Too long gone.

by Jillian @ http://blueshelled.com . September 17, 2009 . 8:39PM

Everyone knows that I have anger issues when I drive. Kristin has mentioned that she misses driving with me and is reminded of this when she hears someone going off while driving. Baby on Board signs can send me over an edge.

However, I think that my time being out in the schools for my practicum is softening me up a bit.

Tonight, on the way home from school, it was lightly raining. One thing about Nashvillians that I can’t say anything positive about is the way that they drive in the rain. It’s like the grandfather Sunday driver who has taken his sleeping pills. It’s just that bad.

I was behind one such driver at a stoplight close to my home tonight. Generally, I’m in a rush to get home after being gone all day, but I was pretty mellow tonight. The car behind me wasn’t and, when grandpa didn’t get going, the person behind me honked LOUDLY and LONGLY. Is longly a word? Long-ing-ly is a word. I digress.

Normally, the point that the person honks at me is the point where I glare and start telling them all kinds of things in the privacy of my car. Tonight, I just looked at them and said, “I don’t have any idea why you are honking at me. I’m not the line leader.”

I’m not the line leader.

It didn’t even click for about 30 seconds what I’d said aloud.

Go ahead. I have no defense. Say what you will. I’m losing my edge.

Baby on Board: Or how car accidents are caused by outdated trends

by Jillian @ http://blueshelled.com . June 2, 2009 . 2:55PM

The other day, I happened to be driving to work and was enjoying the morning. The rain that had been greeting us every day for the last several weeks had cleared, the sun was shining brightly, the clouds looked like the ones you see in children’s books (fluffy and round) and the weather was a perfect 72 degrees.

There are two things that are not a secret to anyone that knows me even a little bit:

1/I’m not a morning person. Really. I can’t even fake it when I give it the old college try.
2/I am prone to road rage when I feel like someone is a stupid driver. No, I don’t run people down or flip them off, but I will rant at them within the confines of my own car and it won’t be pretty, loving words.

However, this particular morning, I was feeling great. I was drinking my water and appreciating that I have the privilege of driving along a road that is almost entirely lined with trees for 20 minutes straight to go to a job I love with all of my heart and that I actually look forward to each and every time I go there. Life was good and I was happy.

Until…BABY ON BOARD!!!!! ALERT!!!! THERE IS A BABY IN THIS CAR!!! What this means is that I will frequently brake and jerk my car and you will be responsible for HARMING MY CHILD!!!! should you hit this car. I will weave in and out of a two-lane road and I may, without warning, brake for no reason! And you won’t know about it because my baby on board sign will be blocking the brake light in the back windshield and the brake lights will also be obscured by the sunshine! So, it will be an utter crapshoot as to when this will happen.

My good mood waned and irritation set in as it took everything I had not to use my cell phone light to start morse coding this person that her baby on board sign was blocking the only means I had to keep from driving directly into her trunk. I was carefully keeping my distance, but when I say this person was driving erratically, that is an understatement. I don’t know what the laws are about blocking that brake light, if there are any, but I know that it made driving near her (I’m assuming it was a her, but it could have been a man), very, very difficult.

Luckily, after about 10 minutes of this, she and baby drove off to irritate other drivers and I could proceed on to work. My good mood returned and the day turned out to be another fantastic one.

A more clever baby on board sign

I have to admit, though, if I’m being honest, that she may have conditioned me that people that use those signs have issues. If you want me to believe you care about your child, skip the sign and drive like YOU care about your child. Worry less about me and more about yourself.

Update on airline charges:

by Jillian @ http://blueshelled.com . May 9, 2009 . 5:58AM

Remember my post on shoddy airline practices? Well, it’s not just US Airways. I’ve flown Delta many times in the past and have always had great customer service, but this policy is CRAZY. Delta is now going to charge $125 for bag 3 and $200 for bags 4-10 per flight.

According to http://consumerist.com:

Unfortunately for Bradley, the information is on Delta’s site, but it’s separated into a page by itself under the heading “excess baggage.” This is where you can find out what sort of gouging they’re going to do if you exceed the norm of 2 bags—and where it says that bag 3 will cost $125, and bags 4-10 will cost $200 each.

SAY WHAT? Ok, I rarely bring my 2 bags that I’m allowed. So, since I do that, can I get a bag credit to save up for times I might require extra bags? Or how about a cheaper ticket for those of us who don’t need bags? I understand the need to limit the number of bags as they can only hold so much stuff and there must be room for all the passengers as well as their goods, but the charges here are overboard. If people could afford those prices, would they really fly Delta or would they have their own personal jet for travel?

I’m not going to dwell on this or make this into a full blog entry. However, if I’m going to yell at US Airways, it’s only fair to yell at Delta, too, for shady, shoddy practices.