Out of Gas- At $4 a gallon, I wonder why

      I didn't so much choose an alternative method travel as much as I was forced into one. Last week I got in my car to go to school fifty minutes before class at nine-thirty a.m. I turned the key, the engine didn't start. After getting over the fact that I wasn't driving to school that day eight blocks away, I hopped out of the car and started walking. I walk to campus occasionally. It's sad to say but the reason why I drive even though campus is just up the hill is because I don't want to take the time to walk and I'm usually burnt out by the time I get to class if I walk. At the end of the day, I decided to travel on Villa La Jolla to the nearby Mobil gas station and pick up a gallon of gas to take back to my car. The trip there was down one huge hill and the trip back to my house was up another. Along La Jolla Village Drive, there is a portion of the road that has no sidewalk, so I had to walk in the flowerbeds for awhile and inches away from coming traffic travelling at speeds of forty-five mph.

     Although the round trip walking to and from campus took considerably longer, I realized that it was a more economical, healthier, and less stressful way to travel. There is almost nothing to worry about in terms of timing (I just have to start earlier), and it relieves traffic on the already jam-packed streets of La Jolla. Not to mention, driving from a few blocks away from campus is extremely wasteful and hazardous to the environment. Yet, this fortunate alternative commute I took last week has not and most likely will not change my transportation methods. Living in San Diego is almost unmanageable without a car, considering how spread out all areas of interest are.