The Worst Thing About L.A.

The worst thing about L.A. is the traffic. I know everyone says that about big cities, but until you've experienced it for 9 months, you have no idea how terrible it really is. It's gotten to the point where I don't really want to go anywhere anymore. I can't handle the godforsaken traffic.

The traffic is so bad that it doesn't really matter what fun thing you've just been out doing, once you get stuck in traffic for 2 hours just to travel 30 miles back home, your fun has been ruined. Take today for instance. The girls and I went to the OC Fair. We got there quickly, had a great time with friends, and made sure to leave by 3:45 to beat the rush hour traffic. We sat still for an hour and a half, traveling an inch at a time, just to exit the parking lot. The parking lot! It took another 45 minutes to drive the 2 freeways back to our house. Once we got home, I forgot all about the cotton candy and games and fun day I had with my girls. I just wanted to scream. Argh.

The thing that aggravates me the most about the stupid, ridiculous traffic is that there seems to be no real reason for the jams. One minute you're cruising along, happily traveling at a reasonable pace and the next you're stopping for no apparent reason. JD and I have analyzed this strange phenomenon and we have concluded it always slows down near the ramps allowing more cars into the freeways. It appears that other drivers freak out at the sight of more cars and just stop excelerating. This causes the 40 bajillion other drivers behind them to slow down and before you know it, the whole darn freeway is still, all because some extra cars wanted to drive in one of the 12 lanes. Stupidity, I tell ya. 


I'm not a person that really minds driving in a bunch of traffic. Lots of cars do not intimidate me. When we first moved here, I went places all the time. I thought it was so cool to live somewhere with so much fun stuff to do. But I can't do it anymore. I can't get in my car knowing that it is going to take me 4 hours to go get a hotdog. I can't get back on a freeway just for something fun to do. I can't. I'm staying home.