Saturday, January 17, 2009
Week Two: Harder Than The First
Geez! We are so tired! Thank God it's Friday and thank God it's MLK Jr. weekend. Having Monday off both work and school will be a sweet treat indeed.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
One Week Down, Eleven To Go
Our first week juggling school and work was rough. The good news is that Mike likes both his sociology class as well as his oil painting class and Desi likes her art appreciation class. The bad news is that Desi hates her American government class.
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
Seattle Drivers Suck!
Typically, the guy in the other car is the bad driver. The one that cut you off or the guy driving erratically or too fast for your taste, etc. It's always the other guy. Except when you're the other guy. When you're the other guy you justify that cut off, and you're skilled not erratic and you're not going fast but everyone else is going slow, etc. You're never the bad driver. Well, I'm often the bad driver.
I'm the guy riding too close, going too fast, weaving in and out of traffic. I'm the aggressive driver. And, I'm fully aware of it. And, I'll usually give the other guy some slack when the other guy is being the bad driver. I don't know the situation or emergency or anything, so I don't judge. I just give them plenty of room and let them be. However, there are some things I have no patience for and that's utter and complete lack of respect for the common man or acts of superiority.
For instance, when a dude is going 50 MPH on the freeway (typical min is 45 MPH and max is 55-70 MPH) in the fast lane because he thinks he's going fast enough and no one should be going faster so he's going to block everyone that wants to go faster because this douche bag thinks he knows everything. Perfect example of an act of superiority.
Another example--when some asshole wants to turn right but the right lane is backed up, so he blows down the left lane until his turn comes up and then stops and attempts a right turn from the left lane, both stopping traffic and forcing someone, who waited in line like a good citizen, to let a line jumper in. This is an example of both a lack of respect for the common man as well as an act of superiority because this douche bag thinks he was better than everyone else waiting in line.
Now, I can usually tolerate this type of behaviour on the rare day when I come across it. True, I get inordinately angry, but I don't throw eggs or bang my car into theirs, etc. However, in Seattle I'll witness this type of behaviour multiple times on any given day and my patience has now been exhausted. Yesterday, some asshole is blocking the intersection (sometimes accident, sometimes just pure lack of respect for the common man). I gently honk to let him know the light has changed, just in case he's the former (accidental blockage) versus the latter (asshole), and point to the second lane, which is not blocking the intersection. Douche bag doesn't go with the obligatory "I'm sorry" wave nor the "I'm embarrassed" shrug. Instead, loser goes with the trusty middle finger solute. Seriously!?
But, that's the default in this city. There's no obligatory "I'm sorry" waves or "I'm embarrassed" shrugs. Everything is "You're the Asshole" middle finger solute. Hey, dumb ass! You're the asshole blocking the intersection! You're not allowed to flip anyone off! You get flipped off! Douche Bag!
If this city's bad drivers exhibited any sense of remorse for their bad behaviour, than I may not want to knife any of them in the eye. Instead, I want to knife them all in the eye and egg their cars and slam my truck into their passenger door. Apparently, the guy calling attention to the bad behaviour is the bad guy and, in Seattle, that guy appears to be me. I hate Seattle drivers!
I'm the guy riding too close, going too fast, weaving in and out of traffic. I'm the aggressive driver. And, I'm fully aware of it. And, I'll usually give the other guy some slack when the other guy is being the bad driver. I don't know the situation or emergency or anything, so I don't judge. I just give them plenty of room and let them be. However, there are some things I have no patience for and that's utter and complete lack of respect for the common man or acts of superiority.
For instance, when a dude is going 50 MPH on the freeway (typical min is 45 MPH and max is 55-70 MPH) in the fast lane because he thinks he's going fast enough and no one should be going faster so he's going to block everyone that wants to go faster because this douche bag thinks he knows everything. Perfect example of an act of superiority.
