The little red car
Nov. 2nd, 2005 09:18 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
muck_a_luckI don't know if you might remember...
About a year ago I had the funniest commuting experience.
I got on the toll road, as I do every morning. The toll road is 3 lanes - 4 if you count the HOV lane, but that's not available to me so pfth. Anyway, traffic is always heavy and usually slow. You *can* dodge in and out of the lanes to get 2, 3, 6 cars ahead, but my experience in 3 years of commuting is that as often as not it makes no difference. I usually ride along in the right hand lane, and usually never lose sight of the people who give themselves high blood pressure and risk accidents by trying to get ahead.
But one morning, the lane was SO slow. We were going about 35, maybe 40. And every other lane was whizzing along. So I figured there was a tractor or something in our lane. So I found an opening and zipped out into a passing lane and sure enough, about 15 cars ahead of me was this little red car, going REALLY slow, for no reason. It was shiny and new and a late middle aged woman was sitting very stiffly in the driver's seat, looking afraid for her life.
I was annoyed and drove on.
The next day, I got on the toll road. Again, my lane was SO slow. I was like, WTF?! So again, very out of character for me, I zipped out. And, yes, you predicted it, THE SAME werid woman in her shiny red car was going 40 at the front of a long line of pissed off commuters!
We had syncrhonized! This happens surprisingly often in commuting, I note. I often see the same cars with the same bumperstickers, all going the same route to work I do every morning at about the same time. But this really took the cake. After that, I noticed her several times last winter, and have come to expect the little red car any morning my lane is unusually slow.
Guess what!
Yesterday, 40 mph, CK zooms out and there she was! I felt like smiling and waving!
Let's see.
In other news, I am becoming bitchier and more petty in my old age.
The man who honked at me when I actually DID turn right on red, the bastard
The other morning, I took great glee in the misfortunes and pending cardiac arrest of another commuter.
First, he honked at me for not going right on red, when I had merely paused, not even come to a full stop, just to check, you know, that I wasn't going to ram anyone when I zoomed through the light. I waved at him and said, out loud, as if he could hear me, Go ahead, honk if you really need to. He tore past me, and actually did get pretty far ahead of me when I stopped to pay my toll in quarters and he went on through with his Smart Pass. But he had distinctive bumper stickers and I wanted to see what happened ot him in traffic. I didn't see him, though, and thought there was one time aggressive driving really got someone ahead. It kind of pissed me off.
Then we came to the regular slow down at the Hunter Mill Road exit. I had this feeling and sure enough, I saw this car cut across two lanes of traffic at the last minute and bail. It was him, of course. You can go down the Hunter Mill exit, cross at the light at the bottom, and go back up the other side, pay another toll, and come out on the other ramp. This allows you to travel parallel to the toll road for about a third of a mile. But interestingly, the whole ramp structure is visible from the toll road. I have often wondered if the people willing to pay the extra 50 cents actually gain anything by doing that little dodge. So I watched for this guy. And he never showed up.
Now, he might have actually bailed there, and taken Hunter Mill as an alternate commute, rather than getting back on the highway. But it pleased me inordinately to think that he had gotten caught at the light at the bottom of the ramp, got behind the Hunter Mill traffic, and never caught up with me again! Bwahahahahaha! I was smiling and perky all the way through the morning, thinking of him and his heart attack! See what I mean. Totally bitchy and petty.
And on top of that, same morning, there was a stick woman waiting for the elevator. On top of that, a fashion victim stick woman in huge ugly platform heels about 3 inches tall. She had a backpack and a purse. They looked like they were going to snap her in half. I actually was truly concerned she was going to be crushed under the load, all bitchiness aside. And when she tried to get into the elevator under that load in those shoes, she tripped and nearly fell. Look, the woman was 27 at the youngest. I do not feel guilty for laughing behind my hand at her. Unless she's bulimic or anorexic or something. Jeez. *laughs anyway*
See! I am such a bitch! And it just seems to be getting worse and worse. *goes back to add cuts*
About a year ago I had the funniest commuting experience.
