Crikey!

When I studied abroad in Australia, there were a few dicey traffic moments from looking the wrong way for oncoming cars. Luckily, I had a pack of Aussies to remind me (read: mock me) that Americans need to look both ways before crossing the street.

I walked over to South St. Anthony Rec tonight and had a little Brizzie flashback. I was on the southeast corner (or what used to be a corner) at Eustis, inching up to the construction barriers to cross University. Now, I am hyper aware of the traffic configuration - one lane in each direction all pushed to the north side of the street. But for some reason, my brain was still surprised to see eastbound traffic on the north side of University. So please please keep your eyes open out there. And looking both ways is not a bad idea...

Magical mystery traffic capacity tour

I have to say, when I started to understand the construction phasing schedule, I got really anxious about how long my bus commute would get. The 50 doesn't do detours - it just sits in traffic.

And the first week or so of traffic being switched over was rough. Drivers were delayed and aggravated, and were taking it out on the neighborhood by slamming on the gas as soon as they could turn onto a side street. Prior west was a parking lot. The honking was ridiculous, like when I used to commute on the Crosstown (62 is devoid of any semblance of Minnesota Nice). The craziness was in full force.

But a strange thing has happened as people start settling into the dance of construction. Traffic started moving again. There's still a lot of it, but cars clip along at a pretty steady pace. Buses are running on time. Pedestrians aren't being mowed down at stop lights. It's like people have (gasp) accepted construction?! Is that possible?

Whatever magical capacity tour we're on, I'm really really enjoying getting home on time.

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Hotter + wild speculation

Kudos to the peeps who are out decorating my fence-neighbor. Keep it up.




Also, I'd like to add a potential streetcar track sighting to Paver Watch 2011...just saying, it looks a lot like rusty old track to me.

Up too early

Bad news - an early meeting is no way to start a Friday.

Good news - I ran for the bus this morning and got one of those cushy articulated deals with the big windows and the fluffy blue seats. Ah, luxury.

So from my choice window seat, I thought I would provide a little video tour of the action out there this morning.



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Location:Raymond & University

The first day of spring

Official or not - how I know it's now spring:

• I had to close my eyes as the bus whooshed to a stop to avoid the sand kicking up off the curb. I guess I'll take sand over ice, snow, pothole grime, mud, or puddles. Thanks to Snowmaggedon and Snowmaggedon Part 2, we have enough sand out there to have a little curbside beach.
• The seagulls are out in the Midway Marketplace parking lots again. Can anyone explain this phenomenon? My theory is that they migrate to the great Sea of Parking. Or they like french fries.
  
• Nobody even questioned me wearing rain boots. It never did rain today, so...you're welcome.

Also, a random update on Paver Watch 2011:

Yep. Your guess is as good as mine!

News?

The Pioneer Press scooped up my blog last night!

Five easy steps to Central Corridor happiness

Five easy ways that you, too, can have a happy and relaxed construction season while showing some love to your neighborhood businesses.

1. Start a cupcake-a-week diet. 9 out of 10 doctors agree that sugar makes you more efficient at life. My favorites are Lemon Meringue Pie, Mexican Hot Chocolate, and Carol Brady.

2. Go have a beer and chill the heck out. Too lazy? Sharrett's delivers. Seriously - I can't make this stuff up.

3. Get on the bus or hoof it. Avoid driving and parking altogether. Pairs nicely with #2. You think the bus is slow, but I'm relaxing on here while you're stuck in traffic. Think of it as a really affordable chauffeur.

4. Get a dilly bar. Let's face it. It's 41 degrees. That counts as spring in Minnesota. Time to celebrate by walking through puddles in flip flops and dripping ice cream on your parka.

5. Stock up on googly eyes. Ok, Axman has more than just buckets of eyes, but regardless of what you think you don't need, you'll end up buying it here. Past purchases of mine have included trophy making materials, tiny tea cups and tiny silverware, reflectors, alphabet stencils, shiny paper, packing tape, suspender materials (for a lumberjack costume - they were out of actual suspenders so we had to improvise), alien finger puppets, giant greeting cards, a bike bell, and of course, googly eyes of several sizes.



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