raining ktula » bus http://ktula.com does it ever rain in Seattle? Sun, 22 Aug 2010 17:33:16 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Why i am still glad not having to drive to work http://ktula.com/2008/09/08/why-i-am-still-glad-not-having-to-drive-to-work/ http://ktula.com/2008/09/08/why-i-am-still-glad-not-having-to-drive-to-work/#comments Mon, 08 Sep 2008 16:56:36 +0000 ktula http://ktula.com/?p=1498
Seattle traffic as captured on my iPhone as i was traveling on the Metro bus.

Sure, it takes me more than one hour to get to work by commuting via a Metro bus and follow by a company-provided shuttle bus but looking at the Monday morning Seattle traffic provided by WSDOT, i am real glad i do not have to do any driving. In the one hour and 10 minutes of commute, i managed to do the following:

  • Read a six-page article on Microsoft’s Xbox 360 console defects woes.
  • Walked three healthy blocks to catch the shuttle bus.
  • Took a 20-min Power nap while i was on the shuttle bus.
]]> http://ktula.com/2008/09/08/why-i-am-still-glad-not-having-to-drive-to-work/feed/ 0 The moment has arrived http://ktula.com/2008/07/02/the-moment-has-arrived/ http://ktula.com/2008/07/02/the-moment-has-arrived/#comments Wed, 02 Jul 2008 17:43:14 +0000 ktula http://ktula.com/?p=1055 For the past 11 years or so, my jobs required me to constantly travel.  I had never taken a bus to work.  Early this year, i switched to a non-traveling job but i was still driving to work.  I wanted to take the public transportation to work but it was just too much hassle.  To get to work, i would have to take two transfers on three different buses.  If i don’t miss any of the connecting buses, it would take me at least 90 minutes.  Even when i drive my car to work, i have to leave my car at the parking lot in Magnuson Park – leased from the city by my employer – and then hop on a shuttle bus that drops me off about ten blocks away.  My work location has a parking lot but since the parking spaces is limited, the spots are assigned by “seniority”.  From what i found out recently, the next available spot will go to someone who has been here since the middle of 2005.

On 6/30, my employer started a GreenLine shuttle service that runs every 15 minutes from Pacific Place to where i work in Sand Point.  I greeted this news with great excitement because for the longest time, it really bothered me that i could not take the public transportation to work even though i am working in the same city where i live.  This morning, i took Metro bus 54 from West Seattle to downtown.  Then i walked about three blocks, waited several minutes and got on the GreenLine shuttle bus.  The journey from home to work took a little more than one hour, which is just about the same amount of time that it takes me to drive to work on a day with bad traffic.  I was listening to music, checking my email, surfing the web on my iPhone throughout the commute.  In fact, i managed to catch some Zs on the shuttle bus!  Now, with gasoline prices at all time high, this shuttle service could not have come at a better moment.  It not only keeps some of the gasoline money in my pocket, it saves me from having to deal with the horrendous Seattle traffic!

Life is great!

]]> http://ktula.com/2008/07/02/the-moment-has-arrived/feed/ 0 My first Mariners game at Safeco Field http://ktula.com/2008/04/14/my-first-mariners-game-at-safeco-field/ http://ktula.com/2008/04/14/my-first-mariners-game-at-safeco-field/#comments Tue, 15 Apr 2008 06:06:28 +0000 ktula http://ktula.com/?p=902 I have been a big Seattle Mariners fan since 1995, when the Mariners went to post season for the first time. This afternoon at work, a co-worker of mine asked if anyone wanted a pair of Mariners tickets for tonight’s game against the Kansas City Royals. Since i only wanted a ticket, i let another co-worker of mine have the other one.

Going to Safeco Field was extremely easy. I took metro bus 22 right in front of the condominium and that took me directly to Safeco Field.

Ichiro doing some warm-up throws with right fielder Brad Wilkerson

Losing pitcher of tonight\'s game

Ichiro safe on first base after a single

When i checked the starting pitcher for the Royals prior to leaving for the game, i knew it was going to be a tough game. Two-game winner Zack Greinke had an ERA of only 0.60 coming into tonight’s game. Turned out i was right. The Mariners only managed 5 hits against Greinke. Mariners starting pitcher Jarrod Washburn gave up two home runs and 3 runs in about 6 innings of work. His replacement Sean Green was completely ineffective. Sean Green left the bases loaded without an out, needing the help of Ryan Rowland-Smith to bail him out. Greinke had a complete game, beating the Mariners 5 – 1.

The game time temperature was around 40s and it was very damped and cold as it had been raining almost all day. Good thing i brought a blanket with me. The game lasted about two and a half hours. I had to take three buses home. The first one was the shuttle bus that took me from Safeco Field to 1st Ave and Spokane St. After waiting for about 10 minutes, i got on bus #21, taking me to 35th Ave SW and Avalon Way SW. When i arrived there, i thought i had just missed the connecting bus #54. Fortunately, the bus was late and i got home without having to wait another 30 minutes for the next bus.

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