driving ..... me crazy!

if i wasn't a nice Christian girl, this is what you would see if you ever cut me off on the road.


what the crap is up with people not knowing how to drive? i swear. i am so frickin' sick of people cutting me off, not waving to say "thanks" after i let them out, rubber-necking for no good reason, slamming on their brakes for nothing, and talking on their cell phones. ok, i might be guilty of the last example, but for the most part, i try my best to be a very conscientious driver.

two days ago, i was seriously cut off (meaning, if i hadn't SLAMMED on my brakes, i would have been in an accident) by not one, not two, but three drivers. this happened in a span of about twenty minutes. if i hadn't been paying attention, i could have really been hurt.

why do people feel the need to just "come on over" when there is just enough space for one car between mine and the car in front of me?

why do people have to slow down to look at a truck with a flat tire that has stopped way off to the side of the expressway?

why don't people in the greater orlando area wave "thanks" when someone is kind enough to let them out... sometimes, even holding up a few cars behind them just to be nice?

these are questions that i ponder as i drive on my crazy daily commute to and from various assignments. but the stupidity that i normally witness doesn't necessarily have to happen when their cars are in motion. oh no! today, i saw one of the scariest and most dangerous acts of stupidity ever, while i was at the 7-eleven on Kirkman road.

i had stopped on my way to work to fill up my car with some much needed gas, and had to go inside to pay. (ok, so i could have paid outside, but i needed some caffeine and bought a mt. dew) after making it through the ridiculously long line, i finally was only one person away from making my purchases. unfortunately, the gentleman who was next in line didn't speak any English (big frickin' surprise) and could not pronounce the number fourteen correctly. this began a rather long dialogue between him and the poor clerk behind the counter.

Clerk: "Which number sir?"

Man: "Fortee"

Clerk: "Excuse me, did you say forty?"

Man: "Fortee"

Clerk: "I'm sorry sir, I can't understand you. Do you mean fourteen as in 1-4 or forty as in 4-0?"

Man: "Fortee"


holy schnoli! can someone please interpret? i was beginning to think that murphy's law was in full force as i watched person after person checking out in the line next to me. finally, i could wait no longer and jumped into the "express" line.

after i had made my purchases i went outside to fill up my tank. as i stood there, watching the gasoline meter click away the numbers, i noticed my non-english speaking friend had finally paid and was now standing in the next row over. he and his counterpart were filling up multiple portable containers with gasoline. not so bad, right? THEY WERE STILL IN THE TRUNK OF THEIR CAR!!! i was absolutely horrified. of course, they were not using a funnel and the gasoline was spilling everywhere! now, you don't need to know English to be able to read a picture diagram. you can't tell me that in all of their years of driving that they have never seen a sticker like this on the fuel pump!




could it BE any more clear?

as if it couldn't get any worse, the guy realized that they were having a hard time reaching the fuel nozzel to the container, so he started up his car to move it closer! seeing that i had just finished with my own fill up, i wanted to get out of there before they blew us all up, but never being able to keep my mouth shut, i had to try to let them know that what they were doing was dangerous.

Christy: "Excuse me, that is very dangerous. You shouldn't be doing that in the trunk of the car."

Man: "Excuseme?"

Christy: "What you are doing is dan-ger-ous!" (now adding gestures)

Man: "Excuseme?"

Christy: (Thinking to herself... what is the Spanish word for "caution"? Despacio? Cuidado? Why didn't I pay attention in the four years of Espanol that I took in school???)

anyway, i didn't even try to say anything else. i just got the heck out of there as fast as my little Volvo could carry me.

well, i know that they didn't blow themselves up. atleast, not at THAT 7-eleven, since it was still standing when i was driving home from work. i just hope that, in the future, they don't accidentally kill an innocent person because of their stupidity.

if you are reading this, and can see yourself as one of those people i was describing in the beginning of this post, (rubber-necker, excessive braker, cell phone talker... well maybe not the last one) please do us all a favor and change your ways. we all want to arrive at our destinations as safely and swiftly as possible. not to mention, with our blood pressure at an acceptable rate too!

piano

i love to play the piano.

i grew up having a baby grand piano that i could bang on and eventually learned to play. my parents enrolled me in piano lessons when i was young, and even with a mean old hag for a teacher, my love for this instrument grew. i remember how this teacher would get on my case for looking at my hands as i played. one time, she decided that she was going to teach me a lesson on how to not look at my hands, but instead to concentrate on the notes printed on the music in front of me. she took the piano lid and held it down just above my fingers so that i couldn't see them. i began to cry, only to be met with disapproving looks and words about not being a "baby" from this woman. i was so afraid of her dropping it on my hands. she wouldn't have known, nor would she listen when i tried to explain how my older brother would sometimes slam my own piano lid on my fingers when he wanted to be especially mean. what an awful memory. (and paul, if you should read this, i was more hurt by the teacher's unkind words than by your actions.)

