Hello all! ^_^
It's that time of year again in South Texas were the weather starts warming up a bit and the wildflowers start coming out. Well actually, that started up about a week ago, but who cares about the subtle details? ^_~ To give y'all who are unfamiliar with the climate a look at what its like here, our lows have been around 45 F while are highs are typically around 75 F. I haven't been paying attention to what the wind chill factor is like, but either way it's been heavenly. X3
As for wildflowers, right now you can see bluebonnets and mountain laurels in bloom. (The latter of which creates a sweet smelling aroma that mimics fresh grapes.) However, for those of you interested in going into the hill country to look at the flowers, I'd recommed postponing your plans for about another week. According to a reliable source my Mom the flowers around there aren't quite ready yet. Either way, this definitely should be a good year to see them because of all the rain we've been blessed with. Now that I think about it, this should also be a good year for peaches due to the freezes we had this year...but I'll get back to that at another time (if I remember).
In any event, this time of year also marks Spring Break. I know some of you have already had it, but I'll post these little friendly reminders anyway:
- Seatbelts are manditory regardless of where you're sitting in the car
- Texting while driving is still dangerous
- Beware of school zones; not everybody is having Spring Break at the same time, so using your phone while driving is not advised
- If you're going on a long trip and need to pack stuff/people, be sure that you do not go over the capacity of your vechicle due to possible lack of visibility (that, and if I'm not mistaken, there's a law out against overstuffing your vechicle with people)
- And finally, drunk driving is still hazardous to your health and to the welfare of those around you, and it doesn't take much alcohol nowadays to be considered intoxicated
Naturally, all of the above could result in either a license suspension, fines, prison time, or all of the above depending on what you did and whether or not you cooperated with the police.
With that, have a wonderful Spring Break everybody! ^_^
Here's that story I promised y'all two days ago. Sorry it took so long! >_<
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By the end of the day last Tuesday I actually managed to catch a glimpse of the ten o'clock news. Weather-wise, nothing of interest happened except for the fact that we actually managed to get some rain: a full 1/100th of an inch of it. TTwTT (Doesn't sound like much, but it's better than nothing I suppose. Especially when the city you're living regularly gets visited by droughts.)
Come Wednesday morning my Mom warns me to be extra careful on the road and to leave the house a little early that day because it was raining. Even though I said, "Okay Mom," I didn't actually stop to process the "rain" part of her statement. Sure enough, after I got the brunt of my morning routine done, I heard the sound of rain falling right outside my window. (This sound is extremely FOREIGN around these parts.) I was doing some stuff on the computer before leaving home to get to school so I didn't leave the house until almost ten minutes past nine.
BIG MISTAKE. >_<
Okay first of all, it takes about half an hour to get to the university I attend, and that's only IF you're not driving in rush-hour traffic. (If you are caught in it, the trip extends to about an hour.) Second, even if you arrive to the university on time--depending on where you park--it's a good hop, skip, and a jump to get on over to your first class (in my case: clear across campus). Finally, on that particular day my professor (who was in Mexico at the time) was going to broadcast an important lecture that day so it was "strongly encouraged" to arrive on time.
Did I forget to mention that this same said class starts at 9:45? >__<
Everything was going smoothly...until about five minutes after I left the house. There was this huge hold-up of traffic that kept me and the other drivers at a near stand-still for twenty minutes. I discovered upon passing it that the reason for this...occurance...was due to a small, silver that ended up ramming into the guard rail. I'm thinking the driver lost control of their vehicle while attempting to make a sharp turn, but what do I know? (Good thing I was listening to the soundtrack to Riverdance. If it had been anything like ACDC's Black Ice album I probably would've gone through some serious roadrage.) There weren't any other serious problems after that, so I finally managed to get to class.
Ten minutes later. >___<
But here's the good news: the teacher's assistant that was supposed to fill in and rig the screen to show my professor's lecture didn't show up.
Sorry folks--if you were hoping on a post about the Eurythmics, this ain't it! XD
Seriously though, do y'all recall me telling you that I live in a dry climate? Even if you have I'll state this anyway: When you live in a place that's dominated by sunshine about 90% of the time, the likelihood of accidents that occur during ANY type of weather involving precipitation skyrocket. =_=;
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Why is that so? Here's a simple list I've compiled that contains both the unknown (i.e.-you might not have thought about it) and the obvious (for some).
