Olympic Walk into Work

You know you've been watching too much Olympic coverage when the narration in your head on your way into work goes something like this (to be read in your best "Olympic Annoucer" voice):

OK, well, she was a little late out of the starting gate, and I see she decided to stick with the snow boots that she's been wearing for the last few weeks. Let's see how she handles her first challenge. The driveway was shoveled yesterday leaving a thin layer of ice, which can be tricky, and her landlord has left only about 8 inches of space between the cars that she needs to squeeze through... but yes, she has gotten through that with no problem. As she turns the corner she realizes that she's too late to have a crossing guard at her first street crossing, but as we've seen on many walks before, she boldly crosses that intersection, staring down the guy in the pick-up truck and reminding him exactly who has the right of way.

We're moving into an easier part of the course where speed is the main concern. Most of these sidewalks have been cleared, with just a few tricky spots here and there. This morning the course is especially deceiving with patches of black ice in some places. Oh! There I saw a little foot slippage, but as you can see she's regained her balance and is trucking along at a brisk clip. I think she might actually make in into work on time folks. We'll have to see how she handles the downhill.

The course so far has a slight incline, but now that she's approaching the Arts Center and downtown we can see that she's into the downhill portion of the course. The first obstacle is that she needs to decide wether or not to jaywalk while the light is not in her favor here. She looks both ways, waits for that blue car and WOW! Did you see that? She is so bold in her street crossing, what an obvious jaywalk that was! This is not a move we see very often from her, she must be really late. Thankfully no cops were around to write that jaywalking ticket that so many Princeton pedestrians live in fear of. Her next big challenge will be to avoid the bakery, and yes, she does that without even a glance. She is on a record-setting pace here, folks. There are a few icy patches on this side of Witherspoon, but she seems to be paying attention and avoiding them with ease. There's one stroller obstacle that she's avoided, and now, here's the toughest move left in the trip, avoiding Small World Coffee, and yes, she's done it! You can see she's unzipped her coat and she's starting to feel a little warm from the above-freezing temps and amazingly fast pace she's been keeping since the starting gate.

She reaches the light at Nassau St. and again it is not in her favor. With a quick glance at the clock at Hamilton Jewlers she realizes she needs to go now if she's going to make it to work on time. Again, she looks both ways, the cars part in her favor and there she goes! A second jaywalk! I can't believe it! She's home free now that she's made it to campus. The only thing that could slow her down now is running into someone she knows, but her head is down and she's picking up speed. She's in the home stretch, down the stairs outside McCormick Hall and into the elevator. In a stroke of luck the elevator is waiting for her and with her standard push of the "door close" button she avoids running into anyone and makes it to her desk by 8:43! With plenty of time to spare she takes off her coat, changes into her orange flats and is "at her desk, ready to work by 8:45"!

Another successful walk into work!

Sadly, no one gave me a standing ovation or gold medal when I sat down at my desk.