Entering Local Population Congestation Zone

The summer still technically has more than a month to go, and certainly the oppressive heat and humidity that typifies it where I live is going to linger for a considerable time as well.  But in one important sense, for me, summer in one of its more positive manifestations is about to crash down to a merciless, bitter end...starting around now and then dramatically spiking in effect next Wednesday.  School is starting again.

No, I am not attending any school right now.  And I'm not driving either of my children to school in the morning or picking them up in the afternoon.  Those days are done, although who knows whether or not I'll someday decide to "go back" to enter a graduate level program.  The main effect of school returning will be the overwhelming congestion on two fronts: the return of University of Florida students by the tens of thousands as well as the return of public school, with its rush hours and buses stopping everywhere in the middle of the road.  Santa Fe College in the northwestern corner of town contributes a lot to the crowded streets as well.

With both UF and public schools, I particularly feel the congestion nowadays with my current work schedule as I leave my workplace at 7:30 AM and drive up a street, first passing through intense university student traffic in the southwestern part of town and then past schools and residential areas clogged up with buses and parents-with-kids (and slowdown school zones).  So next Wednesday it will begin anew...

There is another aggravation associated with the resumption of school, and it involves mainly the returning University and Santa Fe College students.  They tend to take all of the seats at the various Starbucks and other coffee houses in town, often camping out for hours there and sometimes not even buying anything.  Of course, there is a place that these students tend to overlook: McDonald's, which always seems to have plenty of seating and provides good-tasting, less expensive coffee anyway.  They also tend to steer clear of doughnut shops, which are more the habitats of gabby seniors.  Looks like I might as well start with these places if I want some assurance of seating when I go out to study...