It's not just the additional 20 minutes of travel time. It's the fatigue of standing in the train for an hour, of having to bear with people falling asleep on your shoulder, leaning on you, taking up your seat, stepping on your toes, digging their noses nonchalantly, and just generally invading your private space.

It's exhausting. It adds an additional 40 minutes, even an hour, to your day. It wears you down gradually. It's the inexorable grind of grains of sand, pulled gently by the waves of the sea, as they polish stones smooth. I don't tire from taking public transport a day, a week, or even a month. It's taken much longer than that.

It's the small irritations that patiently chisel at your fortitude. The inexorable march forward while each taps gently at your defenses.

I'm tired of taking public transport.

written at 12:00 a.m.