I just realized that I'm a tailgaiting hypocrite. I hate it when people tailgate me and I try not to do it to others, but I get immense glee out of seeing someone else being tailgated. Well, not just anyone - it has to be someone that I feel deserves it, like the lady going 55 in the left lane this morning. I'm crediting her with this epiphany because she stayed in the left lane, apparently oblivious to the people passing her as quickly as they could, until a huge SUV started riding her ass. I had gotten stuck behind her for a bit until I could pass her, so seeing the SUV tailgating her made me inordinately happy. After a mile or so of this she moved into the middle lane, let the SUV pass, then moved right back into the left lane, never going faster than 55. People like that deserve tailgaiting.
Recently in the second year Category
In the interest of keeping my car in one piece for as long as possible, here's some advice: If you see my brake lights flash on, it usually means that someone in front of me is stopping, so it's a good idea for you to step on your brakes too. Why? Because I'm not one of those people that leaves a gap the size of a football field between my car and the one in front of me. Just because I'll have enough room to stop safely (albeit sometimes a bit nervously) doesn't mean you'll be able to do the same if you wait until you're five feet away from my bumper to start slowing down. I am truly amazed that I made it home last night without someone rear-ending me, because it seemed like everyone was hitting their brakes at the last possible second.
PS: To the lady who thought it would be a good idea to change lanes at an intersection in bumper-to-bumper traffic - It wasn't. I didn't let you over because I didn't see you, and rolling down the window to let me know that you were trying to get over was pointless since I'd already stopped at the red light by then. If you want to change lanes, it works best if you do so before you get to the intersection where you'd like to turn. Also, if you wonder why you can't get over after a last-minute move like the one you pulled earlier, it probably has more to do with your stupidity and lack of planning than it does with that "People get so 'onry' at Christmastime" theory you spouted while you were berating me for not letting you over.
And cars that swerve into my lane. Traffic came to a standstill while I was on my way in to work this morning, and as I was slowing down (and muttering angrily about traffic problems because of stupid people), I heard tires squealing. A Wrangler in the other lane was out of control, complete with smoking tires. It swerved in and out of the lane it was in, my lane, and the shoulder until its driver regained control, which, thankfully, didn't take too long. The whole thing lasted long enough for me to worry about my car (well, van in this case - my car's still out of commission, thank you, busted radiator) getting hit though, which left me with quite a bit of excess adrenaline when it was over.
I don't know if there's any connection between the two, but I'm drag-ass tired and my face is twitching. It's not twitching all over, thankfully, but my jaw muscle kicked off the tic parade almost as soon as I got to work this morning. My right eye grabbed the baton sometime before 10 and was dethroned by my left eyelid not too long after that. They've been taking turns ever since. It's very irritating.
Once again I remember why one of my goals is to eventually own a vehicle less than four years old. I was on my way home yesterday when my radiator decided to give up, although luckily for me, it did so less than 5 miles away from home. I know it's good to have a car that's paid off, and mine normally isn't a problem child, but the past few months have felt like nothing but back-to-back car problems. Time to call my mechanic, again. You'd think I'd have him on speed dial by now.
