Can a Former NJ Driver Stay Calm in Bay Area Traffic?

I will confess that I was born and raised in NJ and I have the East Coast Type A personality that 20 years in CA has not been able to beat down. But I want to be that relaxed person you read about; the person I am not sure I have ever totally met but have heard about so often. So after a vacation in Hawaii, a wonderful place where people are just calm and unhurried, I tried to bring that mellow attitude back to the East Bay with me.

A few weeks ago while driving to work I ended up trapped on Potrero Avenue in a situation where only one car could go through each change of the traffic light. I could write another blog post about how the people that design traffic intersections in the Bay Area apparently only ride public transit, but that would only really be therapeutic for me and not very mellow.  So as I sat there watching the lights turn green and then back to red again while being unable to move forward I worked hard on finding my mellow spirit. I took deep breathes, I reviewed a gratitude list in my mind, I sang along loudly to music and I thought I had it, that elusive mellow attitude. But then as I crept closer to the freeway entrance the person a few cars up totally stopped. And it was still a green light! Before I could take a deep and cleansing breathe my hand slammed down on the horn. Mr. Construction Guy to my left looked at me sadly as I hung my head. Mr. Construction Guy to the right tried to get the next person to go through the light, but they couldn't understand the complicated set up so they sat there. And so once again we went through another round of lights. 

I tried not to berate myself as I drove on to work.  I think the NJ mindset is hard to supress in traffic. I strongly believe in being your authentic self and apparently right now my authentic self is an impatient driver. So I will look for another way to move slower and more peacefully through my day, knowing that for a Type A former NJ resident that may look a little different that my CA friends expect.  And I am okay with that.