Today I drove to work. We all park in the parking garage under the Civic Center, and when you exit the parking garage you can either go straight or turn right. Cars are coming from the opposite direction, and they see a sign that says LEFT TURN YIELD. About 50% of the time, drivers totally ignore the sign, and nearly collide with people exiting the parking garage. Fun!
Tonight when I was exiting and turning right, a lady in an SUV nearly collided with me because yielding was apparently beneath her. Then she loudly honked at me. We pulled up alongside each other at the next intersection. She was clearly furious; I could tell she was ranting. I rolled down my window; seeing this, she rolled down hers. I said, "There was a sign that said YIELD." She screamed, "I just know there was a green light!" "Yeah, and you still needed to yield," I replied.
Her reply? "Whatever, bitch." Then she sped off, continuing to scream about how I was wrong and she would throw down or beat me up or something.
Little conversations like this are why I bike whenever possible. I know that if a driver blithely ignores traffic signs when I'm biking, I'll be too dead to be incensed by their terrible attitude.
Yield means yield, folks.
Showing posts with label pointless kvetching. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pointless kvetching. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
The ineptitude is strong with this one
Man...this contact lens-wearing business has gotten hairy.
On Saturday, I succeeded for the first time in getting them in, and scampered around the park to celebrate.
Sunday, I got the suckers in within 20 minutes.
Monday, I came home from work and got them in within 15 minutes.
Today, I decided to take the plunge and try to get them in before work, so I could actually enjoy them throughout my day. No such luck! I struggled for about 25 minutes, until I had no more time to struggle because it was time to skedaddle.
This evening I came home from work and got them in within 20 minutes. The right eye was a real bitch, and I struggled with it for most of the time. The left one popped in without much trouble.
I had a theory that after I learned to put the contacts in, each successive time I would cut my personal best in half - until I hit a terminal velocity (so to speak) of one or two minutes. Obviously, this hasn't really panned out. Yet.
Tomorrow I'm going to wake up early, shower to get my eyes nice and awake, and then do my thang. Then I'll go to work and chat up Eric, the coffee cart guy. It will be grand.
On Saturday, I succeeded for the first time in getting them in, and scampered around the park to celebrate.
Sunday, I got the suckers in within 20 minutes.
Monday, I came home from work and got them in within 15 minutes.
Today, I decided to take the plunge and try to get them in before work, so I could actually enjoy them throughout my day. No such luck! I struggled for about 25 minutes, until I had no more time to struggle because it was time to skedaddle.
This evening I came home from work and got them in within 20 minutes. The right eye was a real bitch, and I struggled with it for most of the time. The left one popped in without much trouble.
I had a theory that after I learned to put the contacts in, each successive time I would cut my personal best in half - until I hit a terminal velocity (so to speak) of one or two minutes. Obviously, this hasn't really panned out. Yet.
Tomorrow I'm going to wake up early, shower to get my eyes nice and awake, and then do my thang. Then I'll go to work and chat up Eric, the coffee cart guy. It will be grand.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Sucked dry
I gave blood yesterday, and honestly, it knocked me on my ass. It's been over 24 hours now, and I'm still, like....*clunk* Granted, I had busy days yesterday and today, but I'm not my usual sparkling self. In fact, I'm ready for bed at 10:30. Ten-thirty!!!
It's not true community service unless it turns you into a weak, enervated slug, eh?
It's not true community service unless it turns you into a weak, enervated slug, eh?
Thursday, January 3, 2008
The same, but different
If you find the perfect shade of lipstick, it will be discontinued. If you find a great TV show, it will be canceled. If you find a great cafe, it will switch up the menu, the ambiance and the staff.
The third scenario's hitting a little too close to home right now.
I have this great French cafe I love to go to (or should I say "had" and "loved"?). It's steps from my building downtown, has a beautiful vintage-glam decor with black and white marble floors, beautifully upholstered chairs, a vintage settee and gold mirrors and tables. The food was excellent, the chef (a real French chef!) was often around giving out freebies, and the place was always manned by the same three or four women.
One of the staffers, a girl with ever-changing colors in her hair, nearly always took my order and started learning that I loved the turkey ciabatta (with pesto, mushrooms and cheese), and she began making it just as I walked in the door. Now that's service. Also, the sandwiches always came to a simply dressed, delicious salad on the side. A perfect lunch for a good price.
A few weeks before Christmas, though, the place closed, with a vague announcement that it would be reopening in 2008. I checked today as my stomach was rumbling for lunch and sure enough, it was open again! Yay!
