It's hot in DC and this dude is having none of it

"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
08/08/2018 at 09:20 • Filed to: None

So there I was, waiting at a light on my way to work, when this guy strolled across my path. He must’ve seen the forecast and been like, “nahh, fuck that, I’m making my OWN shade.”

DISCUSSION (17)

extraspecialbitter > Textured Soy Protein
08/08/2018 at 09:26

That Silver line really is an eye sore...

Sovande > extraspecialbitter
08/08/2018 at 09:34

That whole area is an eye sore...

TheRealBicycleBuck > Textured Soy Protein
08/08/2018 at 09:34

It’s not unusual to see people here in Houston with open umbrellas even when it’s not raining.

facw > extraspecialbitter
08/08/2018 at 09:35

You just don’t have enough appreciation of concrete! Looks much better than many of the things around, including that road.

Textured Soy Protein > Sovande
08/08/2018 at 09:36

Haha you and I said the exact same thing.

For all the people that work in Tyson’s, I’ve yet to find someone who actually likes it. Myself included.

Textured Soy Protein > extraspecialbitter
08/08/2018 at 09:37

So is Tyson’s Corner, in general.

Sovande > Textured Soy Protein
08/08/2018 at 09:46

It’s pretty sterile out there . I just checked, it’s 13 miles from DC and about 19 miles from my house and it may as well be on the moon for how difficult it is to actually get to . I can’t imagine the struggle to get in and out of there every day. Each morning I remind myself how lucky I am to work where I do. 17 minutes, door-to-door in this area is a dream. Even the commute home is a relative breeze.

extraspecialbitter > Textured Soy Protein
08/08/2018 at 09:47

I don’t blame them. The infrastructure is terrible for a needlessly busy area .

Textured Soy Protein > Sovande
08/08/2018 at 10:05

My commute in the morning usually isn’t so bad. Most of the traffic I encounter is stuff from the 270 spur down towards Cabin John Parkway and/or the bridge. But more often than not I can make it from my house in Rockville to my office in about 35 mins. It’s just at night when it’s brutal.

A couple weekends ago I was driving around Rockville with my wife and I was like, “man, this is so much nicer than stupid Tyson’s Corner, I wish I didn’t have to go there.” Then last Friday, I worked from home because I needed to have an appliance repair guy come and fix our microwave. Lunch time rolled around and I was like, “oh, right, I’m in Rockville, I’m getting takeout from Joe’s Noodle House up the street!”

Let’s just say that if this particular job wasn’t far and away the best available career option for me when I was looking, there’s no way I’d voluntarily choose to spend time in Tyson’s Corner. I’m angling for being able to work from home a day or two each week but I’m still pretty new so that’ll have to wait.

Sovande > Textured Soy Protein
08/08/2018 at 10:47

I hear you. It’s tough when the career gets involved. I got really lucky, and I am really aware of it, having been on the other side of the commuting coin. It’s tough to have to end your work day just struggling to get home. Nothing like spending an hour and a half in a car to go 19 miles to make you want to cry.

Sovande > extraspecialbitter
08/08/2018 at 10:48

How is it needlessly busy? What would be the alternative?

Textured Soy Protein > Sovande
08/08/2018 at 11:23

The big downside for me with the evening commute is I underestimated how useful that time often was for me. I go to the gym a lot but I’m also the primary errand-runner and cook in my household.

When I lived in Madison and my commute was usually like 15 mins tops, I would often hit the grocery store on my way home, or do some quick clothes shopping, or whatever else, and still get home before 6, spend a little time with my wife, and pop over to the gym. Or I’d get to the gym at an early enough hour that I’d get home at a not-crazy-late time after my 2+ hour workouts.

On non-gym weeknights, I could easily get home in time to cook dinner from scratch and have it ready at a reasonable hour, and sometimes I’d even cook something for my wife before I’d head to the gym.

Now, I often don’t leave the office right at 5, so with traffic I usually get home maybe 6:15-6:30 and there’s no time for those errands. Some days I can skip out a little early if I need to but that doesn’t make the traffic any better.

I try to mitigate this by running errands around Tyson’s at lunchtime, but for whatever reason I’ve hesitated to do that very often. That said, I may just have to say screw it, and do it more.

Bengal55 > Textured Soy Protein
08/08/2018 at 11:46

Heh, I have to give him credit, that is definately a no f’s given hat.

Tysons in general is a bit of a cluster. It was never designed to be a city yet that’s exactly what they want it to be. I personally don’t mind Tysons, but I’ve lived here for 30 years so I’m used to it. If you’re a Marylander then it’s really not on your radar unless you’re going to the mall(s).

My commute takes me from Great Falls to Rockville every morning and the reverse in the evening. I’m not sure how long I really want to do it myself. The 495 bridge is a nightmare; “OMG I’m going down hill, I gotta ride my brakes all the way down durr!! OMG an exit PANIC!”

Textured Soy Protein > Bengal55
08/08/2018 at 12:08

I live in Rockville so we have somewhat of an opposite commute.

In the morning I usually encounter more traffic on the 270 spur and on down towards Cabin John Parkway than I do at the bridge. I don’t know why Cabin John Parkway is such a choke point, other than the fact that 495 takes a bend there. I am definitely guilty of taking the shortcut there where the River Rd & Cabin John exits merge, if the traffic there is bad.

The exit from 495 S to 123 is often a disaster but if that’s the case I just keep going down to 7. In the morning, t raffic on 7 heading west isn’t so bad.

Crawling home on 495 N blows though.

philipilihp > Textured Soy Protein
08/08/2018 at 12:58

My wife can only stand it because she literally works in the first building off of the express lanes (the one with the Eddie V’s in it). And the only reason she can tolerate driving there is because of those same express lanes. Before they existed she’d come home every single day in a pissed-off mood. Worth every penny even if they are fucking extortionists.

Textured Soy Protein > philipilihp
08/08/2018 at 13:22

Since I live in Rockville and head north to go home, the express lanes really don't help me. They give me a small head start vs. the regular on-ramp from 123 but certainly not enough to make it worth paying the toll. I've gotten good at working my way north on 495 and have a good feel for which lanes move fastest at which section, but it still takes me an hour to get home. I'm really looking forward to when I can talk my boss into letting me work from home a couple days a week.

philipilihp > Textured Soy Protein
08/08/2018 at 14:59

Yeah going north to MD from tysons the express lanes are useless. that’s kind of the same for me driving from Springfield to Arlington. The express lanes only go so far as Edsall Road and paying $5 for 2 miles of express lanes sounds kind of pricey.