 2 and down 128. so i end up driving that hill. in my mini cooper S.
and so most days, at the bottom of the hill, i start accelerating. and i am still accelerating when i get to the top of the hill, because the mini can totally do that. it's a small thing, but it makes me happy every time i do it.
trivia: the other direction, going down that hill, at night, is my favorite scenic approach into the metro boston area.
i first started driving that piece of road many years ago, i had a piece-of-shit pickup truck that couldn't accelerate very much or very well. by the time i got to the top of the uphill stretch of road, even if i started out at 55mph, the truck would be struggling along at maybe 30mph.
lately, to shake up my morning routine, i've started going to work by driving out route 2 and down 128. so i end up driving that hill. in my mini cooper S.
and so most days, at the bottom of the hill, i start accelerating. and i am still accelerating when i get to the top of the hill, because the mini can totally do that. it's a small thing, but it makes me happy every time i do it.
trivia: the other direction, going down that hill, at night, is my favorite scenic approach into the metro boston area.
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Date: 2010-03-02 10:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-03-02 11:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-03-02 11:21 pm (UTC)I remember coming home the afternoon after my Father's car accident and driving down that hill, and seeing the most amazing double rainbow, the full arc, it was gorgeous.
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Date: 2010-03-02 11:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-03-02 11:30 pm (UTC)It's also where I saw my one and only sighting of a UFO.
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Date: 2010-03-02 11:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-03-02 11:51 pm (UTC)And yeah, zipping up that hill in the Mini is hella fun :)
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Date: 2010-03-04 06:32 pm (UTC)But it was small & silver, moved impossibly fast from right to center (of my view), hit a hard left turn (like a 90' angle) without slowing down and flew over me.
Having seen it utterly messes with my worldview.
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Date: 2010-03-03 12:47 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-03-03 01:15 am (UTC)That hill
Date: 2010-03-03 02:54 am (UTC)Once I got the car back going down the hill the correct way I pulled over and waiting for my heart to stop trying to explode out of my chest. I get a twitch driving down that road in snowy weather to this day but I still love that hill and that view.
Re: That hill
Date: 2010-03-03 03:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-03-03 03:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-03-03 03:21 am (UTC)There's a view down a different hill, that's between Santa Rosa, to the north of me, and Petaluma, where I live, on highway 101, where when the grass is green is just jaw-droppingly gorgeous. I like this time of year!
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Date: 2010-03-03 03:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-03-03 02:25 pm (UTC)It's perhaps even better just before sunset, when the white of the Federal Reserve Bank is turned all pinky-orange and you get the setting sun reflected off the windows of the buildings downtown.
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Date: 2010-03-03 02:47 pm (UTC)In the Mini Cooper S, I can accelerate the whole way up the mountain, even in top gear. Whee!
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Date: 2010-03-03 03:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-03-03 08:01 pm (UTC)The first time I had a car that could pass going up that hill I thought I was flying!
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Date: 2010-03-04 07:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-03-05 01:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-03-09 02:59 am (UTC)I made it to the interview, but turned down the subsequent job offer, partially because I knew my truck could never handle the commute, and because the salary offer meant I wouldn't be able to replace it anytime soon. Good times.