Thursday, January 12, 2006

The Holiday, Like The Honeymoon, Is Over

No, not a commentary on our marriage. Just using a cliche to capture your attention. I am referring to the fact that people have returned to work and made my trip to and from work less pleasant.

I don't normally take the freeway to work as it is really crowded. The period after Christmas until the end of last week it was the ideal way to travel though. Mileage in my car improved noticeably as traffic flow was very good and much faster than normal. No more stop/start driving through the 'burbs.

This week I have maintained my freeway drive, just to see when I should give it up, and it appears that time is nigh. On Tuesday at a merging point with lanes joining the freeway I was nearly sideswiped by a young woman who came from behind and was quite oblivious to the fact. Noticing that she had a P-plate (Probabationary driver - inexperienced, not on parole) it made a lot of sense that she had driven in that manner. While I was yelling a few obscenities and commenting to myself on the situation I came to the realisation that I was going to collide with a 4WD owner and his rather large trailer who was crossing a solid white line (no overtaking or changing lanes allowed) and who wasn't far away from my wing mirror. That really upset me. The bastard then had the audacity to stick his arm out the window and make a motion with his hand like an ostrich talking. WTF?! I wasn't in the wrong here.

It's times like these that strengthen my belief in road rage. Everyone should have a length of iron bar behind the seat to bash idiots like that. Yes, the holiday period is over and the roads are once again filled with selfish idiots who can't drive.

Ironic Music

I was talking to somebody on the phone yesterday at work and was put on hold whilst they looked for an item for me. The on-hold setup they have is to play one of the local radio stations. Amusingly the next song to come on was one by Blondie - "Don't leave me hangin' on the telephone". Little things like that brighten my day.

Yoga Is Definitely Relaxing

Miky went to a yoga lesson last night. She needs to chill a bit and also keep herself occupied. Not that you aren't occupied when you look after Yu-Jin all day. Yoga proved to be very relaxing for one of the men in the class as in one particular excercise they had to lie down and Miky could hear snoring coming from behind her. Yes, he had fallen asleep during the class. Miky said that it was dangerous to drive home afterwards as she felt quite sleepy.

5 comments:

Ben said...

I heard on the radio a few days ago, the immediate hour after waking up in the morning is the most dangerous for driving. It is because it takes some time to reach full alertness. My experience show that is true, especially when I drive to work in the morning only 15 min after I woke up. So I decided I am going to give myself at least 45 min after I wake up to start driving.

Ideally you don't drive yourself to a yoga class, you need to get drop and pick up.

Finally, yoga, tai chi, meditation and whatever, may give you some relaxation but does not make you a better person at all. I gather from experience, I knew a China man who claims he practises tai chi, and whatever. However, he is a person who can’t stand any critique, at the first sign of any critique he becomes nervous, aggressive and on the defensive, even violent. So what’s the point of practising all those stuff when it gives you absolutely no self-mastery or self control? If relaxation is what you need, then get some massage.

Hammy said...

A decent massage leads to a couple of days of muscle pain, so I've found.

I see that you are in early to work today? What time did you get up? Or commenting from home?

Ben said...

woke up at 6. I think you can tell where I am commenting from, SA no?

Anonymous said...

I agree, Im all for a certain amount of road rage as long as it's limited to hand gestures and screaming, maybe the odd stop at the traffic lights and abuse their mothers sort...
However I have been caught up in instances where it can get quite dangerous, people trying to ram me with their cars, force me off the road, etc.... extremes I suppose..

I had a friend who fell asleep behind the wheel 3 days ago, she's ok, tyres and suspension are a bit screwed now however :(

Hammy said...

Gee Tom. That's frightening. When you say "screwed over" does that mean she has no insurance cover because of falling asleep at the wheel or she's just not feeling well? City or country accident?