Driving Me Crazy

You all know how I feel about driving. I strongly dislike it.

It's even worse now that my drive to and from work is 30-35 minutes long. On the way home from work lately, my eyes have been getting heavy and closing for a second here and there. I just can't help it. No matter what I do. I mean, I keep myself busy. For one, I'm driving. That's a task in and of itself. NPR keeps me awake in the mornings, but in the afternoons it certainly puts me to sleep. The morning talk is so much more interesting. In the afternoon, it's arborists and political debates and bullying and truck drivers and what not. Don't get me wrong, I learn a ton, which I love, but I get sleepy. So I turn on the overplayed music of the radio, and inevitably all the songs are my least favorites. Or ones I've heard three trillion times, so I just turn it off. There is nothing good on the radio anymore. But that's a whole other can of worms.

Then there's the people who drive UNDER the speed limit. Awesome to people who like the speed limit and want to be safe. But when I'm having trouble staying awake and the commute is over a half hour, I need to at least go the speed limit. Get out of my way. So I'm behind that driver yesterday. So frustrating. Especially when you're blockaded in to your spot on the interstate by a car or huge semi (as it usually turns out to be) on your left, and a lane ending on your right. It's like the DOT and the highway system and the cars are all playing a big joke on me. So not funny. I just want to go home so I can get my things organized and ready for the next day so I can run and then relax for 4 seconds before bed.

And I know what you're thinking, "if you're too tired to drive, then why are you running?" Because that's what I do. I have this special power that is fabulous. Even when I'm super tired, I have this secret stash of energy deep down that helps me pull out a good run, and surprise!, when you exercise, you have more energy. So I'm good after the run for another 3 hours. It's just the afternoon that I struggle. Approximately 1 pm to 5 pm. That's my zero-energy time frame. It's terrible.

Anyhow, back to driving. So yesterday I'm stuck behind that guy. Finally, a spot opens up, and I steal my only chance to zip into the left lane and speed up--first back to the designated speed limit, then yes, up a little over the speed limit. I really want to get home.

You know how when you are finally able to pass someone that is going super slow, you always look at them as you pass? I don't know why people feel so inclined to do that, but I feel like that's what everyone does. Cause when I'm that person being passed, that's what people to do to me. And when I'm the one passing, I do it too. So that's what I did. Who is beside(now behind) me? Grandma? No. Absolutely not. It's the next Ricky Martin. Seriously, this young 20-something dude in his cool SUV is belting out some song (I'd like to know what, cause he looked very awake) and looks like he's practicing for American Idol. Seriously? Is this a tryout for some show I don't know about? Should I be singing to? THIS is what slowed my commute an extra 2 whole minutes?

I laughed inside, partly cause it was funny and partly in disbelief.

I admittedly sing in the car, but I'm talking a heartfelt performance from this guy. If I wasn't irritated, I might've been impressed.

Life lesson for the day: Go the speed limit, if not a measly 5 over. Some people have no driving patience cause cars scare them and they are terrible at it. Also, a friendly tip...if you get so into your singing performance in the car that it hinders your driving, you probably ought to tone it down a notch and concentrate more on the driving part.