Yesterday I left the office at the usual time, but instead of walking to the bus stop, riding to Rosslyn, metro-ing to Vienna then poking home on often-clogged local thoroughfares, I simply strolled to the garage, paid the fee and zipped home, mostly on highways.

The total elapsed time in my typical evening commute is 80 to 90 minutes. Last night it was about half of that!

You might wonder why I don’t drive to the office every day. That would be because the main road I take requires that there be two people in the car or that I pay a toll that can run as high as $40 or $50 for the privilege of bumping along nine miles of poorly maintained pavement.

Yesterday I had a reprieve for the federal holiday, so I enjoyed a flow commute and almost an hour more leisure time when I arrived home.

The whole situation is absurd, I know … which is why I like to write it down every so often, just to remind myself.