how to make the roads safer….
I often dream, but I rarely remember them... but in last nights dream, I do remember part of it... I was driving down the expressway in the manner of which I often drive (I was in the audi) and I was in the slow lane, passing traffic.... and the lane next to me was slamming on the brakes... like tire smoke and everything... and in that lane, causing the hold up was a dude PUSHING his toyota corolla (as it obviously had mechanical problems) and cussing out the people honking. Obviously he was pissed off, and frightened... and in the dream, I felt really bad for him, and in the dream I had a very strong sense of empathy, like I knew exactly what he was feeling, and I wanted to help him... but I didn't cause I couldn't figure out a way to safely do so... I think I called the police on his behalf.
And after I woke up I was thinking about it and I thought how I people don't always think... like I know people value their posessions, and they certainly don't want to have them damaged. I knew that dude in the dream was freaking out that someone was going to hit the car, and in the dream, it was about to happen over and over again... but yet he wasn't afraid for his OWN safety as much as he was worried someone was going to damage the car. And he was yelling at the people honking because he was both embarrassed and freaking out.
But when I was thinking about it... he wasn't valuing his own safety... and that was a bad move, beyond the obvious thing that you shouldn't be pushing a car down the expressway when traffic is moving at 60+ mph..... he shouldn't have ever GOTTEN into that position... I see people all the time broken down on the road, and I don't know how they get to that position. It is rare to have a car break down and IMMEDIATELY STOP. I have had cars die on the expressway, you almost always have time/space to get to the shoulder (the RIGHT shoulder, not the left one) and safely out of traffic. And if you know your car is suspect, why put yourself in the fast lane? Poor planning.
The other thing I was thinking is we need to incorporate better messaging systems into the roadway system in larger metropolitan areas. In the case of my dream, a message board could say 'disabled car in #2 lane' or whatever... something that would inform drivers of such an event. I would argue that this would improve traffic flow and safety. I am sure that somehow it would also manage to cost billions of dollars, cause those types of things, when in the public sector like that always manage to be way more than I would imagine.
The other night, I was driving my brother in law Jon to the train station and it was POURING rain... visibilty was horrible... and it was hard to see the lines on the road... and that was causing people to drive into me. Awesome. So I got to thinking of what could be done about that... I would like to think that some LED technology would rule in that situation... they are such low level power user... solar power would be a dope way to run them... the only issue I can see is making them strong enough to deal with truck traffic, and to a greater degree, snow removal... but it would seem to me that is could be done.
Although, it seems they haven't master proper installation of concrete so as to have a road last longer than 3-5 years, so I doubt this will ever take off... But my thoughts on the building of highways will have to wait for another post...
I feel like such an adult…
So Rebecca, her brother Jon and I went to the movies last night. We saw Nacho Libre and it was funny. It wasn't AWESOME or anything, but I was amused. If you like jack black, you'll enjoy it.
It was funny cause we actually hired a BABYSITTER! How old are we. A coworkers daughter came over and watch mason. Mind you, she got there after mason was already asleep, so it wasn't that she had to do much aside from hang out and make sure the house didn't burn down. It is just odd to think I have to hire a babysitter. Funny shit.
My toe hurts. I cut it a while ago, like over a month ago if not 2 months, and it is beginning to not feel right. The skin was kind rough, like it was flaky or something, I dunno. But today it is annoying as my other toe rubs against it when I walk. I guess I should find a doctor. Weird.
moving sucks… (weekend recap)
So this weekend is over... Friday night we walked over to Pacific Cafe and had sushi, it was nice... saturday was the ACCCC autox at maywood, which went quite well. I drive, just ran the event. Just under 50 cars, 14 runs each, done by 3:45pm. Not bad. Although there was this annoying kid that was both creeping me out AND driving me nuts. It was awesome. He just kept talking. I won't bother writing the whole thing out...
After the autox, I got home, washed the car (it was filthy). I like it clean. And it is so easy to do... it just looks so much better. Mental note: wash the car more than once every 6 weeks.
Then I drove over to meet Rebecca and Caroline at Yitca's house. Yitca's baby Ellie (sp?) is 3 weeks older than Mason, but she is like little super developed baby. She started walking last week (so at 8.5 months). She talks (mommy, daddy, shoe, etc). She waves, etc. Crazy. But good for her. It is weird cause you can't help but to compare your own kid to other kids... and it is such a weird macro view of time at this point. You need to relax, and let some kids walk before others. In 2 years, you won't care what month your kid walked. In 10 years, you won't even remember how long it took. But now, in the 6-12 month range, it seems to be SO important. It is not indicative of anything in the future. Got to remember to leave the charts and graphs alone, and focus on the baby. He'll figure it out on his own in due time.
Sunday got up, picked up dylan, and we met scott and kieran at the old shop. Loaded up a ten foot uhaul box truck (that had NO brakes, likely due to the fact that it had no brake FLUID. We filled it up and it improved. A little) and moved a bunch of stuff to the new garage. Then we swapped the old truck for a slightly better truck and made another trip. The new shop is nice. We cleared out the little room in the basement and loaded a bunch of our stuff in it. Having storage in the basement rules. Once we get everything cleaned up, organized, put away, etc, the new shop is gonna rule. RULE. ROOL. I am excited, but since I am still sick of moving, I don't care about it. For now. Also big plus: MUCH closer to Mr. Salsa, so I will get to eat there more often.
Cali is still at the old shop, and I am hoping we can get her running soon so I can drive her to the new shop. We still have some stuff there, but it is all small stuff that can either fit in a car, or is required to finish Cali up.
Rebecca's brother was over when I got home and we hung out and chatted and shit... when I first started dating Rebecca, we didn't get along SUPER well, but I think we have both figured it out and now we can chat about this and that tech shit, it is pretty nice. So we hung out a bit, then I drove him to the metra station to catch the last train to glen ellyn... and man, was it pouring. I forgot how the tires on the camry aren't awesome in the rain (Bridgestone Potenza RE92)... but they were better then taking Audrey, which is on Rs still. That would have been hydoplane city.
So overall, things I learned. I hate moving. I forget that sometimes. I also didn't get to spend enough time with Mason, which sucked, I want to hangout with him more. Having a clean car is nice, wash it more often. Kids develop at different paces, and that is not a problem, no need to compare yourself to every kid on the block. Rebecca's brother is cooler than I had realized.
Friday… oh friday…
Friday is here ... and I am excited, but I have such a busy weekend that its importance is dulled. I have an autox tomorrow that I don't think I will drive in. I may, but I don't think I will... the car isn't feeling perfect, and I don't want to break it. I will likely put one or 2 runs in just to get a time on the board so I can atleast get SOME points... I would still like to remain competitive for the season in the points standing.
So Rebecca and I are planning on going for a walk this evening... which will be nice, I feel like I don't exercise at all. I did walk to work most of the day's last week...
Then we are hanging out doing something saturday night... and on Sunday we are moving all the crap from the old garage to the new garage. It will suck, but it will be really nice to have the new garage up and running... I would rather go there than the old one in skokie. So THAT day will suck.
Then a full week of work, then (hopefully) a 4 day weekend for the 4th. that will be nice.