Petty Vents

[Skittle68]

I have to say, it's not like the individual has to create their own definition of tailgating tho. That's what the 3 second rule is for.
(When you're moving at least)

True. I always leave more like 5 seconds, because it just feels more relaxed to me.
Maybe that's why I get tailgated all the time lol

 

[roadfix]

LA drivers really are laid back.

This is especially true in and around the community of Monterey Park.

 

[taxlady]

I agree!

My dad didn't teach me to drive, but one thing he did teach me is to never let the person behind me (whether driving or stopped at an intersection, etc.) make me do something stupid.

This reminds me of something I read years ago in Reader's Digest. A guy was stopped at a busy intersection. The light turned green, but he didn't go. The guy behind him started laying on the horn. Finally the man in front got out, walked back to the car behind him, and pointed at the old lady slowly crossing the street in front of his car. He held his keys out to the guy and said, "You hit her. I don't have the heart."

Great story from RD.

I learned to drive in driver training in high school and with my dad. Even though my dad was a good driver, he wasn't a very good driving teacher. Well, just about anyone who isn't trained to teach driving doesn't do a great job of it. Driver training wasn't so hot either.

I decided to take driving lessons from an excellent driving school 10 years after I got my drivers license. That was money well spent. I learned the right way to drive stick shift and the right way to get on the highway, among many other things, like defensive driving.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

I learned from my Uncle, driving a pickup I could barely see out of when I was about 11 or 12 years old. An old stick shift.

 

[buckytom]

lots of people who don't normally drive in big cities (l.a. is a big suburb, not a city) would get eaten alive in traffic in nyc, london, and rome. i've driven in all three and it takes a bit of nerve and a few prayers, here and there.

i heavy highway traffic, there's no room for everyone to sit back several car lengths when the traffic is slow but moving. cities would be gridlocked all day.

like i said before, i hope people that like to drive slower than the rest of traffic find the rightmost lane. the middle lane is for everyone, and the left lane is for passing. simple enough.

again, though, if there's only one lane and no passing, or traffic up ahead, why tailgate? you're only raising the probability of an accident.

what bugs me most are folks who simply drive in the leftmost lane and don't move over for faster cars because they feel so long as they're doing the speed limit or slightly better, they have the right to be there. a coworker has actually said that to me, as he got into his car that has a mangled rear bumper. lol. he regularly drives in the "fast" lane going relatively slowly just to prove his point. sort of passive aggressive driving.

oh, also, i never flash my lights at a slow driver in the fast lane. it makes people either nervous or angry, neither of which is a good thing for someone in front of you.

 

[Skittle68]

lots of people who don't normally drive in big cities (l.a. is a big suburb, not a city) would get eaten alive in traffic in nyc, london, and rome. i've driven in all three and it takes a bit of nerve and a few prayers, here and there.

i heavy highway traffic, there's no room for everyone to sit back several car lengths when the traffic is slow but moving. cities would be gridlocked all day.

like i said before, i hope people that like to drive slower than the rest of traffic find the rightmost lane. the middle lane is for everyone, and the left lane is for passing. simple enough.

again, though, if there's only one lane and no passing, or traffic up ahead, why tailgate? you're only raising the probability of an accident.

what bugs me most are folks who simply drive in the leftmost lane and don't move over for faster cars because they feel so long as they're doing the speed limit or slightly better, they have the right to be there. a coworker has actually said that to me, as he got into his car that has a mangled rear bumper. lol. he regularly drives in the "fast" lane going relatively slowly just to prove his point. sort of passive aggressive driving.

oh, also, i never flash my lights at a slow driver in the fast lane. it makes people either nervous or angry, neither of which is a good thing for someone in front of you.

I think most of us are talking about tailgating at higher speeds, not bumper to bumper traffic. That's a whole different situation.

I agree about slower traffic staying right. I don't understand people who drive in the left lane, making it more difficult for people to pass. It just creates a hazardous situation, and doesn't benefit anyone.

 

[Addie]

I learned from my Uncle, driving a pickup I could barely see out of when I was about 11 or 12 years old. An old stick shift.

