Rules of the Road

I have lived in several different states.  I have driven in several different cities each with their own particular brand of commuter hell.  I have driven under different and often severe conditions -- heavy, heavy traffic, construction, extreme weather (rain, sleet, snow, freezing rain, limited visibility, etc.).

My current situation has me on the road anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour each way to the office.  So, on a bad day, I've been in my car 2+ hours.  I think I'm a pretty damn good driver.  I'm considerate of my fellow Road Warriors.  I follow the minimum speed limit, I only use the left lane for passing and I follow the rules of merging.  And I don't use my phone while driving (which is Primary Offense in the state of Maryland:  http://www.wusa9.com/story/news/local/2013/12/18/4099575/)

During my daily drive I see all sorts of crazy, crazy stuff.  I see vehicles in the left lane doing anywhere from 10 to 15 mph UNDER the posted speed limit.  I see people texting.  I see people blatantly talking on their cell phones.  I see horribly aggressive drivers.  I see people who haven't secured the crap in the back of their pick-up trucks and now that stuff is flying all over the highway.

My daily commute has me merging onto several different major highways, minor highways and secondary roads.  Merging is probably one of the most common causes of driving accidents and I've seen the stupidity first hand.  People, let's follow a couple of basic rules and we can all merge together into one big, happy road trippin' family:

• don't merge too early (you know who you are -- you're the driver who thinks he's cool and guns it and jerks the wheel to the left to get in the lane before everyone else.  Don't merge on the single white line; you should never cross a solid white line -- Driver 101).  
• don't merge too late (you know who you are -- you're the driver who guns it and tries to get ahead of your fellow mergers; almost as if to say "haha!  look at all you suckers who did the right thing and merged properly!  I'm too cool for that!  I don't have to wait to merge!  I drive a big ass Suburban and can make my own rules!).  
• if you have the opportunity to move over a lane and allow merging cars easier entry to the highway, please be a pal!  
• remember the Zipper rule when in a merging situation -- it's every other car.  

• don't be an ass.  If someone doesn't follow the Zipper rule, say a little prayer for them.  They are stupid and don't know any better.  Don't ride their ass the rest of your commute, don't honk at them, don't give them the finger.  

While we're at it, let's just remember a couple of safe driving tips that will help you get to your destination in one piece:  

• No cell phones!
• Use your blinkers / directionals, whatever you want to call it.  Just use it for God's sake.  Most of us are not mind readers.
• Stay the hell out of the left lane if you are incapable of driving the Minimum speed.  This particularly applies to drivers who:
• are over the age of 70
• can't see over the steering wheel
• are driving a Smart Car or any one of those other Clown Cars
• are hauling shit -- a camper, a boat, a horse trailer, landscaping equipment, etc.  
• who are intimidated by the 18-wheeler in the right lane next to them and are afraid to pass

Thank you and have a nice day!  Happy Driving!!!

So Happy It's Friday

So, So Happy It's Friday!  It's been a lllloooooonnnnngggg week. KJ is supposed to have her very first official high school lax game today but it looks like this freaky Spring storm may cancel it.  They had a great scrimmage Tuesday afternoon and I know she's really looking forward to getting the season underway!  She played great -- a little attack, a little defense (she likes attack better) and, of course, Daddy's been warming up the goalie for the team.  I knew he couldn't stay away.  Lacrosse, to him, is like the Mafia.  It pulls him back in.  It's like crack.

Really looking forward to the weekend -- we have absolutely nothing to do!  No where to be, no games to sit at, no commitments.  Unfortunately, KJ does have a viewing to attend at some point this weekend.  One of the girls from her volleyball team's father passed away suddenly Wednesday night.  Very nice family and my heart just breaks for Jenna.  She's a very sweet, very quiet young lady and her parents were at every game, every event and always held hands.

I think it's time for Cosmo to stary looking for a new car.  He has my old Lexus (which has 250K+ miles on it!).  It's time to say good bye.  I loved driving the Lexus and hope he gets something similar.  We definitely need some type of SUV for our "stuff."  The Lexus got great gas mileage and I don't think we need to get a big rig or anything like that.  We're down to one kid so it's not like we're carpooling and doing a bunch of stuff like that.  We're beyond that.