I walked in and...the place was different. None of the usual women were there; in their place were a whole horde of girls, all wearing hats. Some were wearing berets (ick), some other styles of hats. The menu, posted above the counter (which was also different), had been pared down. They still had the turkey ciabatta, so I ordered that. The girl took lots of time processing my order, and the charge was a bit more than in the past.
I sat down at my table and waited. And waited. One of the new employees stood up and addressed everyone in the cafe: "I'm sorry, it's my first day. Who ordered the ___?" Another of the employees came up to me and asked if I'd ordered Diet Coke. No, I hadn't. I continued reading my book, every so often looking up to see if the kitchen area behind the counter looked any less chaotic or disorganized. It didn't.
After about twenty minutes, a girl came by with a plate of French macaroons. You know, the delicious saucer-like ones. She offered me one because of the wait, and I gladly took it. Delicious! I waited some more, and the confused girl from earlier brought me a large mixed-green salad with goat cheese, dried fruit and walnuts. She explained it was on the house because I was still waiting for my actual order. I was confused, because the cafe used to serve salad on the plate with the sandwich. But I dug in, and it was excellent.
Finally, my sandwich appeared. Instead of being paired with more salad, there were chips. Not very French, but I was already full of salad anyway.
Everything was delicious, and I was hungry enough to eat it all. Still, I'm not sure if I want to go back. The competent, fun staff has clearly been replaced with a bunch of flunkies, and the owner, Thierry, was nowhere in sight.
(Postscript: I checked the cafe's website and it says the downtown cafe is "under new ownership." Darn!)
What should I do? Transfer this story to Yelp, where the cafe's reviews are already mixed? Tell my co-workers, who all enjoy the same cafe? Keep going back, as the service is sure to improve over time?
The third scenario's hitting a little too close to home right now.
I have this great French cafe I love to go to (or should I say "had" and "loved"?). It's steps from my building downtown, has a beautiful vintage-glam decor with black and white marble floors, beautifully upholstered chairs, a vintage settee and gold mirrors and tables. The food was excellent, the chef (a real French chef!) was often around giving out freebies, and the place was always manned by the same three or four women.
One of the staffers, a girl with ever-changing colors in her hair, nearly always took my order and started learning that I loved the turkey ciabatta (with pesto, mushrooms and cheese), and she began making it just as I walked in the door. Now that's service. Also, the sandwiches always came to a simply dressed, delicious salad on the side. A perfect lunch for a good price.
A few weeks before Christmas, though, the place closed, with a vague announcement that it would be reopening in 2008. I checked today as my stomach was rumbling for lunch and sure enough, it was open again! Yay!
I walked in and...the place was different. None of the usual women were there; in their place were a whole horde of girls, all wearing hats. Some were wearing berets (ick), some other styles of hats. The menu, posted above the counter (which was also different), had been pared down. They still had the turkey ciabatta, so I ordered that. The girl took lots of time processing my order, and the charge was a bit more than in the past.
I sat down at my table and waited. And waited. One of the new employees stood up and addressed everyone in the cafe: "I'm sorry, it's my first day. Who ordered the ___?" Another of the employees came up to me and asked if I'd ordered Diet Coke. No, I hadn't. I continued reading my book, every so often looking up to see if the kitchen area behind the counter looked any less chaotic or disorganized. It didn't.
After about twenty minutes, a girl came by with a plate of French macaroons. You know, the delicious saucer-like ones. She offered me one because of the wait, and I gladly took it. Delicious! I waited some more, and the confused girl from earlier brought me a large mixed-green salad with goat cheese, dried fruit and walnuts. She explained it was on the house because I was still waiting for my actual order. I was confused, because the cafe used to serve salad on the plate with the sandwich. But I dug in, and it was excellent.
Finally, my sandwich appeared. Instead of being paired with more salad, there were chips. Not very French, but I was already full of salad anyway.
Everything was delicious, and I was hungry enough to eat it all. Still, I'm not sure if I want to go back. The competent, fun staff has clearly been replaced with a bunch of flunkies, and the owner, Thierry, was nowhere in sight.
(Postscript: I checked the cafe's website and it says the downtown cafe is "under new ownership." Darn!)
What should I do? Transfer this story to Yelp, where the cafe's reviews are already mixed? Tell my co-workers, who all enjoy the same cafe? Keep going back, as the service is sure to improve over time?
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Eat My Shorts, 2008
I sort of have a problem with resolutions. First of all, most people don't keep them, so they just became an exercise in bullshit posturing. Secondly, while I have no objection to self-improvement, I think some people take it too far. Always striving to be better can make you terribly unsatisfied with who you are, what you have and what you've accomplished.