Another example--when some asshole wants to turn right but the right lane is backed up, so he blows down the left lane until his turn comes up and then stops and attempts a right turn from the left lane, both stopping traffic and forcing someone, who waited in line like a good citizen, to let a line jumper in. This is an example of both a lack of respect for the common man as well as an act of superiority because this douche bag thinks he was better than everyone else waiting in line.
Now, I can usually tolerate this type of behaviour on the rare day when I come across it. True, I get inordinately angry, but I don't throw eggs or bang my car into theirs, etc. However, in Seattle I'll witness this type of behaviour multiple times on any given day and my patience has now been exhausted. Yesterday, some asshole is blocking the intersection (sometimes accident, sometimes just pure lack of respect for the common man). I gently honk to let him know the light has changed, just in case he's the former (accidental blockage) versus the latter (asshole), and point to the second lane, which is not blocking the intersection. Douche bag doesn't go with the obligatory "I'm sorry" wave nor the "I'm embarrassed" shrug. Instead, loser goes with the trusty middle finger solute. Seriously!?
But, that's the default in this city. There's no obligatory "I'm sorry" waves or "I'm embarrassed" shrugs. Everything is "You're the Asshole" middle finger solute. Hey, dumb ass! You're the asshole blocking the intersection! You're not allowed to flip anyone off! You get flipped off! Douche Bag!
If this city's bad drivers exhibited any sense of remorse for their bad behaviour, than I may not want to knife any of them in the eye. Instead, I want to knife them all in the eye and egg their cars and slam my truck into their passenger door. Apparently, the guy calling attention to the bad behaviour is the bad guy and, in Seattle, that guy appears to be me. I hate Seattle drivers!
Friday, January 02, 2009
Happy New Year!
Resolutions for 2009
#1 - Continue renovating. This was also our resolution for 2008, which we didn't start to act upon until September. Hopefully this year we'll begin earlier in the year so we can finish more than one room. Due to school, we have less money and less available time to do renovations but we're more motivated than we were last year.We're hoping to finish part of the kitchen and all of the living room in 2009.
#2 - Continue working towards the Two Year Plan. We begin school on January 5 and finish in mid-December 2009 at which time Mike will apply at the University of Edinburgh. We'll be taking two classes, or 10 credits, each quarter in 2009 which is really going to require some sacrifices.
For instance, Desi isn't going to get a big 30th Birthday Celebration Bonanza Year Closing Ceremony in April. She was hoping to celebrate in Jamaica, but she's sacrificing Jamaica in favor of Scotland. Hopefully we can make our 12-year anniversary vacation still work, though. We hope to recreate our honeymoon and do an east coast road trip in June/July. But again, it'll depend on the school calendar. We may have to postpone those plans in favor of Scotland, too.
Happy new year to everyone! We wish peace and happiness to all in 2009. We hope the new year brings you only good things.
#1 - Continue renovating. This was also our resolution for 2008, which we didn't start to act upon until September. Hopefully this year we'll begin earlier in the year so we can finish more than one room. Due to school, we have less money and less available time to do renovations but we're more motivated than we were last year.We're hoping to finish part of the kitchen and all of the living room in 2009.
#2 - Continue working towards the Two Year Plan. We begin school on January 5 and finish in mid-December 2009 at which time Mike will apply at the University of Edinburgh. We'll be taking two classes, or 10 credits, each quarter in 2009 which is really going to require some sacrifices.
For instance, Desi isn't going to get a big 30th Birthday Celebration Bonanza Year Closing Ceremony in April. She was hoping to celebrate in Jamaica, but she's sacrificing Jamaica in favor of Scotland. Hopefully we can make our 12-year anniversary vacation still work, though. We hope to recreate our honeymoon and do an east coast road trip in June/July. But again, it'll depend on the school calendar. We may have to postpone those plans in favor of Scotland, too.
Happy new year to everyone! We wish peace and happiness to all in 2009. We hope the new year brings you only good things.