Easter is fast approaching and I'm so glad the four of us (possibly 5 of us!) will all be together!  Last year T flew home but because of the limited number of direct flights from BWI to Memphis, she had to fly out early in the morning and didn't even have Easter dinner with us.  Matt and Kristen came for dinner so that was nice.  This year I think we're going to have brunch at the Gaylord or something.  IDK.  Cosmo is handling it.  Although I don't mind cooking, it will be nice to have someone else doing it.  And cleaning up!  :-)

We received some additional info about our cruise to Europe and couldn't be more excited!  Rome, Florence/Pisa, Cannes, Barcelona and Naples.  Whoop!  Whoop!  T and I have been to Rome, Florence and Pisa but I am SO looking forward to experiencing those cities with Cosmo!  This will be a different trip -- definitely more romantic than when I traveled with my high school freshman!

Lax Season is Upon Us !!!

Excited for lacrosse season to officially begin!  Tomorrow KJ has her first scrimmage as a Damascus Hornet.  It's supposed to rain but that's OK.  Between Cosmo coaching and the both girls, I've sat through hundreds of rainy games -- lax, soccer, softball and even half-time at football game.when T danced.

The lax team had a fundraiser the other night at one of the local restaurants we had never been to before.  Cosmo was out of town but I went and had a great sandwich and then took her to volleyball practice.  The poor thing is just exhausted this week but she's been a trooper.  She's had lax practice every day this week after school until 5 PM and she's had volleyball practice from 8 to 10 PM three nights this week.  The nights she's had volleyball we don't walk in the door until 10:30 PM or so but she's gotten up pretty good every morning this week.  She takes after me -- the girl needs her sleep and likes her naps!

T had a successful Spring Break despite not leaving Oxford.  At the last minute she decided to forgo a trip to the beach so she could work with the local Boys & Girls club.  She said she had a lot of fun and the kids were pretty great!  One day she had little kids (pre-schoolers), the next was a little older (maybe 1st or 2nd grade) and they made cards to be delivered to the local veterans.  A couple of the kids made cards for T instead and they were so sweet!  The last day the kids were a little older (10-12).  Yesterday she spent the day in Amory with her pageant director and this weekend she and Pony Boy are heading to his hometown and then to the beach for a few days.

AC

Had a nice quick weekend get-away in Atlantic City for a v-ball tournament.  The last time I was in Atlantic City, I was pregnant with T-bone.  We were there for a security industry conference and I remember being bored out of my gourd because I couldn't really be in the casinos -- at that time they weren't smoke free and the secondhand smoke was horrendous!  Being pregnant I couldn't drink either so I remember we went to a female impersonator show at Bally's Park Place one night and I went to bed early while everyone else hit the casino.  We had a great room overlooking the ocean and the bathroom was spectacular.

This past weekend we stayed at the Sheraton which was incredibly convenient to the Convention Center.  We valet parked on Friday and didn't use the car again until the tournament was over on Sunday afternoon.  We literally just walked across the street at game time.  The Sheraton was a beautiful, art-deco hotel with Miss America memorabilia on display -- some previous winner's gowns, and crowns and they had an awesome display on the second floor from the "Show Us Your Shoes" Parades.  And of course, we were dorks and had our picture taken under the Bert Parks statue!

Margaret Gorman, 1922

Lee Meriwether, 1955

We had an easy drive Friday night and her Saturday wave was done by 1 PM.  We went to lunch with a couple of her teammates and their families and then KJ and I walked up and down the boardwalk while Cosmo hit the casino.  It was a beautiful, bright sun-shiny day and we even walked on the snow-covered beach for a bit.  We watched a group of high school boys and their wrestling coaches do a polar plunge in the ocean which was pretty funny.  The coach said they did it every year as a group right before states.  There's always something going on in AC ... NJ High School State Wrestling championships were going on and there was a HUGE dance competition at our hotel (think along the lines of Dance Moms -- big stage, massive lighting set-up, audio/visual, etc.).  Cosmo won about $100 playing slots and promptly spent his winnings on his girls at the Under Armour outlet!  Such a great dad!