anyway, this caused me to quit taking lessons, only to take them up years later from a wonderfully sweet woman named Mrs. Kirby. she was awesome. she used to laugh at me for playing everything as fast as i could. whenever i was going to learn a new piece, i would ask her to play it through for me one time first. i would listen intently trying to memorize the melody. i didn't really want to learn that actual notes on the music, instead i wanted to sound it out for myself. she soon caught on to my antics! however, she never chastised me for not practicing, or was disappointed when i picked enya over mozart. she was always gracious and kind. she was the best piano teacher that i could have asked for.

i eventually quit taking lessons around my freshman year of high school. i was becoming involved in percussion and was singing a lot at school, which didn't leave time for me to continue with private lessons. years passed until i saw Mrs. Kirby again. i had gotten married and didn't even own a piano at my new home. i always wondered what she was doing, if she had continued teaching or not. one day, i decided to drive to her house on the chance that she might be there. i wanted her to hear me play all of the songs that i had learned (without actual sheet music, by the way) since being a student of hers. she was so happy to see me, and quietly listened as i played. i knew that when i left, i would probably never see her again. i haven't.

since that day, my desire to play has continued to grow. a few years ago i received, as a gift from my dear aunt genie, an upright piano. it has a beautiful black matte finish to it and sounds great. i left it in ohio when i moved to florida and have missed it often since.

i sometimes dream about playing the piano. i try to remember the songs and how they sound when i play it. i always look forward to going back home to ohio, so that i can sit for as long as i like, at my mother-in-law's shiny black piano. sometimes i feel like crying because i miss playing so badly.

last week, i was searching on ebay (as i often do)for an inexpensive piano in the orlando area. i found one. we will see on wednesday if i get it. i already have a list of songs that i will learn as soon as it is in my home. i am so excited, that even the thought of being able to play soon makes me want to spin around in circles and squeal!

well, i guess that is all for now. i am on my way to meet one of my favorite people for lunch. have a blessed day everyone!

(listening to "Late" by Ben Folds)

my dad

i look forward to this day every year.

i love my dad.

he makes me laugh and some of the best memories of my life he has been a part of.

i know that he won't be around forever, so that is why i try to make the most of all of the time that i have with him.

i love calling him just so that we can laugh our butts off reminiscing about funny things that have happened in the past.

i love it when we can look at each other and know exactly what the other person is thinking.

sometimes, we even say the same thing at the exact same moment or say, "i was just going to say that!"

we both love halloween and going to haunted houses together. my dad introduced me to horror movies (maybe a little too early, but oh well.)

dad and i can have entire conversations that consist of us calling each other a "butt".

i know that if i am ever in trouble that i can call him and he will come to help me no matter what time or where i am.

he is one of my closest friends.

i love spending time just with him so that we can be as "whacked out" as we want without getting in trouble!


i know that i am one of the luckiest girls in the world to have a dad like i do. he cares for me, supports me, and loves me just the way that i am. he is how God intended fathers to be.


happy father's day, dad.

mix it up

i must give a shout out to my friend Michael for sending me this awesome site. most of you probably won't like the music (danny, alisa and kristen, you all probably will).

http://www.partyben.com/downloads/


anyway, i needed to share. i love it. especially because i heard "Rock the Casbah" by The Clash at the 7 - elev the other day and i was the only person dancing and singing to it in the store.

e n j o y !

(listening to "Somebody Told Me" Clash/Killers)

change

i am still new at the whole "blogger" thing and decided to make some changes today. i really didn't care for the old layout, so i decided to change it. you will also notice that i have added links to my friend's blogs as well as pictures on flickr. i should be adding my favorite links soon.

so today is saturday and i am not working. hooray. i might go and see a movie later with my husband and our friend. i really want to see "Cinderella Man" because I hear that it is good. we'll see. other than that i am just staying at home today cleaning and doing odds and ends things. i am feeling very blah, even though miss polly is sweetly napping on my lap as i type this.

anyway, i think that i am going to eat lunch now. maybe that will help me to perk up.

(listening to "Laura" by the Scissor Sisters)

the social 

a new beginning

here it is. a brand new start. i can't promise that i will be the best about updating, but i will try. it may only be once a week. that will have to be good enough. my friend tells me that it doesn't need to be profound, and that it can be about anything that i want. so that is what you are going to get.

warning! my grammar is lousy, so i am excusing myself now.

anyway, today i slept in late. i was off of work and went to see Tilly and the Wall at the Social downtown with Michael and Stephanie (see above picture). it was great. you should check them out. no percussion, only tap-dancing. pretty cool.

then i went out with my friend, sheryl, from church. we went antiquing and then went for coffee. i don't drink coffee. i prefer hot chocolate.

well, that's it, i guess.

enjoy today,
crit

(listening to "Blacking Out The Friction" by Death Cab for Cutie)