Today started off great. The weather cooled down and it finally felt like Fall. I actually wore a sweatshirt this morning. I was in a good mood despite my sore body.
But then the sun came out and my mood got worse (it must be opposite day). I had a freak out about finances and rising gas prices. Since my paycut this year (they changed my schedule so I can no longer make extra money doing supervision), I am struggling to keep up with the rising gas prices. I do have to admit that I have spent more money than I planned on this personal challenge–most of the money spent on food and gas. But over $5.00 a gallon for gas is ridiculous. So I did what I always do when I get into panic mode, I went to see my therapist.
After a grounding 45 minute session, I had a new outlook on things, new solutions to my problems, and a smile on my face when I noticed that the clouds had returned.
And my perspective returned. I am the queen of stretching a dollar. So I had to look at what I have at my disposal. I have the free Metro TAP card that I received, offering me the chance to try out the Metro for 5 consecutive days. I first used it on Sunday and it is good until the 11th. So I am going to use this pass as often as I can. I tried to find a good route via the Metro to get to work but all routes point to an hour and a half commute. Since I am not a morning person, that isn’t going to work for me. (But I am going to try it out tomorrow to see if it is really possible). So I will just use my car to go back and forth to work. I can ride my bike down to the grocery store and use the Metro to go anywhere else. A monthly pass on the Metro is $75–the current price of one tank of gas for my Cavalier. This will eliminate the gas I waste driving to all my new adventures as well as the gas wasted trying to find parking spaces. It will also eliminate the fees for parking. But the best part, it will help me lose the weight I gained after my car accident. Hopefully, I will work my way up to riding my bike to and from the different places as well. (I really have to work on going uphill).
So tonight, I decided to give this new plan a try. I parked my car in the driveway and headed to the closest bus stop. I downloaded the Metro app on my phone and used that to track the local buses. I hopped on the bus that took me to the Gold Line train station and I took the Gold Line to Old Town Pasadena (Memorial Park station).
Once again, I pulled out my phone and used my Pasadena app (and eventually Yelp) to find a place to eat. I decided I was going to try this Vegan restaurant called Green Earth Vegan cuisine on Fair Oaks. I am not a Vegan or a Vegetarian by any means but I have some friends who are hardcore vegetarians. So I thought I would check out a place where I could possibly take them when they visit.
I made my way over to Fair Oaks and found Green Earth Vegan just south of Colorado on Fair Oaks. I also discovered that it was closed. Yep, it is closed on Tuesdays. So I pulled out my phone and went to Yelp for assistance. There are tons of restaurants on Old Town but they are too pricey for my taste. So I filtered my search for a restaurant with a good rating and only one dollar sign. It turns out that the number one choice is right next to Green Earth Vegan–El Toreo. Mexican sounded good to me.
So I walked in and instantly I felt like I was walking into someone’s home for dinner. Everyone in the restaurant seemed to know each other. There was a group of guys at the first table watching a ball game, playing dominoes, and enjoying their tacos and cervezas. I sat down in a booth, placed my drink order and started to browse through the menu. I ordered the carnitas dinner and enjoyed my complementary chips and salsa. I looked over at the TV and noticed that the baseball game playing just happened to feature my hometown team, the Detroit Tigers. The Universe is so funny sometimes.
As for my meal, it was really good but it can’t beat the carnitas tacos at El Patron in Altadena. But I would happily return to El Toreo to try some of the other items on their menu.
So with a very full belly, I made my way back to the Memorial Park Metro Station and hopped on the Gold Line train back to Allen. But according to my Metro app, I had a 30 minute wait for the next bus. I decided to just walk home, just like I did on Sunday. It was a nice cool night and to my delight, as I approached my neighborhood, it started to sprinkle. The drizzle felt nice and cool after the walk home.
Obviously, the travel time is longer than driving but overall, I found the bus and train experience to be so much more relaxing. And it almost felt like the Universe was telling me that I made the right decision (about using the Metro) by giving me the gift rain in the last leg of my journey tonight.
As for my Metro adventure tomorrow, I am going to try out the suggested routes and see how if taking the Metro to and from work is a possibility. Stay tuned.
Define Normal 