The less experience you have driving in precipitation, the less likely you are to instinctively know what to do when something goes wrong
Advice: the best thing to get around this is by practicing. Unfortunately, not everyone can do a successful Lithium Rain Dance, so the only way to get around this problem is treat it like it's your first time driving in whatever part of the country your in (even if that same place is your home. I almost guarantee your attention to the road will increase double what it normally is.)
Pick-up trucks are designed to be "front heavy" for the sake of evening out the distribution of weight when it's actually towing something (it makes for considerably easier travel). Not having anything in the back while driving on slick roads increases the odds of the vehicle "fishtailing," this is when the back of the truck literally weaves out of your control due to an extreme loss of traction
Advice on Fishtailing: it's a scary feeling to not have complete control of your vehicle, but the best thing to do is NOT PANIC. Fishtailing usually occurs either when you’re coming from a complete stop, making a sharp turn, or slamming on the brakes for whatever reason. The first of these, provided that you weren't trying to mimic an Olympic sprinter, can easily be dealt with by maintaining a gentle press on the gas and to keep the steering wheel steady. (It may still fishtail a little, but American tires are purposely designed to get rid of whatever sediment/liquid is underneath it so recovering traction should only take a few seconds.) When making ANY sharp turn in ANY type of vehicle (I don't care how close to the ground it is) it's always a good idea to slow it down a bit and to not take it too acute. As for the last of these reasons; the only time you should slam on the brakes is in an emergency. If you're traveling normally then the best two best things you can do is brake early and keep your distance with the driver in front of you. At this point in time I don't have any experience with dealing with emergency situations and I'm certainly not the ONLY source of advice on this topic, so the best course of action here is to talk with your guardian, your parents, or anyone else you know WITHOUT A DOUBT has knowledge in this field. (I take this with absolute seriousness for the simple matter that any time you’re on the road it LITERALLY IS a case of LIFE and DEATH.)
People are more relaxed taking routes that they are familiar with and usually let down their guard as a result of this (I am no exception). This same mentalitly, again, increases the odds of accidents
Advice: the easiest way of keeping yourself at least a little alert is to make that same route you use a little different everyday that way you HAVE to look around at the other cars. Little reminders to yourself go a long way too.
Hydroplaning--when your car is literally driving on the water that's accumulated on top of the road instead of the road itself. Usually caused by an increase in the vechicle's velocity.
Advice: I would say "don't drive too fast," but you don't even need to be craking 45mph to actually hydroplane. If you just happen to be driving in a straight line just let go of the wheel and keep your foot AWAY from the break. As it slows down gravity will finally kick in and hopefully save the day by allowing your tires to be reunited with the road. For more information, it's highly recommended that you refer to a trusted source.
The collection of oil and grease (among other things) accumulates over time. Due to the "miracle" of density all of that same crud ends up floating up to the top of the water on the road, thus making them extra slick. (As if water didn't do that enough already. -_-; )
Advice: yeah...there's nothing you can do about that. -_-;
There are many other things I can put on this list, but this post is long enough already without the extra input. If anyone has anything having to do with the topic, feel free to speak up!
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I had a story that I wanted to tell y'all, but I guess I'll leave that for tomorrow. Until then, safe driving! ^_^
Okay, first off, I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year
Second off, I'd like to say just how much I HATE it too.
I worked New Years at my first job... the one with the crazy drivers trying to get into the parking lot one. I go in at two and it's not to bad. I work, and work, and I get moved a couple times to other stores, but no big deal. Well, New Years hit and fire crackers and yay and celebration. Then people decided to spend an hour buying things. I was supposed to leave by midnight and didn't get out until about one-thirty. Then I had to drive home to let my dogs out, which wouldn't have been bad if I could ahve put my exhausted behind into bed and gone to sleep after. But NOO I had to drive all the way across town to my aunts and let her dogs out before I could go to sleep in her room. And I had to drive to work from her house this afternoon. Talk about fun! *sarcasm*
Anyways, it's late, so I'm headed to bed now.
Ciao.
Hey all, I know it's been like... days since I last said anything, but I'm fighting off either a cold, bronchitis, or pneumonia. I REALLY hope it's not that last one, but I can hear the rattling in my chest when I breath so... ugh!
Anyways, so I have a new JOB. It's in the opposite direction of how I normally get to work on a busier street. Joy! 
So yeah, I'll probably be complaining about how crappy the new drive to work is on the weekends. Wish me luck!
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.
