Who's Afraid of the Big Bad BEA (Part II)

Now that I've got my BEA after-events sorted out, the next step in my "Things to do before BEA gets here" plan was to decide whether I wanted to drive myself in and out of the city each day, or shell out for public transportation.

See, last year, I drove the 4 hour round trip every day. But I was brand new to the blogging scene (my one year blogoversary only hit in December'10) and wasn't really aware of the fact that BEA continued to mingle once the Javits closed it doors so I was leaving at a relatively decent hour.

This year, I RSVP'd to some after-events that are going to keep me in the city quite late. And I was worried about how I'd handle that 2 hour drive home at night, and the return trip in the morning after minimal hours of sleep.

I've never taken a bus into the city ... and I wasn't going to make that leap without doing my homework. So I sat down and made a list of pros and cons:

Pro's for Public Transportation

• The cost of a weekly commuter pass is the same amount I would spend on parking for the week at Port Authority.
• I could sleep on the drive in AND out if I needed to.
• I could read on the drive in AND out if I didn't sleep.
• I could drink a helluva lot more.
• It would save my car on gas and unnecessary milage.
• There is a bus leaving the city to my neck of the woods practically every hour so I didn't have to worry about getting stranded in NYC overnight if I missed one.

Con's for Public Transportation

• I would have to leave earlier or later than I wanted to.
• I would have to pay for a weekly parking permit to park in the commuter lot.
• I would have to limit myself to what I bring in AND out of the city.
• I would not have the ability to drop things off throughout the course of the day.
• I would not be able to bring an extra set of clothes (I've been known to rip the ass right out of my jeans!)
• I could potentially be stranded at Port Authority for up to an hour if I miss the previous bus.
• I drove to the Martz terminal to ask some specific questions, but refused to park and get out of the car because of the scary, shady people standing out there waiting to catch the next bus!

Needless to say, had I just driven to the damn place to begin with, I could have saved myself all the research.

Car it is!!!!