[Nfb-kzoo] For Those of you in the Employed World

Tue Mar 3 04:27:14 UTC 2009

Hi,

J.J. the answer is a recipe including all of your choices.  Over the years,
I have used line-haul busses, cabs, walking, and rides with co-workers.  All
of them have their risks, interestingly, rides with co-workers are not
nearly the most reliable.  In bad winter weather, public transportation is
more reliable than co-workers.  In many places I have worked, the blind
people are at work in greater proportion than the sighted.

I have made extensive use of drivers for work-related travel.  I have not
used a driver for getting to work at my official work station, except in
very rare cases when I would be leaving immediately to go with a driver,
anyway, though this is a little questionable if the employer is paying the
driver, since it means the employer is paying the way to work.

I have a friend who is a former line-haul bus driver.  She has a motto.  A
late bus is an inconvenience -- an early bus is like no bus at all.  Maybe a
chat with the transit company would help, maybe.

One thing I do is choose my residence with a lot of consideration to getting
to work.  My personal preference is to live in the country.  I have never
doe this because of wanting to be able to get to work independently.

I think Jackie's thoughts are right on.  Employers will tolerate anomalies
when the employee has demonstrated responsibility as a pattern of behavior.
A rule of thumb, especially for young employees is that on time is late in
an employers view.  Early is on time.

Best of luck.  Transportation os one of those nuisances of blindness.

Warmest Regards,

Fred

-----Original Message-----
From: nfb-kzoo-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfb-kzoo-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of J.J. Meddaugh
Sent: Tuesday, February 17, 2009 11:07 PM
To: NFB of Kalamazoo Michigan List
Subject: Re: [Nfb-kzoo] For Those of you in the Employed World

Good point. I like Tyler's idea of shooting for the other bus. Bronson is 
once an hour, so leaving an hour and a half early is a bit insane. But 
grabbing the Westnedge in this situation, perhaps even a half hour early, 
would make more sense.

J.J. Meddaugh - ATGuys.com
A premier licensed Code Factory distributor

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jacalyn Paulding" <jacalynpaulding at gmail.com>
To: "NFB of Kalamazoo Michigan List" <nfb-kzoo at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, February 17, 2009 4:31 PM
Subject: Re: [Nfb-kzoo] For Those of you in the Employed World

> To me, it is just about being extra careful.  When I worked downtown I 
> could
> take the 8:30 and get to work 20 minutes early or take the 9:00 and be two
> minutes late.  I always took the 8:30.  Being unable to drive means that 
> we
> have to build in extra time incase the bus is late or something comes up, 
> is
> it fair that we can't jump in a car and get to the location in moments. 
> no
> it isn't fair but it is life.  I have been dependent on public
> transportation for the past 20 months here in Kalamazoo and I have been 
> late
> once that I can remember.   Just as a car can breakdown sometimes
> circumstances are beyond our control but i think what is most important is
> being extra conciensous so that in the very rare occassion that we are 
> late
> due to circumstances truly beyond our control it can be excused.
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Tue, Feb 17, 2009 at 2:58 PM, J.J. Meddaugh <jj at bestmidi.com> wrote:
>
>> So it happened again on Friday. I walked outside to our bus stop and 
>> waited
>> patiently for about 20 minutes. No bus. Either I was there 15 seconds too
>> late or it never came. It was hard to figure that out. So there I was, 5
>> minutes before an important meeting and no way to get there. The most
>> responsive cab companies could have a vehicle there in 15 minutes. But 
>> that
>> would have left me to arrive 20 minutes late. Walking would have taken at
>> least a half hour from this location.
>>
>> So for those of you with regular commitments, jobs, meetings, etc. What 
>> do
>> you do? I have considered hiring drivers, but the cost seems a bit
>> prohibitive for someone just starting out. Also, I'm not sure I would 
>> offer
>> enough hours to a driver to make it worthwhile for them. Busses are quite
>> reliable around here, but even if 1 or 2 are late or broke down in a 
>> month,
>> it could lead to a remarkably bad reputation fast.
>>
>> Does anyone have ideas for other ways to get around? Surely, I'm not the
>> only one to have these situations arise. Luckily, I am close enough to my
>> job to walk, but that still isn't always practical, especially with 
>> michigan
>> winters.
>>
>> Thanks for any ideas.
>>
>> J.J.
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