We had a Ford Falcon. When my husband was out fishing, the car sat in the yard. My daughter Maureen was 11 at the time. I was unaware that she was taking the car and learned to drive. It came in handy later on though. Son #3 was just a couple of months old. He had stopped breathing and while I worked on him, my daughter, taking the back roads, drove us to the hospital. She turned out to be the family car mechanic. She used to come home from a date covered in grease from working on a boyfriend's car. She could repair a car better than any of her brothers.

We lived in a small shrimping village on the Gulf in Texas at the time. They had a law that allowed kids 14 to have what they called a harship license. They were allowed to drive tractors and other farm equipment on roads. As soon as she was old enough, I got her one of those license. A lot of kids whose fathers or other parent was not at home for extended periods were also allowed to have a harship license. That little village is now a major city in South Texas.

 

[Barbara L]

My uncle's mom learned on a back road in Argyle, MN (East of Grand Forks, ND and South of Winnipeg, CA). She kept balking at learning, so one day her husband slowed the car down, jumped out, and she had to take over.

 

[Bolledeig]

Bleh.. I'm having problems deciding on things.
I've decided I need a protective case for my iPhone, but I just cannot decide which one to get. I sat all last night and tonight browsing through ebay and amazon. I even missed the new Real Housewives of New Jersey AND the new Real Housewives of New York just because I tried to decide on a case.

My brain is fried! Should I get a classy one? Should I get a fun one? Should I get one that advertises something I dig on it? Should I have a rubber one? Should it be blue? Pink? White? Boring?



Luxury problems...

 

[Addie]

So I have a major question for the medical personnel in our DC family.

My granddaughter is entering nursing school in September. she has always been a straight A student. Even in her first two years at college. I have 17 grandkids and due to a very limited income, no presents for any of them unless they do something spectacular. They and their parents all know this. I think that the fact that she has been able to maintain a straight A all through her schooling is indeed worthy of recognition.

So, I want to buy her a medical dictionary. I am looking at the Mosby Medical Distionary, Nursing, and Medical Profesionals. 8e. (Amazon) It was published in December 2008. There is a new edition coming out, but I can't find the release date. The purpose of buying it now is so that she can get familiar with the spelling of medical terms. It seem to be comprehensive in the subjects it covers. Pics, definitions, etc.

Buy the present edition, or wait for the newer one whenever it is released.
HELP!

 

[bakechef]

Bleh.. I'm having problems deciding on things.
I've decided I need a protective case for my iPhone, but I just cannot decide which one to get. I sat all last night and tonight browsing through ebay and amazon. I even missed the new Real Housewives of New Jersey AND the new Real Housewives of New York just because I tried to decide on a case.

My brain is fried! Should I get a classy one? Should I get a fun one? Should I get one that advertises something I dig on it? Should I have a rubber one? Should it be blue? Pink? White? Boring?


Luxury problems...

Do you carry it in your pocket or a purse? A rubber one might be harder to slip in and out of your pocket, but would likely offer the best protection.

I don't always use a case, to me they get in the way, and add bulk to the phone. I might be pushing my luck leaving the phone unprotected, but my phone still looks like new a year later, I'm very careful with it. I may slip it into its case before vacation, my mom has cats that enjoy knocking things off countertops.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Addie!

Actually, I would recommend this one: Amazon.com: Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary, 21st Edition (Thumb Index Version) (9780803615595): Donald Venes: Books

 

[Bolledeig]

Do you carry it in your pocket or a purse? A rubber one might be harder to slip in and out of your pocket, but would likely offer the best protection.

I don't always use a case, to me they get in the way, and add bulk to the phone. I might be pushing my luck leaving the phone unprotected, but my phone still looks like new a year later, I'm very careful with it. I may slip it into its case before vacation, my mom has cats that enjoy knocking things off countertops.

Thanks!
I actually never thought of the point you're mentioning.
I put it in my purse in a phone pocket, so that might be too small if I add a giant rubber thing.
Usually I never drop things and always treat my things nicely, but the baby has managed to get a hold of it and drop it on the floor twice. And since there's a hard drive in there, that might be bad.

