Thanks to China and India

This long line of people is the slug line at my commuter lot, waiting to pick up a free ride into town. How it works if you don't live in the DC metro area: a willing rider stands at a designated spot waiting for a car going into the area of town in which he or she works. (Yes, it really is a hitch-hiking in your work clothes.) A car with three people in it, including the driver, can use the HOV lanes, which generally move faster than the usual bogged-down commuter route into DC. The driver benefits by being able to use the HOV lanes and arrive at work faster; a rider benefits by getting a free ride. In the past there was an equilibrium of sorts, with seemingly enough cars for the number of riders available. But lately, because of the global demand for oil, among other things, there appear to be many more riders than cars to convey them. Fewer people are driving--regular gas was $2.95 at Wawa today--and more people are becoming riders to save money. Hence the long lines.

What to do then? Well, my needlework and I choose the bus. For some reason, I can't do cross stitch in the car; it makes me queasy. Something is different enough about the bus that allows me to continue stitching, unless the ride gets really fast and bumpy, jiggling the fabric too much. And quite frankly, although I'm not the best driver in the world--quite the contrary--there are other drivers who are worse. I was in a car that nearly had an accident one morning and resolved not to put myself at risk again. I didn't do much on the bus today, though. The windows were tinted a bronze color that distorted colors inside the bus, so I just settled back with the satellite radio and caught a nap instead. So this is what I accomplished at lunch--just some of the ecru stitching details around the edges of the gold house.