Big time screw up on my part this morning. They've been working on the 710 for awhile now; Bo and I have noticed that it's closed when we come home from the theater (taking the 710 to his house is an option but we never do it because, hey, guess what, it's been closed), but by the time I'm on the road and on my way to work, it's been open again. This morning, however, it was closed.
When I got on the freeway, I noticed a little portable sign with words flashing on it, but it was actually before I got on the freeway, so I couldn't read what it said. In hindsight, I suppose what it probably said was, "710 North Closed."
When I reached the onramp to the 710, which was, of course, closed, I had a couple of options: get off the freeway and head back south to the 605; or, continue north on the 405 and take the 110 east to the 10, which I've never actually done; or get off the freeway and head home and go back to bed.
Are you surprised that I didn't take the 3rd option? Hey, I have work to do today!
I actually attempted to get off and go back, but I stupidly chose the Alameda exit. Alameda doesn't loop you back onto the freeway in a convenient way, so I got back on heading north, and decided to take the 110. At this point, I had 10 minutes to get to work on time, so I called my boss. It's just not physically possible, using today's vehicular technology, to get from the 405/110 to my work in 10 minutes. She didn't answer, so I left a scrambled and excited message (basically, announcing to her voicemail that "I'm a dumbass!"). It was at this moment on the 110 that I started trying to remember how to get to my work from the complete opposite direction.
I work in East LA, but up until today, I pretty much go where I have to go and I haven't explored the area much. I know where Subway is, and maybe a few other choice locations (7-11, Rite-Aid, Chipotle). I knew I could take the 10 east from the 110 and get reasonably close, but I wasn't sure. So when the Cesar Chavez exit came up, I thought, Ah ha! (Cesar Chavez is really close to the intersection where I work). I got off, made an educated guess, and turned right. And was suddenly thrust into a neighborhood I had never, ever seen before.
No worries, I thought - I can't be that far away.
And I wasn't. Soon enough, I saw some familiar sights (one thing I've noticed, East LA has no shortage of cemeteries), made a familiar left turn onto a familiar street, and just 30 minutes late rolled into work.
I blame Jackson Browne for this fiasco: I've been listening to him since Bo chose "Sky Blue and Black" as our theme song for the evening ride home last night, and while it was gorgeous music to listen to while the sun set on the 405 freeway (and with a co-pilot to distract me from whatever daydream he puts me in), alone this morning, still waking up, Mr. Browne was just too mellow for me. The groovy daze slowed my thought processes down. I need some metal or something to get my brain alive and wakened. And a Diet Coke.
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