So, keeping those things in mind, I'd like to strike a balance: 80% celebrating what I have and who I am, and 20% growing. So here goes:
1. Make more, spend less. Max out my IRA contribution and start being more vigilant about budgeting. Since my take-home pay continues to rise, I have no excuse for managing my money carelessly. Also, I am going to open a separate account for clothes purchases, with only $500 to last me the entire year. Oh yes.
2. Absolutely no shoe purchases. I'm not even going to go into DSW or the Nordstrom shoe department unless I am accompanying a family member or friend.
3. No hair-dyeing. I went in for beautiful red and brown lowlights a couple of weeks ago, and they've already faded. The cost just isn't worth it, especially since my hair is an attractive enough honey blonde in its natural state.
4. Get more involved with the community. This helps counteract the feeling of being an apathetic, entitled yuppie asshole, I'm told. I already volunteer at the Humane Society, but I should do more. I might get involved with the local group in support of my favorite presidential candidate, start tutoring children at the library, or get involved with the local lawn bowling association (hey, lawn bowling is hilarious).
5. Apply to grad school. (Getting in is quite another matter! Heh.)
6. Go abroad. Reconciling this with resolution #1 might be difficult, but I think I can manage a cheap trip somewhere.
7. Be honest yet kind. I've just about mastered honesty, but while I certainly have kindness in my heart, it doesn't always come through in my interactions with others.
8. Battle jealousy with gratitude. I've felt jealousy bubble up lately, and it's eating away at me. I think gratitude is a good way to keep jealousy at bay. Plus, counting your blessings is always a good idea. I might start making daily lists of good things that happened/things I can be thankful for. Totally cheesy, I know.
9. Make things. Cook good food, make beautiful art, take lots of pictures. Create beauty and capture it wherever I find it. This means going to the farmer's market EVERY Sunday (no excuses except vicious hangovers!) and wandering around the neighborhood taking pictures at least once a month.
(And if you'll excuse some kvetching...wait, actually don't excuse it. This is my own damn blog...)
Frankly, I'm fucking bummed right now. My rat is dead, my boyfriend keeps blowing me off which leads me to think he's screwing around, and after visiting Portland, I'm down about the insane cost of living here in SD. This year is not looking auspicious so far, though I will certainly not forget that it could be much, much worse. Sigh.
So, keeping those things in mind, I'd like to strike a balance: 80% celebrating what I have and who I am, and 20% growing. So here goes:
1. Make more, spend less. Max out my IRA contribution and start being more vigilant about budgeting. Since my take-home pay continues to rise, I have no excuse for managing my money carelessly. Also, I am going to open a separate account for clothes purchases, with only $500 to last me the entire year. Oh yes.
2. Absolutely no shoe purchases. I'm not even going to go into DSW or the Nordstrom shoe department unless I am accompanying a family member or friend.
3. No hair-dyeing. I went in for beautiful red and brown lowlights a couple of weeks ago, and they've already faded. The cost just isn't worth it, especially since my hair is an attractive enough honey blonde in its natural state.
4. Get more involved with the community. This helps counteract the feeling of being an apathetic, entitled yuppie asshole, I'm told. I already volunteer at the Humane Society, but I should do more. I might get involved with the local group in support of my favorite presidential candidate, start tutoring children at the library, or get involved with the local lawn bowling association (hey, lawn bowling is hilarious).
5. Apply to grad school. (Getting in is quite another matter! Heh.)
6. Go abroad. Reconciling this with resolution #1 might be difficult, but I think I can manage a cheap trip somewhere.
7. Be honest yet kind. I've just about mastered honesty, but while I certainly have kindness in my heart, it doesn't always come through in my interactions with others.
8. Battle jealousy with gratitude. I've felt jealousy bubble up lately, and it's eating away at me. I think gratitude is a good way to keep jealousy at bay. Plus, counting your blessings is always a good idea. I might start making daily lists of good things that happened/things I can be thankful for. Totally cheesy, I know.
9. Make things. Cook good food, make beautiful art, take lots of pictures. Create beauty and capture it wherever I find it. This means going to the farmer's market EVERY Sunday (no excuses except vicious hangovers!) and wandering around the neighborhood taking pictures at least once a month.
(And if you'll excuse some kvetching...wait, actually don't excuse it. This is my own damn blog...)
Frankly, I'm fucking bummed right now. My rat is dead, my boyfriend keeps blowing me off which leads me to think he's screwing around, and after visiting Portland, I'm down about the insane cost of living here in SD. This year is not looking auspicious so far, though I will certainly not forget that it could be much, much worse. Sigh.
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