Just John has this up on his, and he got it from Hammer.

I hereby tag anyone who wants to do it, unless you already have, in which case leave a link to it in the comments.

Seven Weird Things About Me
1. I can let the mess build up around me, but when it gets to a certain point I go on a cleaning spree that would scare most people.

2. I live in the desert, but can’t stand the heat. I would rather live in the cold, since you can always add layers, but I just cannot take anything else off without scaring the dogs. And the neighbors.

3. When I was younger, I would drive like an absolute idiot. Now, I’m the old guy the absolute idiots are yelling at as they race to the next red light.

4. Where I will then nonchalantly slow right next to them and catch the green in perfect timing, pulling way ahead of them while they struggle to “impress” me with their gear-shifting abilities.

5. I still crack my knuckles, even though I’ve been told that they will swell up and give me arthritis. Newsflash – arthritis runs in the family anyway, and my knuckles still haven’t swelled up.

6. I never fill out memes or forward emails that tell me I gotta – so don’t send them to me. OK, except for this one.

7. When I have a nasal infection, I can smell it – when I am breathing through my nose, it smells like I need to check my feet to make sure I didn’t step in a dogpile on the way back inside.

OK – now, it’s your turn.

I dare you.

Thank you for stopping by, God bless you all, Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

No linky-love today, sorry. Do be a dear and check out the blogrolls, though.

I’m Thinking of the “O” Word on BlogTalkRadio tomorrow morning – I’ll be discussing Arizona’s Proposition 100, Arizona’s leading anti-DUI efforts, some driving tips, and possibly equal time for the cats. – 0700 Pacific, 1000 Eastern. Call in number is (347) 838-9573. I dare you to call in.

I double dare you.

I better get going – TMBWitW’s benefits company wants proof that the dependents she is claiming are really hers – so I have to find the marriage license. Anyone seen it lately? I have no idea which file to check first…

Thank you for stopping by, God bless you all, Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

It rained today in the Valley of the Sun. There was even some hail mixed in, and if I had still lived back east I would have been heading for the storm shelter. Since everything in this subdivision is built on slabs, there was only one thing to do: enjoy the beautiful fury of a desert thunderstorm.

Then, I had to drive places.

Note to anyone wishing to drive here in the rain: The roads are SLICK due to a build up of oil and dust, since it doesn’t rain often enough to keep them clean. You will need to allow MORE distance between vehicles (that’s especially for you, Mr. “I have a four wheel drive jacked up to the sky and I can tailgate you with my foglights on”). You will also need to reduce your speed a bit. Yes, I know these two items are the EXACT OPPOSITE OF WHAT YOU WERE OBVIOUSLY TAUGHT but, like any behavior, the new rules can be learned.

Speaking of foglights – why do you have them on? There hasn’t been fog in the Phoenix Metro area since – well, since never, I suppose, because there is not enough moisture in the air (even when it’s raining!) and enough of a temperature differential between the air and the ground to suspend droplets. There really needs to be a law.

I drove across the valley twice, and up and down once, and saw more than twenty certifiable instance of obliviots behind the wheel. My personal favorite was the teenybopper girl behind the wheel of an Altima on my way home this evening from church. She was on the phone, her head barely cleared the steering wheel, the rain was coming down pretty hard, and she decided that she needed to turn into the gas station. Not bad, except she was in the middle lane, I was in the left lane, and the gas station was to the left. No turn signal, no mirror check, no shoulder glance – nothing. Thank God for protecting me, and giving me the reflexes and awareness of my surroundings. I hit the brakes, was able to swerve right, and she missed my right front fender by about two inches. She didn’t miss my horn, though. I’m pretty sure she heard that – she looked at me, all disgusted, like I was in her way. Well, obviously!

Two guesses on the nationality of the driver, and one guess as to the nation the car was registered in. (Hint: not the US of A. Think further south.)

No wonder Phoenix has some of the highest insurance rates in the nation.

Good news – I’ve been assigned a route, and I start with Monday’s deliveries. I’m really looking forward to being a productive member of society. Again. I don’t see how these leeches can stand not doing anything all day. I was busy with my job search, and I still felt like I wasn’t accomplishing anything. (Full disclosure: I did not collect any benefits while out of work. We were able to provide, with God’s Grace, and not siphon off funds needed for other purposes.)

At any rate, it looks like I’ll be shifting my time frame this weekend. This should be fun.

Thank you for stopping by, God bless you all, Wear Red on Fridays, and write in Cary Cartter for President in 2008!

Tag: Write in Cary Cartter for President in 2008

The most wonderful time of the year is here – and here in Phoenix, the Valley of the Sun (33 this morning on Mr. Thermometer. What happened to the ‘dry heat’?) the Christmas spirit – seems to be missing in the drivers.

Yes, I’m going to rant a bit.

With this new job, I’ve had to pick a new route to work. The route I have settled on takes me across town on one avenue most of the way, and it seems that there are a few “regulars” with whom I share commute times.

One of these is a young lady (appearances can be deceiving, and age is relative, so let’s leave it at that) who drives a classic VW Bug – about a 1968 or so.

Well, she used to. Yesterday afternoon, on my way home, there was an accident. A driver, in too much of a hurry, cut her off. Clipped her front end, actually. Hard enough to spin her off the street, over the curb, and sideways into a telephone/power pole. The driver’s side was caved in to the center console. I came upon the scene right after the ambulance pulled away, so I don’t know her condition. I do know there was a lot of blood on the white interior, and the car itself was totaled.

I knew that this country was getting more and more self-involved, but to get to the point where you think YOU have more important things to do than anyone else on the road is inexcusable. Asinine, even. If you break the covenant of driving, you will either hurt or get hurt. (The ones who need to be heeding this are thinking, “Hmm, 50-50 chance of survival – I’ll take it!”) What is it that makes you think that you are more important than anyone else? Do you make more money than everyone else? How do you know? By the car they drive? Sam Walton, who died a multi-billionaire, drove a 1972 pick up to the end. He could have afforded a car and driver, yet this man who was richer than anyone I know drove himself, in an old truck. Do you have a better job? You must, considering you are SPEEDING and SWERVING to get there. If you had a shred of decency or respect for others, you would leave the house earlier so you wouldn’t have to race to the office, but there’s the issue – no respect for anyone – including yourself.

This concludes my holiday rant on bad drivers.

In other news, no baby yet. Still time to get in the pool.

Thank you for stopping by, God bless you all, Wear Red on Fridays, and get in on the Baby Pool!

Yes, less than a month before the little girl arrives. Are you in the Baby Pool? Well, get there! Over 800 BlogMad credits…

Tomorrow is Friday; I’ll try to get a reminder up for you to Wear Red and Support our Troops. I’ll be stylin’ in my new “Lighting Sharp” red polo.

Let me jump in here with a traffic tip: If the BIG FLASHING ARROWS are indicating a closed lane ahead, slow down and change lanes to the lane that continues. Avoid the urge to run right up to the BIG FLASHING ARROWS to force your way in at the last possible second. If you do it again, I will beat you to a pulp while asking why you are so much more important than the rest of us waiting patiently to get through the construction…

We now return you to your regularly scheduled blog.

Thank you for stopping by, God bless you all, Wear Red on Fridays, and get in on the Baby Pool!