damnit. i may need to commute for work AGAIN!
 

i drove from Concord CA to Pacifica CA for 10 years. and that commute involved 1 Bay Bridge. at first it was easy. go in early, leave early.

then it seemed like the entire bay area got the same idea. i kid you not, if you did not cross the bay bridge by 5:30 am..you are jammed up. jammed up bad! i would estimate i suffered this new traffic for six years, watching it get worse.

i then moved. 7 minute drive or a 40 minute trail bike ride. i am in heaven.

NOW? our northern county wants to poach me. they want me to do two huge retaining wall projects. SOB!! i rarely tell the bosses "NO", and they know it.

i think i'm driving again. and i have a brand new project coming up 3 blocks from my house :(. i would have to give it up.

Can you tell your bosses that you want to see the local job through, before you get pulled and have to return to commuting for work? The local job is 3 blocks away! That's good for them (always on duty--maybe not for real, but at least sell them on the idea), and that's good for the community PR as well.

Surely they will have to cover your travel time and expenses if they move you from a job so close to home. That may cause them to look elsewhere for that other job, we can hope.

At least it sounds like you will not be facing the city traffic of going over the bridge.

Cheers Richard

Tough one.

Sounds like you are pretty solid in their book already.

They already value you which is a good place to be.

Sometimes being valued comes with additional burden but it's a long term play.

An inconvenience now can translate into a bigger payoff down the road.

If your intent is to stay where you are as long as you can, be a lifer so to speak, you may want to consider saying yes.

If you are close with your bosses and can be candid I would suggest a quick sit down, "look, I'm not crazy about the idea of having to commute especially with a project 3 blocks from my house but if you are telling me its me you need on this then OK"

This is going to suck but if another county is reaching out to your bosses there is a reason. Because you know walls don't get painted baby poo brown.

Try to look on the bright side of this. It's a complement.

Good luck.

Where would you commute to?

You still actually bike?

I would put my health (sleep) over opportunity if you area already at the same company. I would tell them you are not available for projects over 45 min drive away. It just isn't working with your family.

That's my two cents.

G

Ukiah

yea..not so much during the winter. but i am about to start up again soon.

i think i would still ride my bike. i would leave my work sedan at my current place anyways. ride to my car, then drive..and drive....aaaannnndddd drive. its the ride home: i am not a fan of riding much in the dark.

A long commute sucks, I went from a 30 mile, back country commute that was hellish in Ohio Winters, to a 10 minute straight shot on the edge of town. Won't go back. I would love to bike to work, but notrails, just busy roads in the dark.

A man's got to know his limitations :)

How long of a commute?

I'd have no problem just saying thanks, but no thanks....unless your job is your life....then I'd say to myself....I really DO need to get a life ;).

Vash I worked with a guy in the city of Alameda.
His home was in Sacramento he would stay at the local motel 6 and drive home for the weekends.
He did that for yrs. before retirement.

I feel you. For slightly over nine years I had a 4.5 mile commute that I biked every day, all year. Half of it was on a nice off-street trail. Then my office moved to BFE, and it's 21 miles by car, 25 by bike, each way. For the first couple of months I drove about once a week, and the rest of the time I'd ride downtown and get on the train, get off at the nearest stop and ride the last mile. I'd ride all the way home in the evening - a nice ride as far as they go, but long. But for months now I've been driving nearly all the time, because it gets me soooo much time back. Typically about 1:30 total for driving, almost 3:30 total with bike/train+bike. I hate, hate, hate driving to work but I value my time and they pull in opposite directions. Once I finish my two bike builds I'll go back to riding often, but I dearly miss my old commute.

I have to agree,

"I rarely tell the bosses "NO", and they know it."

You have been there over ten years, you have always been their goto guy.

I have the same problem here at work, been here 20 year, team player, I jump in and get things done without being told.

A few years back they asked me to do a job in Las Vegas.
My supervisor was epileptic.
"Scott I need you to go to Las Vegas"
"We have three techs who haven't traveled at all, send one of them"
"But you are my lead tech." (there is no such thing as a lead tech, we are all equally paid and there is no such job description)
"Send someone else"
"but"
"no"
"but"
"NO! Send someone else!"

The job would have been easy peasy, only a 45 minute flight and I love Vegas.
But here when you travel with a show it tends to stick to you like gum on a shoe.
"well, you went last time so you have the experience"

Plus I was trying to cut out my drinking and Vegas isn't the best place to try to dry out.

You are valuable to the company, that should give you some leverage.

Just my two cents.

If you're into climbing the ladder, my advice would be to do what they ask, if you're quite comfortable with where and who you are, then do WTF you want to ;).

I turned down the management route carrot when I was 25...nope, not my thing, sorry. Later in my career, I simply said no when asked to do sonething I had strong objections too. If you're the "go to guy" when the shtf, and a superstar performer at the top of their game it matters...I did just fine.

It is reasonable to ask for some quality of life balance here.

Less hours on the site - increase in pay, etc...

Is it that you don't like the time in the car - or that this is expected to come out of *your* time and not theirs?

You need a motor home....

Any where 7 minutes from Pacifica to Ukiah is not a commute, it's a TOUR.


(I used to live on a vineyard near Philo.)

Pacifica>Ukiah=125 miles one way.

Typically company does not pay for commute time.

Take the Bullet Train....

That's nasty. Funny, but nasty.