Always pack some CD's that help you relax. Why? Well...
Today I was stuck in traffic for about an hour because it was raining this morning and someone got in a wreck. It just so happened that the CD I had in was the soundrack to Chicago. Let me tell you, angry themes just doesn't help your nerves when stuck in those aggrivating positions. =_=; I forgot what CD I changed it to from there (probably classica), but getting out of that genre was enlightening.
That's all for today. Safe driving everyone! ^_^
I'll be honest with y'all, I really thought that this program had great potential for the first few days. Then I started thinking, "How are the car dealers going to make a profit out of this?" I also started asking, "Where is this $4,500 coming from anyway?" Well, as it turns out, this program was a bunch of bull (and that's just being gentle). Even before the announcement they made yesterday regarding the program--which I will address in a bit--my folks noticed that the car dealers who where involved were ripping people off. Seriously, did anyone else notice the sudden increase on the price of cars? And another thing, did anyone else notice how only "certain types" of automobiles were being taken in as clunkers? (Oh, does anyone know what the hec was their definition of "clunker" is anyway?!)
Well ladies and gentlemen, they've finally dropped the other shoe. Our government as announced that all those that participated in the Cash for Clunkers program are going to have that purchase of theirs added to their income tax. Don't ask me about the details on how it works, all I know is that means that anyone that's already having problems keeping up with their payments is basically screwed. I find it rather irratating that our government didn't bother to tell anyone this detail until now, but somehow I'm just not that surprised by this development.
The sarcastic moral of this event: If it's too good to be true, odds are it is.
What's y'all's take on this program?
Please note that the following post applies to drivers in the state of Texas. However, it would serve well for drivers from other states to pay heed to this as these laws well due to the prospect that these laws may already be or is in the process of coming law outside of state of Texas as well.
About a week ago I came across a report on the local news stating that our state legistature is in the process of creating three new driving laws. Although I don't have the details of such, here is a basic look at what they are:
- All passengers, including those in the back, must have a seatbelt on them at all times while the vehicle is moving
- Texting while driving will be illegal
- The use of cell phones in school zones and other designated areas will also be prohibited
On the one hand, I can't help but think that taking time to create these laws is pointless. On the other hand, especially considering the individuals (to put it lightly) that I've come across on the road, I find it sad that our government has to result to this measure to help ensure our safety on the road.
What's y'all's take on this?
It seems that Shadweh and I have been letting the ball drop on this particular World. I feel sorry for it some. Of course, I have an excuse in Work and the fact that my computer died for a month and I just got my new laptop. *OH LAPTOP HOW I LOVE THEE!!!*
Anyways, I've spent a couple of weeks planning a trip. And so I've finally taken it and now I'm down at the coast with my father's family. Now, I've driven the trip before. But for anyone who lives in Texas, you know how boring the coastal plains can be. It's just miles and miles of flat, featureless roads for the most part with the occasional hill to create an overpass for some small town that isn't even a map dot. All so I can visit family and whatnot. I sometimes wonder if I've gone insane because driving that drive by myself makes someone go crazy. You start talking to yourself and you start thinking that the cows who are in the fields you drive past are laughing at you.
Anyways, so that's an update for this World. Shadweh, I can't believe you dropped the ball lol.
This is something I've been meaning to do for sometime now, but I won't apologize for holding back for so long. ^_~ Anyway...
Sometime back in mid-April my mom, grandmother, sister (Aduro) and I went out into the backroads of Texas to have a look at the wildflowers. The particular section we go to is between San Antonio and Fredericksburg, and usuall at that time of year the place is literally overflowing with beautiful flowers. The main two flowers that we look for on these roadtrips are bluebonnets (pictured below for those who don't know what they look like) and Indian paintbrushes (which is not pictured below, but I highly recommend that y'all look it up), but there are others of great interest along the way to see, such as wine cups and other little oddities. There's this one place in particular that we love to stop at that looks over a valley because there are so many bluebonnets in that place that it looks like a lake. (One of these days I'll get my mom to give the the picture that she took of it one year that way I can post it up to show y'all. Honestly, words alone do not do that sight justice! >_< )
However, we haven't had nearly as much rain as usual this year, so the only places that truly had a great deal of anything were alongside the highways. This may not sound like much to some people, but that really bothers me. I'm so used to seeing all of the wildflowers out and about at this time of year and not even seeing their buds pop out of the ground...to me, that's just freaking scary, if not a reminder of how precious water is to our fragile environment.
In other news, while we were driving by we came across some other things, both interesting and...not so interesting, along the trip that I want to mention to y'all:
- Along the way we came across a few ranches that had llamas
- We got so see another ranch that had a good amount of buffalo
- Oddly enough, we came across another ranch that had two camels (my grandmother told me along the way that the Texas Rangers or some other organization actually used them for something back in the day, but I'll have to look up on my Texas history to be sure)
- Before we came across the worse smell I ever had the displeasure of whiffing (which I will mention after this bullet) we drove right past a freshly killed skunk (did I forget to mention it was kinda warm that day?) >_<
- Along the track, just about ten minutes or so before coming across the skunk, we came across a dead carcass. >__< There is a story that goes along with this, so I'll go back to using a paragraph for this one and end the list
The moment we stopped the vehicle to have a better look at this clearing I caught whiff of something that smelled like stinkbait. I asked if anyone else had noticed it and the answer I got back was "it's all in your head." I don't know why I believed this, but I did, and went out with my mom and my grandmother to investigate. After a few seconds of this, both my grandmother and my mom figure out what I was trying to tell them. We continued on anyway until mom, who was in front of us, figured out were the God-aweful stentch was coming from. We think it was the body of a dead antelope because its fur just wasn't the right shade to be a deer. Either way, it was dead, and that smell refused to leave our nostrils until long after we got home...almost five or so hours later. >__< What's really sad? I can still remember what that smelled like just at the mere mention of it. >___<
One of the other things that occured on this trip (bad smells aside) was a trip to the Wildseed Farm. This place boasts the largest collection of wildflowers in Texas (and possibly the country). The place is really nice and pleasant to walk through because of their huge collection, and sometimes they have some new stuff on display. For example, this time they had a flower that they called a redbonnet. It's just like a bluebonnet, only its more of a maroon color (courtosy of Texas A&M University who's science department created it).
That's all ladies and gentlemen. Later! ^_^
I've had my license since February of 2008 myself and let me tell you: there are some CRAZY people behind the wheel! (And I don't mean in the good way. =_=;) 
) There will be some rantings and there may even be some anime references, but this world will mostely show people, almost anything seen on the side of the road, and (hopefully for anyone paying attention) what NOT to do while in traffic.
