Driving home in the dark in early morning traffic, in a torrential downpour in which even the fastest setting on my windshield wipers are ineffective, being passed by SUVs who appear to be driven by morons who don’t understand that the faster they go in rain like that the more stupid they are. Seriously. I was so perturbed and freaked out. I saw a guy hydroplane out and fly off the freeway into the ice plant (didn’t look like any injuries would be involved) and then passed another solo SUV spin-out where he’d hit the center divide and ended up blocking two lanes of traffic. Losing control when they have to hit the brakes because they can’t drop below 80mph in absolutely incredibly heavy rain. Morons.
Cleaning up cat vomit off the rug with toilet paper since I’m out of paper towels. (Why can’t Digit EVER throw up on the damn floor? I have hardwood/tile floors. I have two rugs. Two. He always ends up on one of them.) I don’t know how parents do it, yo. Cats are gross.
I had more, but the little boy who just passed the coffee shop just cheered me up. He’s no more than five, wearing a Ramones shirt that’s obviously his father’s, proudly carrying drumsticks. All right.
Tomorrow is my weekend! Hooray!
*also, there’s now a guy in the coffee shop wearing a floor-length leather duster. That’s also awesome. The things that make me happy.
I love it that just when you’re making a list of things you can’t stand, not one but two things make you happy come into view! In Houston, people either slam on the brakes in the rain or speed up, not so bright.
I hate driving in the rain! You’d think people would get a clue when they can’t even SEE the road!!
Stay dry and safe, it’s been nasty up here in Guerneville!
SUV drivers do the same thing in Boston in the SNOW. Crazy – as if Boston drivers aren’t crazy enough already. Sheesh.
Yeah, here in S.D. it’s the same, or ten feet off your rear bumper in the sh!tstorm.
Hooray for punkrock bebbays!
I love it when I’m tooling along in the snow and the SUVs and Jeeps pass me … and then five miles later I pass them in the ditch.
I am not a nice person.
Yay for the new drummer for the Ramones!
Heh. And everyone thought I was insane when I lived there and REFUSED to drive.
[Of course, there was partly the Fremont thing, where people were just stunned by the idea that you can WALK from the grocery store to your condo, four blocks away. Four blocks! With groceries! Well I never!]
At the opera tonight, I saw a white chick wearing a sari. I thought that was a little bit unusual, speaking of interesting outfits.
Or how about the SUV who blew past me tonight around 9:15 pm on the freeway doing about 90 mph with no lights on, veering across all lanes to get around the traffic! I’ll bet he’s one of those who drives without lights in the pouring rain, too. If I could’ve gotten a look at his license plates, I’d have called him in.
Driving in rain: I just flashed back to Rhinebeck. I feel ya, I do. SUV owners think they’re invincible.
I have started putting newspapers on my rugs -because my pup does what your cat has been doing-he can’t seem to hit the floors made of tile or wood- oh no! Try it- after awhile, he didn’t seem to like the sound of the newspapers underfoot, so he steers clear of the rugs. Good luck!
Now I have a vision of my son (who is also five) singing I wanna be sedated.
And driving in your part of the world is scary, I can’t imagine it in the rainiest of rains.
Here in NC, we get a lot of ice. We also have a large number of transplants from snowy states. For some reason, not a one of them can grasp the concept that 4-wheel drive doesn’t help when driving on ice. They’ll drive at insane speeds and be SHOCKED when they crash. Then we have to hear that “up north, we didn’t have these problems when we had snow”. Um, big clue there. You had snow, not freakin’ ICE. OK, rant ended.
Well, at least Digit didn’t throw up into your shoes, right?! That would be the grossest…
It’s very simple. SUV drivers think that “4-wheel drive” means “4-wheel stop.” It doesn’t.
Colorado drivers are hilarious. They drive pretty well in snow – we still get some pretty reckless SUV drivers, but for the most part we do okay. But put Coloradan drivers in rain, and they freak out. They have no idea what to do. They either crawl at a ridiculously slow pace, or they end up hydroplaning and careening all over the place. We get so little rain, people have no clue how to deal with it.
Here in the Great White North the SUV owners/big ass trucks are the ones who are ALWAYS in the ditch after a big snowfall, not the sedans. Thought it was an Alaskan thing – sounds like it is nationwide.
The day I started keeping my bedroom door shut at all times was the day I woke up to the sound of one of my cats about to hork on my pillow (I shoved him onto the wood floor in time, fortunately). Why do they always, without fail, choose exactly the most annoying spot?
I ran out of paper towels for the same reason over the weekend. And my cat likes the dining room table. This morning he had gotten a new cookbook I got for a Christmas gift–thankfully it cleaned up with no damage.
My cats prefer my shoes. Sometimes on the inside, sometimes the outside.
The kid with the drumsticks and Ramones tshirt would be a memory that would stick with me forever!
Yahp, people who drive fast in the rain are idiots. I don’t yell at people hen I’m in my car but that always does it to me. They put everybody at risk. But if you think they’re bad up north, you should come down to LA and drive in the rain. It’s as if they’re thinking, ain, what rain?”….
I had a cat who wanted to climb on top of something when she was about to throw up. You know, bookcase, stereo, tv, piano…
What people who drive 4wd vehicles don’t seem to understand is that while 4wd is great when you are driving thru mud, snow, sand (if you let a little air out of your tires first), swampy muck, etc, while on slick pavement (wet, icy..), unless you have studded tires or chains, you have no more control than Joe Schmedlap in his little Pinto. And Joe’s Pinto is gonna be a whole lot cheaper to fix when you both run into that concrete Jersey barrier. Just so you don’t think I’m SUV-bashing, I currently drive a Suburban (full of kids and hockey gear) which I got when my beloved 13yo F-150 died. I have lived in KS, AK, NY, and now CO so I have had ample opportunity to learn the value of slow and steady in bad weather. Oh, and my cat and dogs also prefer to puke, poop, pee, and eat stolen food (the messier the better) on the comfort of the (cream colored!!) carpet. Maybe they think it’s indoor grass.
Aargh! I’m in Maine for Xmas and had to drive my sister to the airport in Boston yesterday. Not only was it pouring rain, but it was also quite foggy. I’d say one car in ten didn’t have their lights on. What are they thinking? The only explanation I could come up with was that those people have a death-wish. In the rain and fog, without lights on, they are basically invisible until you get right up to them. Many very stressful hours of driving. I also hate it when people merge right in front of you in the pouring rain. Don’t they know what kind of spray that generates? No visibility at all.
Good thing knitters are all courteous and safe drivers, right? 🙂
mmm, floor length leather duster, my kind of man!
And I’ve had similar experiences in snow, people going fast fast fast! And spinning out right in front, behind, or next to me. Stupido!
Kids with good musical taste… there is some hope for the future. Enjoy your gig tonight, and may 2006 bring plenty of knitting goodness, and progress on the house front too.
Dear Racheal, Lala, Kitties and Puppies,
May your New Year bring you as much joy as you brought mine this past.
All my love and good wishes !!