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No driving
nick205 - 27/1/16 at 01:47 PM

Hi All,

As mentioned, no driving for me due to epilepsy!

At first I didn't really mind, but the lack of "alone" time in the car is really starting to get me down now. I didn't realise quite how much I valued that time morning and evening being alone with no one to bother me. Travelling by bus and train is a little different and plagued with people.

Sad?

Selfish?

Probably, but I don't half miss being alone at times!

Slimy38 - 27/1/16 at 02:21 PM

I think Jean-Paul Sartre was (supposedly) meant to hit that particular nail right on the head...


'Hell is other people.'

loggyboy - 27/1/16 at 02:28 PM

is that a Red Dwarf quote??

nick205 - 27/1/16 at 02:28 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Slimy38
I think Jean-Paul Sartre was (supposedly) meant to hit that particular nail right on the head...


'Hell is other people.'



Has to be said I'm not a great fan of people and tend to follow the approach of assume they're daft and you wont be disappointed

02GF74 - 27/1/16 at 02:45 PM

people bother you? headphones is the solution

nick205 - 27/1/16 at 02:53 PM

And I wear them.

Major issue in that the head injury has also left me profoundly deaf in my right ear so listening to music is also harder work than it used to be.

Unfortunately, even with headphones on public transport means milling your way through a lot of people.

nick205 - 27/1/16 at 03:10 PM

Thinking about it I should probably download some podcasts for listening to.

One element to getting the bus and train to work is the 30 min walk between Basingstoke rail station and work - it's time alone.

ETA...one thing that does worry me is the prospect of suffering an epileptic fit whilst walking. Falling over could be awkward!

[Edited on 27/1/16 by nick205]

David Jenkins - 27/1/16 at 03:17 PM

Oh I know that feeling - I spent decades commuting into London, first from Chelmsford and later from Manningtree (just south of Ipswich). Between 45 and 90 minutes morning and evening. Made friends with some people and had a few laughs, but mostly it was frequent astonishment at just how rude and moronic some people can be. If you've ever watched "The only way is Essex" then you'll appreciate some of the class acts I used to encounter...

I almost always wore headphones, did a huge amount of reading (which I can't find time for these days) and did the major part of an OU MSc course while travelling.

The best day in my life was when I stuck two fingers at commuting and took early retirement - went from what effectively were 60 - 70 hour weeks to amusing myself in all sorts of interesting projects, when I like and where I like.

gary gsx - 27/1/16 at 03:18 PM

I know how you feel, I drive for a living fuel tanker(wait for the boo's)so not even aloud a mobile and most forecourts delivery is controlled by the driver so really don't see any one!! How ever I do love that time on me own problem is you get to much on your own and as I work shifts the mrs could be at work when I'm off and then find it hard to break away from that cycle sometimes selfish if you know what I mean

nick205 - 27/1/16 at 03:27 PM

I have noticed regular London bound commuters on the train - they look washed out and ready for retirement!

I think what I really miss is that 1/2 hr each way on my own singing to what I want and not having to talk to people.

A good thing is that I've now sold my Passat which goes tomorrow so gone will be walking past that on the way to the bus stop.

As others have suggested, now could be a good time to build another kit, but the fear of not being allowed to drive it does play on my mind

David Jenkins - 27/1/16 at 03:56 PM

One of my last jobs was half-way to London, in Shenfield. I tried using the train, but it was even harder than commuting all the way - I often had to change trains, or the ones that stopped didn't stop at my home station, and so on. So I decided to drive (about 50 minutes or so)... the entire journey was a continuous stream of traffic with drivers changing lane into spaces 2" longer than their car, saw road rage at least once a week, saw the result of bad accidents about every other week, and when I left work I'd drive up the supposedly 70mph A12 for at least 10 miles at less than 30mph due to the volume of traffic. Just too stressful, so I went back to the train.

In the end I got a job 5 miles away in Ipswich - but they were a totally incompetent company so I gave up after 2 weeks. When I told the CEO that I couldn't work there, he said that he fully understood - and that he was also resigning, together with the Quality Manager!

nick205 - 27/1/16 at 04:04 PM

Interesting career moves and experiences!

At least the last one was with you and had to go as well.