Working in another city is expensive. Besides the inevitable extra gas, oil changes and car maintenance, I’ve had to spend quite a bit of money to prepare myself to make this commute. I know it’s only a little over an hour, and it’s really not SO bad, but I want to be prepared. I’m a paranoid person and I have visions of snow storms with me stuck in them.
So I bought several things to prepare for the worst. First, I put together an emergency kit for my car. Jumper cables, tool kit, first aid kit, flashlight, blankets, and several other small things that might come in handy. I also want to add a small shovel, extra gloves, hats and scarves, a car charger for my phone and snacks (ya know, in case the emergency happens around dinner time). I just renewed my AAA membership, but if my car breaks down and they take a couple hours to get to me, I want to be warm and munchin’ on some crackers while I wait.
I also put together an overnight bag in case it’s not worth it to drive all the way home some night and I choose to stay in a cheap hotel. That meant I had to buy a second of all my toiletries, plus another flat iron because as vain as it sounds, my un-flat-ironed hair should not be seen in public.
I haven’t even started yet, and already this new job is making me broke! Let’s all cross our fingers it’ll be worth it.
(Tomorrow’s my first day. Eeek!)
Congrats and good luck on the new job!
Oh, and I can’t believe you bought a flat iron to keep in your trunk on the off chance that you would have to spend the night! lol
Don’t worry, it was one of the super cheap ones.
I’m so nervous now that something bad is going to happen! Being prepared just gives me anxiety.
Good luck tomorrow!
I can’t believe how far a commute that is. You’re a trooper.
You should get books on tape, when I was making that long of a commute, I “read” so many books. i really got into them. You have to get one that has a good reader. If the person sounds boring, it ruins the book…
I can’t believe how prepared you are.
1. I hope you made a spreadsheet to list all of these things out.
2. I DIED when you said you put a flat iron in the emergency package. Now there’s a girl after my own heart.
This post made me laugh – better safe than sorry!
Good luck on your first day.
Have a great first day!
Good luck on your first day! I think being prepared is a great idea.
Good luck on your first day!
I recently purchased my first car and the first things I bought for it was a box of tissues (I don’t even know why. I just noticed that almost EVERY car has them. I never use them!), and an ice scraper. I think I’ll be getting jumper cables in the near future – I don’t want to be stuck somewhere!
I thought about this yesterday. When I made long commutes, I carried cat litter and my Carharts (still do) in my trunk along with much of the stuff you mention. It can never hurt to be prepared, I say! These days, with cell phones, it isn’t quite a scary. When I drove the clunker(s), it was inevitable that something would happen. And it did. And I was prepared.
Be wary of frozen toiletries though. Bag ‘em good.
Hope your first day went well!
Hot damn – you are prepared!! My commute is almost an hour and I don’t think I even have half of what you have!