Hmmmmm

Are those thin hard plastic cases any good?

 

[bakechef]

The iPhone has solid state memory, not a spinning hard drive, so it can take a little more abuse. Sounds like a case would be a good idea with a little one around!

The hard ones might be best for keeping it looking good and give a little protection, but the rubberized ones are best for shock absorbing.

 

[CWS4322]

I started get along with my mother much better, once we were on opposite sides of the Atlantic.

I don't know how well I would get along with my sister if we weren't on opposite sides of the continent. From what I have been reading here, I am feeling blessed with the sister I got.

I get along better with my father now that my mother has dementia....there is an international border between us. I was the "apple of my father's eye" but I didn't like being that--so I challenged him--oil and water. In part, I didn't think he treated my mom well--but now he is getting the "what goes around, comes around." And now, we get along better.

 

[Skittle68]

Everyone in my family "gets along with" my dad, he is a very kind man, and a generally good person, but within the last few years his drinking problem has escalated to the point that it's hard to like him. He has quit drinking for years at a time a couple times, and when he was drinking he would wait until at least 5 to have his first beer, and when he first started having heart problems he made an effort to limit his number of beers per night. Now it seems like he has decided that since he can't seem to beat it, he is just going to drink himself to death. He was controlling his blood pressure with diet, a walk, and a nap every day, but now he seems to have given up on everything but the nap. He is back on blood pressure medication, which he quit taking in the first place because of the side effects, but since he gave up on trying to be healthy it's necessary. My mom is afraid the alcohol is destroying his brain, and soon he won't be able to work. He needs to be in reasonably good health to maintain his class A license, and if he keeps this up he won't pass the health tests (the only time he isn't drinking is when he is working. On weekends he has a beer in his hand before noon). He is self employed, and his work days seem to be getting shorter and shorter too. He has said that he is worth more dead than alive anyway, and if he feels that way, we all sort of wish he would just hurry up and die. The way things are going he is just going to end up bankrupting my poor mother by spending all the money they have coming in on beer, hospital bills, and prescription drugs (for his heart problems, and whatever else might come about due to his drinking). Not to mention what it must be like being married to someone who you have to be sure not to tell anything important to after 6:00 because he might not remember it. I honestly don't know how he can do that to her. She's threatened him with divorce, and he said he would sell off and hide all his assets, then start working for cash only, so she couldn't get any money out of him, but at this point I don't think I would even care about that at this point. Ugh. Alcoholism is one of the most terrible diseases. Knowing him as a normal person, obviously this is very out of character for him. I'm sure he feels bad about it when he's sober, but he doesn't want to quit...

 

[CWS4322]

So, I had to wait 3 months to get paid for the work I did in TX (back in February). The cheque was in US funds. Given the exchange rate, the amount in CDN funds would be less, so I deposited the cheque (which was certified) in my US funds account. I had to wait 21 business days for the cheque to clear (I was given access to $1000 of it). Had I deposited it and converted it that day, I would have had access to all of it. The cheque "cleared" today. I tried to do this over the phone, could not, could not do it by on-line banking. went in and asked for a certain amount.
"We don't have that much in US funds available."
Grumble. You have "xx:" in US funds in my account--theoretically, I should be able to pull all of that out of my account."
"Yes, but we don't have that much in US funds on hand--we can have it by Friday."
"I've already let you hold those funds for 21 business days."
"We can guve you $1500 today." (Don't you like the word "give"?).
So I took the $ offered, went to a "check chasing place" and got a better rate than the bank would give me to convert the US $ toi CDN.

At the bank, the guy behind me was nervously fingering the checque he was holding....

You gotta love that I deposited a certain amount, the cheque was certified, most of the money was held for 21 business days, and when I asked for it, I couldn't have it because the bank doesn't keep that much in US funds on hand and it would take 3-4 days to get the amount....hello, where are you keeping my $?

Oh, and I've had accounts at this bank since 1989. The tellers, manager all know me by name.

