Arwen Foley is a content manager at AA Ireland, and a former AA Roadwatch traffic and travel reporter. She tells us about her usual commute from Blackrock to the city centre.
Tell me about your usual journey to work.
I work on the digital team in the AA and my hours are flexible. I tend to start work between 8 and half 8 and I take a shorter lunch break than most 9-to-5ers, because having come from Roadwatch I only ever had a half-hour break there. So I get to leave at 4, which suits my lifestyle because I've got two small kids at home.
I get Dublin Bus, the number 4, and I live in Blackrock so it's fairly straightforward. I usually either get a quarter past 7 or a half 7 bus. I quite like getting the bus - at that time, I nearly always get a seat, which is important to me because I get to read and listen to music, and it's kind of the only time of the day that I get 'me time'!
How long does the journey take?
I get off at Clare Street, beside Trinity. During the summer, when there are no kids [going to school], it can take as little as 20 minutes. But unfortunately when the kids are back it can take much longer. The quarter past 7 bus is not too bad - usually around 30 to 40 minutes. If I get the half 7 bus, it could take 40 to 50, and if there was a crash or anything it would take way longer.
What are your reading habits?
I don't really like Kindles for reading, I'm very old school – I like a book. But I am one of those book-reading criminals that dog-ears the page. I never have a bookmark so I just bend the pages down.
At the moment I'm reading Graham Norton, A Keeper, which is a really easy read. It's pretty intense, with some crazy people in it. Sometimes, if I'm in between books, I might listen to a podcast or an audio book – I listened to Michelle Obama's book.
What podcasts do you like to listen to?
My absolute favourite is The 80% by Esther O'Moore Donohoe, she's very funny and she interviews some great people. I listen to some parenting things but I find a lot of them are run by SPOOKs – smug parents of one kid – and I don't need to listen to other mummies whose lives are completely different to mine. I'm a big rugby fan so I enjoy Luke Fitzgerald's podcasts quite a bit.
What kind of music do you listen to?
I listen to a lot of dance music, a lot of trance. I can't listen to that kind of music at home – my kids wouldn't really enjoy it – but particularly on the way to work, it gives me a bit of get-up-and-go and puts me in a good mood.
I listen to some classic rock anthems as well. And if I've had a really bad, stressful day, on the way home I might listen to classical music. I have a really eclectic mix of favourites – it depends on the mood.
Do you ever work on the bus?
No, I could but I don't. I don't have my [work] emails hooked up to my phone. I nearly always have my laptop with me so I could log on and do some work but I don't, because it's my time.
I will do grocery shopping online though, and coming up to Christmas I do my Christmas shopping on the bus. You would be surprised how much you can get done.
What was your best ever commute, and the worst?
The best was when I first learned to drive. I worked in a pub in the next village over from my house, so it was a really short 10 or 15 minute drive and there was a car park there. That was very easy.
Quite possibly my worst commute was when I was working in the pub but also working in Today FM on a Sunday morning for free. I'd work every Friday and Saturday night in the pub, finish up at half 3 in the morning and go home and shower off the beer smell. I might lie down for an hour and catch a little bit of sleep, and then I'd have to get up and drive to into town for work.
I could do that then, in my early 20s, but I could not physically do it now and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone because it's dangerous to drive while tired. I'd keep going and then I'd get home and sleep for the entire day.
