Learn to Read a Map...

This post is one out of many that you have may have caught midstream. If so, I suggest starting at the beginning at The Benchmark Experiment

Ok, I'm at the Santa Clara CalTrain station, right across from the soccer nee football fields of Santa Clara University. If you watch movies, it should be oddly familiar as the same fields where the movie "Bend it Like Beckham" finishes. I know the road known as "The Alameda" is just around the corner. Time to bold, I have 15 minutes to make it to Queen of Sheba....

Damn it's HOT! There is very little shade, the road I'm walking next to is 2 lanes in both directions and I and one other person are the only ones walking. Frighteningly, he looks more sane than I am. He appears to be walking because he has no choice, I am walking in this heat because I chose to. I remind myself that I had an offer of a ride and I turned it down. There are cars passing me in both directions, they are oblivious to me, or saying to their passengers lock the doors, there's someone walking he might be dangerous. I find a more amenable song like Missing Person's "Walking in LA" but don't have it on my iPod. Nobody Walks in LA, the same could be said of Santa Clara.

Wait, I see another person on the sidewalk, and he has headphone on. A kindred spirit, no wait, he's holding a big cardboard arrow advertising aparments. I approach him and he stops me, "you have a cigarette?" I say no and he has no need for me, he returns to his see saw signing, I look at my watch and go where is that restaurant?

5 minutes later, another guy with headphones and a big cardboard arrow advertising homes for sale, an upgrade. They must issue the headphones and sign together. No request for a cigarette. Now at this point, one wonders did I misread the map, it only looked like a few centimeters on the map on the computer screen, I've driven this road and it didn't seem that far. I turn the corner and my heart sinks. Highway 880, it's on the other side of the freeway, I've totally misunderstimated the distance. I look at my watch. In 35 seconds I will be officially late. I consider calling to explain the situation, but instead turn up the iPod, if she calls to ask where I am I need plausible deniability, and if you can't hear the phone ring, you can't answer it. Oh and I start walking faster.

Six minutes later, I see the restaurant and I see her car, she comes out to say perfect timing. I am officially 6 minutes late, but by the 10 minute rule of fashionable lateness I am ok. I am a sweating mess, it's hot. I want air conditioning. We go eat.....

Time: 24 minutes
Distance: 2856 steps, 1.2 miles, I must say that pedometer is incredibly consistent.