Gridlock and Ignorance - A Great Combo

I drive nearly 100 miles each day to my new job.

I'm not complaining because I knew this when I accepted the position. BUT...

I forgot there would be gridlock and ignorant drivers to contend with each and every day that I make this commute. Traffic is a bitch, we all know that. Traffic and ignorant idiots is unbearable.

So, what makes me so superior you are probably thinking.

I have one explanation - I make every effort to be courteous on and off the road! It's the lack of courtesy that creates gridlock and makes everyone crazy. I'm sorry, but nobody is better than another and you have no right to ride up the merge lane to the very end, forcing traffic to slam to a halt to let you in! This selfish behavior creates a wave of break-melting bunny hops behind you as you unconsciously veer into yet another lane with no blinker!

Yes, our roads are beyond planned capacity. But, a good dose of courtesy and consideration would go a long way to keep things moving - not to mention making the roads a lot safer!

I've been accused of being an aggressive driver for years, so this is not the rank of a timid driver. Why must you swerve into my lane when I leave a comfortable car length or two open in front of me? Why must you drive in a lane you know divides and is headed in the wrong direction, only to ram your car into the other lane at the last possible moment? Why must you stop in the middle of the through lane when your exit is at hand, forcing other motorists to stop to let you in?

Oh, these aggressive and selfish drivers aren't the only ones clogging up the roadways... NO! There are also the "safe drivers" out there. You know them. They drive exactly the speed limit or under, leaving 10 car lengths open so the aggressive idiots weave in and out, forcing the "safe driver" to hit the breaks a couple thousand times. I still haven't figured out why two "safe drivers" always end up next to each other on the Beltway, blocking all other drivers from passing their unofficial barricade and bringing traffic to a sluggish 45 miles per hour, if moving at all.

Oh the joys of driving 50 miles each way on the highways in the Nation's Capital area. DC has been documented as having the worse drivers in the country. I know this is a fact! Simple staggered merges, consistent traveling speeds, and the use of blinkers are unheard of around here! Too bad - these three simple things would make a huge improvement and would make us all a lot safer on the major thoroughfares.

It's really very simple, Simple!

My New Freedom!

I am one of the last to join the mobile revolution, but now I'm in!

It's very strange to be a laggert, because when it comes to technology, I'm usually one of the explorers, rarely a settler.

It is really wonderful to be a mobile person - of course, I'm one of the last to find this out apparently! And, I've found an unexpected benefit of owning a smart-phone... I've gained a lot of free time!

Before I owned my new iPhone, I used a government-issued Blackberry. No slur to that fine device. But, the service was very restricted due to the nature of the work and the need for heavy-duty security.

Now, I'm free! I'm keeping up with what's going on in the world all day long as it is actually happening. And, I don't spend hours each night catching up!

But, now I have to find other things to occupy my time -- such as talking with my significant other, reading, doing stuff around the house that I ignored before, volunteering (which I was already doing, but not with as much rigor!), etc.

My revelation is not because Apple did such a fine job with the iPhone... It's because I've shed the restraints of my former job.

Life just got more simple - It's good to join the real world!

(Postscript: Although I could have owned a personal phone, I chose not to. So it's unfair of me to blame my federal employment for my own decision to not carry two phones. The point of this post is to exclaim how it's changed my life! Change is good!)