I got on the toll road, as I do every morning. The toll road is 3 lanes - 4 if you count the HOV lane, but that's not available to me so pfth. Anyway, traffic is always heavy and usually slow. You *can* dodge in and out of the lanes to get 2, 3, 6 cars ahead, but my experience in 3 years of commuting is that as often as not it makes no difference. I usually ride along in the right hand lane, and usually never lose sight of the people who give themselves high blood pressure and risk accidents by trying to get ahead.
But one morning, the lane was SO slow. We were going about 35, maybe 40. And every other lane was whizzing along. So I figured there was a tractor or something in our lane. So I found an opening and zipped out into a passing lane and sure enough, about 15 cars ahead of me was this little red car, going REALLY slow, for no reason. It was shiny and new and a late middle aged woman was sitting very stiffly in the driver's seat, looking afraid for her life.
I was annoyed and drove on.
The next day, I got on the toll road. Again, my lane was SO slow. I was like, WTF?! So again, very out of character for me, I zipped out. And, yes, you predicted it, THE SAME werid woman in her shiny red car was going 40 at the front of a long line of pissed off commuters!
We had syncrhonized! This happens surprisingly often in commuting, I note. I often see the same cars with the same bumperstickers, all going the same route to work I do every morning at about the same time. But this really took the cake. After that, I noticed her several times last winter, and have come to expect the little red car any morning my lane is unusually slow.
Guess what!
Yesterday, 40 mph, CK zooms out and there she was! I felt like smiling and waving!
Let's see.
In other news, I am becoming bitchier and more petty in my old age.
The man who honked at me when I actually DID turn right on red, the bastard
The other morning, I took great glee in the misfortunes and pending cardiac arrest of another commuter.
First, he honked at me for not going right on red, when I had merely paused, not even come to a full stop, just to check, you know, that I wasn't going to ram anyone when I zoomed through the light. I waved at him and said, out loud, as if he could hear me, Go ahead, honk if you really need to. He tore past me, and actually did get pretty far ahead of me when I stopped to pay my toll in quarters and he went on through with his Smart Pass. But he had distinctive bumper stickers and I wanted to see what happened ot him in traffic. I didn't see him, though, and thought there was one time aggressive driving really got someone ahead. It kind of pissed me off.
Then we came to the regular slow down at the Hunter Mill Road exit. I had this feeling and sure enough, I saw this car cut across two lanes of traffic at the last minute and bail. It was him, of course. You can go down the Hunter Mill exit, cross at the light at the bottom, and go back up the other side, pay another toll, and come out on the other ramp. This allows you to travel parallel to the toll road for about a third of a mile. But interestingly, the whole ramp structure is visible from the toll road. I have often wondered if the people willing to pay the extra 50 cents actually gain anything by doing that little dodge. So I watched for this guy. And he never showed up.
Now, he might have actually bailed there, and taken Hunter Mill as an alternate commute, rather than getting back on the highway. But it pleased me inordinately to think that he had gotten caught at the light at the bottom of the ramp, got behind the Hunter Mill traffic, and never caught up with me again! Bwahahahahaha! I was smiling and perky all the way through the morning, thinking of him and his heart attack! See what I mean. Totally bitchy and petty.
And on top of that, same morning, there was a stick woman waiting for the elevator. On top of that, a fashion victim stick woman in huge ugly platform heels about 3 inches tall. She had a backpack and a purse. They looked like they were going to snap her in half. I actually was truly concerned she was going to be crushed under the load, all bitchiness aside. And when she tried to get into the elevator under that load in those shoes, she tripped and nearly fell. Look, the woman was 27 at the youngest. I do not feel guilty for laughing behind my hand at her. Unless she's bulimic or anorexic or something. Jeez. *laughs anyway*
See! I am such a bitch! And it just seems to be getting worse and worse. *goes back to add cuts*
