The Kübler-Ross Model of Driving

On days when it's sunny and reasonably warm and we're running on time, I like to bike Finn to preschool.  Otherwise, I drive.  I usually take 127 because that way I'm not driving past the high school while all the kids are arriving for the day.  127 is a small limited access highway that ends at the intersection with Manhattan Drive, at which point it becomes Park Street and becomes residential -- 25MPH, speed bumps and everything.  Often enough I hit the red light at 127 and Manhattan.  Now, ideally once that light turns green, the lights at Park and North Street, Park and Sherman, and Battery and Pearl (Park becomes Battery) should be timed so that drivers doing the speed limit should get green lights, especially since the vast majority of traffic is going into downtown, not out... but they're not.  So on a bad morning while I'm the first car waiting at:

1. 127/Manhattan. "All right, you probably just got unlucky last week and the lights aren't specifically timed against incoming traffic, and today they'll be green going in."  
2. Park/North St. "I can't believe this light turned yellow 3 seconds too soon for me to make it through the light!  The guy in the lane next to me made it, but that's because he gunned it to 40!  What kind of moron times the lights so as to encourage people to speed in a residential zone?!"  
3. Park/Sherman. "Okay, so we're stuck in this light, too, and it also turned yellow just a few seconds too soon, but if I can just calm down we'll get through the next light and be home free heading to preschool."  Meanwhile, of course, there's a load of traffic coming off North Avenue onto battery so we end up behind a line of cars at
4. Battery/Pearl. "What's the point of taking 127 if it's not any faster than North Avenue?  At least on North Avenue I can help prevent people from speeding by actually doing the speed limit because it's 1 lane in each direction.  Ohhhh.... this line is never gonna make it through and I'm gonna sit through a second round of this light."  But it doesn't, and I can then get on with Acceptance.

Please note that this is about a mile of road and it's usually about 10 minutes each way to Finn's school; 15 on a bad day.  This is why I telecommute and I took the train while living in Chicago.  ;-)