 

[CWS4322]

Everyone in my family "gets along with" my dad, he is a very kind man, and a generally good person, but within the last few years his drinking problem has escalated to the point that it's hard to like him. He has quit drinking for years at a time a couple times, and when he was drinking he would wait until at least 5 to have his first beer, and when he first started having heart problems he made an effort to limit his number of beers per night. Now it seems like he has decided that since he can't seem to beat it, he is just going to drink himself to death. He was controlling his blood pressure with diet, a walk, and a nap every day, but now he seems to have given up on everything but the nap. He is back on blood pressure medication, which he quit taking in the first place because of the side effects, but since he gave up on trying to be healthy it's necessary. My mom is afraid the alcohol is destroying his brain, and soon he won't be able to work. He needs to be in reasonably good health to maintain his class A license, and if he keeps this up he won't pass the health tests (the only time he isn't drinking is when he is working. On weekends he has a beer in his hand before noon). He is self employed, and his work days seem to be getting shorter and shorter too. He has said that he is worth more dead than alive anyway, and if he feels that way, we all sort of wish he would just hurry up and die. The way things are going he is just going to end up bankrupting my poor mother by spending all the money they have coming in on beer, hospital bills, and prescription drugs (for his heart problems, and whatever else might come about due to his drinking). Not to mention what it must be like being married to someone who you have to be sure not to tell anything important to after 6:00 because he might not remember it. I honestly don't know how he can do that to her. She's threatened him with divorce, and he said he would sell off and hide all his assets, then start working for cash only, so she couldn't get any money out of him, but at this point I don't think I would even care about that at this point. Ugh. Alcoholism is one of the most terrible diseases. Knowing him as a normal person, obviously this is very out of character for him. I'm sure he feels bad about it when he's sober, but he doesn't want to quit...

I hate to say this--your mom is enabling your dad. There are things that you can do. My mom should've left my dad years ago. In her more lucid moments now, she regrets she did not. Now, my father controls the $ and she cannot leave--I'd bring her home in a heartbeat--she always says that-I can't leave now, I have no $. She begs me to take her home with me--I can't--my dad has power=of-attorney, but she comes out to the car in the morning at 5:00 a.m. when I'm leaving with her suitcase (I don't know what she has in it--probably nothing)--breaks my heart I have to take her back in the house--and then drive away--I cry all the way from Bemidji to Superior--usually to Michigan. There are things you can do to help your mom leave, but if she doesn't want to leave, she won't. It is just one of those things that you cannot change. And, at some point, as much as you want to help, you can't. I live in another country. I can't just bring my mom home with me.

 

[Skittle68]

I hate to say this--your mom is enabling your dad. There are things that you can do. My mom should've left my dad years ago. In her more lucid moments now, she regrets she did not. Now, my father controls the $ and she cannot leave--I'd bring her home in a heartbeat--she always says that-I can't leave now, I have no $. She begs me to take her home with me--I can't--my dad has power=of-attorney, but she comes out to the car in the morning at 5:00 a.m. when I'm leaving with her suitcase (I don't know what she has in it--probably nothing)--breaks my heart I have to take her back in the house--and then drive away--I cry all the way from Bemidji to Superior--usually to Michigan. There are things you can do to help your mom leave, but if she doesn't want to leave, she won't. It is just one of those things that you cannot change. And, at some point, as much as you want to help, you can't. I live in another country. I can't just bring my mom home with me.

It's somewhat true that she is enabling him- if she left him it wouldn't necessarily stop his drinking, but it would definitely shake things up. Personally I think she would be better off leaving regardless of what he did or said about it, but she most likely never will. Things will continue on the downward spiral. Where rock bottom is will depend on what order the inevitable events happen in.

 

[Dawgluver]

It's somewhat true that she is enabling him- if she left him it wouldn't necessarily stop his drinking, but it would definitely shake things up. Personally I think she would be better off leaving regardless of what he did or said about it, but she most likely never will. Things will continue on the downward spiral. Where rock bottom is will depend on what order the inevitable events happen in.

Skittle, I think your dad might be depressed and may be self-medicating. Your parents are adults and your mom knows what she's doing. It is very difficult to just walk away from a marriage, especially one that's long- term. Check out the Al-anon website, it might offer some help and support.

Good luck, sweetie.