Commuting My Way to Sanity

When I went for my interview for my current job, I came out of the building and told my Mum on the phone that the company was amazing, but there was no way I could do that journey every day.

Two hours from door-to-door: two trains, a 40 minute walk at one side and a 20 minute walk at the other. I won't even mention the cost.

When I was offered the job, I was torn. I so wanted a job in publishing and to stay in York (ie. not move to Oxford/Cambridge, as amazing as that opportunity would have been), but I just couldn't see how it would be possible to do 4 hours of commuting every day, as well as 8 hours working, and stay sane.

Two months later, I am managing, and this is how I do it:



After four weeks of working and commuting, no matter how hard the day has been, and no matter how much toil the 5:15am starts are taking, I arrive home filled with absolute joy at the world. The colours along my path home are incredible right now, and my journey happens to coincide with the perfect light setting, displaying the autumn at its most aesthetic.

This sets me off into delerium, enough to push me to change straight into my running gear and head back out again, or to wash up, or to do the laundry. Autumn seems to put me at my optimum level of happiness and usefulness; let's see what winter brings...