The Pursuit of a #HappyCommute – Hummers Make Me Happy.

The day I moved to New York City wasn’t easy. My apartment wasn’t ready and I had to shove every little thing I owned into a tiny storage in Brooklyn before my friends dropped me off at a random sublet in Harlem I had found on Craigslist. They looked at me like I was crazy – here was this little white girl who just up and quit her job, sold her Hummer and moved to NYC with no where to live, a new job, and was crashing in —– Harlem??? Let’s go back…

Yes, I used to own a Hummer.

I settled into my up-front cash bedroom in that NYC rowhouse, and opened facebook to see the photo of myself sitting on top of my beautiful black beast moments before I dropped her back off to the dealership. I cried.

Not because I was scared of being alone in big bad NYC that night, not because I was walking into a new job in a couple hours and not because everything I owned was miles away in a dark, dreary storage bin. I cried because I felt I have given up my freedom, my privacy. I don’t know about you – but some of my most cherished moments were in that Hummer.

Trying to climb the vertical streets of Mt. Washington in a foot of  unplowed  snow while Jamie  surfed out the sunroof.

Getting it buried at 7 Springs in the middle of the night and having a BOBCAT come tow me out.

Driving on the beach in Ocean City – what that legal????

Remember when someone kicked off my side mirror in South Side, Cece?

The Ketchup incident on the way to Washington DC with Geoff.

The McNuggeting incident with Janna. 

I could go on and on.

Vehicles become a part of you. And just like people say you look like your pet, I think you can also start to resemble your car.

Since moving to NYC, we’ve gotten a new vehicle (NOT a Hummer wahhhh), but driving in NYC just isn’t the same.

Driving in NYC is EFFING HELL. I don’t have any fun memories of driving in this car – all I can think about is how many cabbies I’ll have to play chicken with on the way to Maximo’s soccer class. Or how many idiots will cut me off on the way to Long Island today.

Luckily I don’t have to drive EVERYDAY or I might need a therapist. Seriously –

DYK:  Two-thirds of Americans spend at least 30 min commuting, which is more than they’re exercising (57%), so your commute has little positive impact on maintaining a regular exercise routine and supporting overall health goals like eating well or sustaining a healthy weight.

STAT: A majority of commuters (67%) say they experience traffic at least occasionally during their work commute, describing their ride as unpredictable, frustrating, stressful and long.

Well, were is the fun in that? ZERO.

So Ford decided we need to chat about this and do something about it.

It sounds so #firstworldproblem, but really – we’re all on the pursuit of a #happycommute. 

A few of us moms and writer’s in NYC gathered at the Gansevoort last week to have lunch (and bubbly!) to chat about what the F we can do to make our lives just a little bit easier. And more relaxing – if it’s possible?

I was impressed to see that Ford was being proactive and wanted to know how they can make it better. From one-click iphone connections for your Pandora play list to beeps when someone is in your blind spot, here are some of the things we discussed:

– Listen to the right kind of music. If you’re listening to MegaDeath during your am commute, chances are you’re going to want to kill someone. I am not saying you have to bust out the Yanni channel – but you know, maybe some Ray LaMontagne does a drive good.

– Exercise? Let’s not cause a wreck by lifting kettle bells on the BQE, but ladies—-kegels?

– Catch Up with the Kids. Put the cells down and have a legit conversation. How as school? Are you going to try out for cheerleading this year? What do you want to cook for dinner? What did you learn in Science Class? You get the idea.

– Podcasts and audio books. I feel like I sound like my grandmother a little listening to books, but hey – I’ve really been meaning to catch up on podcasts and get into it myself. I’ve now downloaded some on my phone and plan to listen to them on my commute to Long Island tomorrow.

– This one is for Claudio – DE-CLUTTER YOUR CAR. Don’t be a hoarder in your car. If you’re stepping on a pile of starbucks reciepts from last fall, maybe you could use a quick detail. They’re all over NYC – and only cost like $10!

–  People are habitual and get caught up taking the same routes to and from familiar places, so use Ford’s Advanced Navigation to help avoid traffic jams and provide routes that will get you to your date (or wherever) the fastest!

– While we’re accustomed to always being plugged in, the “Myth of Multitasking” trend from 2014 Looking Further with Ford Trend report shows that there’s a growing importance to disconnect during your commute, so use your Ford “Do Not Disturb” feature to block calls and help you truly unplug and decrease stress levels.

Do you have any tips for a #happycommute? 

Thanks again to Ford Motor Company, and our lunch panel:  E! News anchor Catt Sadler, Ford’s Amy Marentic, Flywheel co-founder Ruth Zukerman and NY Times bestselling author/Bad Boy Steve Santagati.

I was not compensated for this post, all opinions are my own. Ford invited me to lunch to chat about the pursuit of a #happycommute.