I walked to work today.
It feels good to type that. To be honest with you, it would have been much more impressive if I had walked to work a year ago, when I had about a 20 minute commute on the highway. When I got married, I didn't know where my wife would find a job, so I moved closer to my job thinking that way, at least one of us was close to work.
Since moving to less than a mile from work, however, I found myself unable to ditch the car for a more environmentally-and-fitness-friendly walk. Most of my reservations stemmed from having to cross a pedestrian-unfriendly busy roadway. There is a "crosswalk" but no way or telling the light at that you, a pedestrian, intend to cross.
Some of my reservations had to do with my morning routine. From the old apartment I often had trouble getting up and being on time at work. From the new apartment, however, I was able to wake comfortably, get ready leisurely, and get to work on time. My commute decreased from 20-25 minutes down to 3-6 minutes depending on when I got to the light. Several things started to bother me about my newfound driving habits.
On the list was the wear and tear I was putting on my car by driving it back and forth to work without ever reaching its operating temperature. I convinced myself that I was not doing more harm than if I had continued to drive from 20 minutes away, but this never completely satisfied me.
I've also been feeling guilty about global warming and my own daily habits and I want to see if my wife and I can make it on just one car. So with all of these things weighing on my mind, I decided to walk to work.
