karma, 122b, party

After a mostly unproductive and still cranky afternoon on Friday, I headed to a craft store and then on to get a CD. The CD was in stock, but the craft store didn't have exactly what I wanted. After my futile search, I got on the highway to go home and suddenly found myself stuck in traffic.

It felt a little like karma - that my pointless anger had traffic based repercussions. In retrospect, I feel a little guilty about things for the rest of the drivers on the road. We were all creeping along when I heard a "pop" and looked over to the side. A guy in a suddenly not-so-nice car was trying to pull off the road with a sluggish success since the traffic was tight. There was smoke coming out of his hood and something leaking from under his car. I didn't feel karmicly upset about this one - clearly, he's been having a far worse day than I could be blamed for. He got off the road and a glance showed him to be neither surprised or really upset. I didn't go try to help him, assuming he had a cell phone.

Of course, had it be a reversed situation - I would have needed some help since I don't yet have a cell phone. Another reason, I suppose, that I should reconsider getting one. Even well intentioned people will assume that should I break down, I would be okay since I could just call on my non-existent cell phone for help.

Anyway, back to the traffic. We were still creeping along when I came upon an exit - though it was not the one I wanted. There may have been more detailed signs that I didn't notice before, but all this one said was Exit 122b. I don't know where it went, only that it was within a few miles of my home, but maybe not the direction I wanted to travel. I tend to find a route and then stick with it until there's some kind of extreme situation and I wasn't sure if stuck in traffic warranted getting lost and maybe wasting even more time trying to find an alternative way home.

A car in front of me - really mostly past the road - decided that they would give old 122b a try. They executed a tight, almost U, turn and took the exit. They rounded the curve and disappeared behind the trees. I remained in my car, with the windows rolled down and my heat turned to try and keep my engine cooler. I wondered if they knew where they were going. If they had a plan and a route in mind. Or maybe they just decided moving - in any direction - was better than just sitting there.

The "horrible" accident that had traffic backed up in both directions for miles turned out to be a fender bender that had been pulled off the side of the road and the only thing blocking and slowing traffic was, well, traffic.

In other news... yesterday evening I went to a party with some friends to see the latest addition to an outdoor train set in one of the friends backyard. The train itself was having some issues, but the setup was amazing. It included some new buildings since I was last there - a new house and more cars and an amazingly detailed greenhouse in miniature.

The snacks were good and the conversation lively. I overheard a discussion in the kitchen that seemed to mix religion, politics, and alcohol in equal parts. Curiously, everyone in the conversation seemed to be on the same very loud side. Not an argument, then - but a general complaint session on the sorry state of the world. I stayed out of...

Wait. I need to pause for a moment and un-recommend a snack food. Early this morning, I had some "bold" flavored chex party mix working off the assumption that the chex mix was almost like cereal and counted as a breakfast food. It's good and has a nice and appropriately bold flavor, but even teeth brushing and mouthwash have failed to remove the taste. While I was typing I burped a little bit and the flavor came right back. It is NOT good the second time around and I feel the need to just go ahead and drink the mouth wash this time. I'll be back....

(please wait)

Less intense mouthwash? Don't believe everything you read. Anyway...

I stayed out the discussion and had a really nice conversation with a few other people - one of whom is allergic to alcohol. He had one beer that he really enjoyed - and then spent the rest of the night sneezing and blowing his nose. I both started and stopped my drinking while in college - but I could still sympathize.

Anyway, it was late when my room-mate and I got back - turned out he'd been one of the debaters in the kitchen so I drove his car back.

I've been enjoying the quiet Sunday at home - did a little reading outside and now I'm listening to the new Aimee Mann CD while I write this unusually long blog. I guess that's it for now.

later...