Yesterday to combat this whirlwind of 'stuff'1 to do I thought I'd get into the office early. Just after 8am was my aim; This has a number of advantages:
1. Free Breakfast if you get there before 9am (it's not the greatest but it's free)
2. It's a marketing company so nobody is there before 9:30 and it's nice and quiet (hence the free breakfast)
3. My brain is 25675538355 times quicker in the morning
4. I had loads of 'stuff' to do before a 9:30 meeting
So caught the 7:12, got to Vauxhall station, jumped on the Victoria line for a daily dose of being squashed up against other soulless commuters who don't move the down the carriage2.
And then the train decides it's going to break down. Oh the joy, but the worst thing about a tube train breaking down is not the train itself it's pointlessly whining people tutting and moaning to themselves like it's the end of the world. It's not the end of the world it's just a faulty train that might make us all a bit late.
So about a billion sheep like commuters are exited onto the platform at Victoria station to await the next train, it took about 5 mins but the next train duly arrived. A quick glance through the windows showed that this train was very full and the only way you were going to get on it was if you were an anorexic circus dwarf related to Houdini.
Being that I'm pretty rotund at the moment and tall enough to ride the corkscrew at Alton Towers I gave up all hope and stood back to watch everybody else. As predictable as people standing up on aeroplanes as soon as they stop moving everybody quickly jostled to the train doors hoping the people inside were all about to apperate only to 'tut' some more when it finally dawns on them that even with the best will in the world and no matter how much they peer round the doors they ain't gonna fit.
So It's now 8:30 and my hopes of getting to work early are gone. All I've got to do now is make sure I get to my 9:30 meeting.
Plan B - Walk, a mini adventure walking through bits of London I didn't know. Plan B was going well until I walked up to a row of blue bikes standing there like King Dicky 3's horse. I'd been fancying ago on the Boris bikes for a while and this seemed like the perfect excuse. A bit of touch screen frustration3 and £1 later I'd got myself possibly the coolest and most uncool bike ever.
I didn't really know the way but knew if I headed NE I'd be okay and could always aim for the BT tower. My morning had gone from horrid tube to massive smiles4 as I mingled through the London traffic, down the back of Buck Palace, up to and through Hyde park with a quick attempt at a Danger Panda.
9:15 and I'm in the office5 with 15 mins to prep for my 9:30 meeting and the day is saved.
From now on I'm with Boris all the way and will be changing my commute from tube to bike.
1 stuff are thing that are really important and need to be done now! yesterday! but in reality it's just 'stuff' - Quotes / Presentations / emails /Budget forecasts
2 Sometimes I really want to tell people to move down but people who do shout "can you move down please" are of course correct but always end up looking like knobs, I just live in hope people will see squished people realise they are blocking the way and do it of their own accord.
3 I'm pretty IT savvy but the lack of instructions had me baffled for a while.
4 I look grumpy in the photo but that's my natural disposition I am in fact having the best commute ever!
5 A bit sweatier than normal.
