After being out of work for a year, starting a regular commute again was a shock to system.  For seventeen years, I went to the GO station, got on the train and then walked a block to work from Union station.  Usually a 40 to 50 minute journey door to door.

Now, I take the train to Union, get on the subway to Eglinton, and take a bus ride past the Don Valley Expressway.  Total commute time?  Two hours.

Strangely enough, I don’t mind the commute.  I used to do most of my writing on the GO train, so it was nice to get that special time back.  Unfortunately, I don’t feel comfortable enough to use my laptop on the subway or bus; but, I can use that time to read.

In the first week, I finished reading a library book that I had been trying to read for 8 weeks.  I hadn’t realized how much my reading had suffered because I wasn’t commuting regularly.  I used to average reading 20 books a year.  On the train, if I wasn’t writing, I was usually reading.

And I have a backlog of books that I bought or received as gifts in the last 12 months that I haven’t touched yet.  They look at me accusingly from the top of my filing cabinet…  But now, I am confident that I will actually get to some of them.

That two hour commute is looking kind of attractive…