so now its been two weeks of irvine to work.. heres a quick rundown

to work
home(irvine) to tustin metrolink station via car ~ 15 mins
tustin metrolink station to union station via train ~ 1 hour
union station to work via red line/blue line ~ 30 mins
door-to-door total(5:50am-to-7:35am) ~ 1 hour 45 mins

to home
work to union station via blue line/red line ~ 35 mins
union station to tustin metrolink station via train ~ 1 hour
tustin metrolink station to home via car ~ 25 mins
door-to-door total(5:00pm-to-7:00pm) ~ 2 hours

quickie review

pros:
I can get some decent rest on the train which is nice in the morning;
no stress from stupid stop n go traffic on the 5, or 405/710;
its cheaper than gas, altho maybe not so much if i drove a civic rather than my truck/suv;
bathrooms are on the train..this is the best reason for me

cons:
it takes too long, almost 2 hours each way just seems…wrong somehow;
inconsistent red line schedule.. i always end up waiting at union station in the morning and at metro station in the evening;
skin tone factor(im the darkest person on the metrolink, im the median skin tone on the red line, then when I get on the blue line, im the lightest person…);
there is absolutely no tolerance of fare evasion… i should know, because i am the recipient of two fare evasion infractions.

regarding the first violation of california penal code 640(b).1, i was stupid enough to think that my monthly pass would be good for october, since i bought it in mid october, and then i received the second just the very next morning because i had to take a dump at home and was too late to buy a ticket…

the lady said, “you must have a ticket…if you have to choose between missing the train and buying a ticket or taking the train and not buying a ticket, just miss your train.” gee… thanks for the advice… now i have two separate court dates, in la and oc, facing a penalty of 250 dollars and 48 hours community service for each infraction.. if you think you recognize me on the side of the freeways picking up trash during the months of january and february, yeap…its me…

hahah woops… i had entered this blog post, but left it as a saved draft.. i started it back in feb 08.. i was gonna say, in feb of 07, on valentines day, i went hiking in the san gorgonio wilderness area with my buddy austino the wino, who is now an aspiring brewpub master or just beer drinker extraordinaire.. anyhow, on that wednesday, it was just him and me on the south fork trail to dry lake. ours was the only car in the parking lot at the trailhead, i guess cause of the snowy conditions, or it being the middle of the workweek, or maybe it was just v-day.. oh how things can change so much in a years+ time..

today i was pondering if cargo pants would ever go out of style. if they do, then would clothing companies stop manufacturing and selling them. i was only thinking about this because i realized i love cargo pants. they are basically just khakis with extra pockets, and i love those extra pockets. i love that i have a separate pocket for my phone, my keys, my wallet, and my cigs. i am contemplating stocking up on cargo pants just in case they ever go out of style; thus would i be assured of a lifetime supply of these wonderful pants.

according to wikipedia, which i trust absolutely when it comes to information about pop culture, cargo pants were popularized first in the uk during the 80s, and then here in the us in the 90s. i hope that after almost twenty years of being good enough to be manufactured by mainstream clothing companies, cargo pants are here to stay. then i wont have to buy 100 pairs of cargo pants. 100 is kind of an extreme estimate based upon the unlikelihood that i would go through two pairs of cargo pants every year for the next 50 years. based upon my current rate of going through pants, i think two pairs of cargo pants can last me five years. but honestly, id really rather not have to buy 100 pairs of cargo pants right now, or even 20 pairs. even tho i like the old navy ones that cost only twenty dollars, thats 400+ dollars worth of cargo pants as a minimum… i really hope cargo pants do not go out of style