To the three kind folks
who saved me when
I was wracked
upon a tricksy
ninja curb
disguised
as snow:
many,
many
thanks.
Showing posts with label danger. Show all posts
Showing posts with label danger. Show all posts
14 January 2014
22 August 2010
My crazy bunny is still alive!
I saw it for the third time: my crazy little bunny. (It may not even be the same one, but how many weird little bunnies could there be in that small area?) It was once again darting out in broad daylight near rush hour traffic.
The first time I saw him, I was sitting in the afternoon rush waiting to get onto a highway. A tiny creature crawled out onto the sidewalk and promptly fell over. It was kind of like a kitten wanting to play, only it was a rabbit, there was no one there to play with it, it was broad daylight, and wild bunnies don't usually do that.
The week after that, I was exiting that same highway, and the dumb critter ran out onto the ramp and hopped around a bit through the morning rush hour traffic before staggering off into the brush again.
Someone suggested distemper or perhaps a nice supply of fermenting fruit somewhere . . .
Anyway, I worry about the poor, strange little thing. It's nice to see that (somehow) it's still alive.
The first time I saw him, I was sitting in the afternoon rush waiting to get onto a highway. A tiny creature crawled out onto the sidewalk and promptly fell over. It was kind of like a kitten wanting to play, only it was a rabbit, there was no one there to play with it, it was broad daylight, and wild bunnies don't usually do that.
The week after that, I was exiting that same highway, and the dumb critter ran out onto the ramp and hopped around a bit through the morning rush hour traffic before staggering off into the brush again.
Someone suggested distemper or perhaps a nice supply of fermenting fruit somewhere . . .
Anyway, I worry about the poor, strange little thing. It's nice to see that (somehow) it's still alive.
29 July 2010
Why my mom doesn't like it that I live in the big city
Today, for the first time, I was menaced with a gun. It was hours ago, but I'm still kind of jittery.
It happened at one of my least favorite kinds of traffic nightmares in the city, where an access road that feeds onto an interstate intersects with the interstate exit less than 100 yards from a stoplight where, if you're on the access road and you need to turn left, you have to get across several lanes in a very short time, and it's particularly trying during rush hour.
I let a couple of slightly hysterical drivers getting off the interstate go ahead of me to get over to the right lane, which left me with even less space to get over to the left, so I was going to go for it when I saw a motorcycle flying up the exit ramp. He nearly ran into me, but we avoided a collision because I was paying attention and God was watching over me (and if there are guardian angels, I really hope mine gets some sort of hazard bonus or a lot of vacation time).
I obligingly stopped, so he could get over, since he seemed in much more of a hurry than I was, and he was kind of wild and scary looking with his longish, matted ginger, helmet-less hair blown all over the place. He pulled his motorcycle to within inches of my left front bumper, blocking my exit, and pulled back his vest slowly, deliberately, and a tad theatrically to show me that he had a gun and he was not afraid to use it.
We sat like this for several moments while he glared at me and basked in whatever feeling of power it gave him to threaten a lone woman in a car with a gun for causing him to pay attention and slow down a bit before he remembered that he had somewhere to be in a hurry and pulled away. I was not particularly comforted by the fact that there was a police station three blocks away. Obviously that fact didn't bother him.
It was kind of scary. I thank God it wasn't any worse.
I'm afraid I may be even less favorably inclined towards motorcyclists now. My apologies to those of you who drive sanely and are law-abiding citizens who don't threaten people with guns.
On a more positive note, the great book migration is mostly over, and we should once again be back to regularly scheduled blog posting here every Tuesday and Saturday.
It happened at one of my least favorite kinds of traffic nightmares in the city, where an access road that feeds onto an interstate intersects with the interstate exit less than 100 yards from a stoplight where, if you're on the access road and you need to turn left, you have to get across several lanes in a very short time, and it's particularly trying during rush hour.
I let a couple of slightly hysterical drivers getting off the interstate go ahead of me to get over to the right lane, which left me with even less space to get over to the left, so I was going to go for it when I saw a motorcycle flying up the exit ramp. He nearly ran into me, but we avoided a collision because I was paying attention and God was watching over me (and if there are guardian angels, I really hope mine gets some sort of hazard bonus or a lot of vacation time).
I obligingly stopped, so he could get over, since he seemed in much more of a hurry than I was, and he was kind of wild and scary looking with his longish, matted ginger, helmet-less hair blown all over the place. He pulled his motorcycle to within inches of my left front bumper, blocking my exit, and pulled back his vest slowly, deliberately, and a tad theatrically to show me that he had a gun and he was not afraid to use it.
We sat like this for several moments while he glared at me and basked in whatever feeling of power it gave him to threaten a lone woman in a car with a gun for causing him to pay attention and slow down a bit before he remembered that he had somewhere to be in a hurry and pulled away. I was not particularly comforted by the fact that there was a police station three blocks away. Obviously that fact didn't bother him.
It was kind of scary. I thank God it wasn't any worse.
I'm afraid I may be even less favorably inclined towards motorcyclists now. My apologies to those of you who drive sanely and are law-abiding citizens who don't threaten people with guns.
On a more positive note, the great book migration is mostly over, and we should once again be back to regularly scheduled blog posting here every Tuesday and Saturday.
15 March 2010
Things not to tell your mom, part 3
A predatory sex offender has moved into my building (or the one next door). Oh, joy. But don't worry, it appears that he prefers to prey on junior high school boys, so I'm safe; though I'm worried about the junior high half a mile up the road.
Keep me (and the kids) in your prayers . . .
Keep me (and the kids) in your prayers . . .
01 February 2010
Just an inch of snow
Today, we got an inch of snow or so, and it caused all sorts of problems. A long, hard freeze and a more recent slight thaw followed by another hard freeze left a layer of ice. Spread over that an inch of that dry, flat, fake-looking snow that sparkles like flakes of plastic and quartz, and you've got zero traction. As many people unfortunately discovered on the roads and sidewalks and parking lots. Yeck.
It's a good thing this kind of snow is so pretty. Otherwise, it would be an unmitigated disaster.
Aside from brilliantly reflecting light, so I know my headlights are, in fact, on, do you know of any good uses for this kind of snow?
It's a good thing this kind of snow is so pretty. Otherwise, it would be an unmitigated disaster.
Aside from brilliantly reflecting light, so I know my headlights are, in fact, on, do you know of any good uses for this kind of snow?
30 January 2010
The Sorrows of Young Buck
A young buck nearly scared the bejeebers out of me on my way home today. I flipped on my turn signal, checked behind me, switched into the right turn lane, slowed down, slowed down more . . .
And that is a young male deer standing RIGHT on the side of the road so close I could roll down my window and pet him, and he is chewing something desultorily and watching traffic, like any bored jaywalker, and I am terrified that he's just going to start crossing the street and no one will see him because there are never deer HERE, and it's so dark, and even though it's not really safe at all, I am looking in my rear view mirror and sending telepathic messages to the deer to turn back and go home . . .
Good thing his telepathic receiver was on because he turned around and shuffled away. I spent the rest of my drive watching out for him on the side of the road because I was afraid he would jump out from there to punish me for ruining his fun, but that didn't happen. Phew.
Also, the moon tonight was impossibly big and beautiful. Yesterday was supposed to be the day, but full+1 today was just gorgeous and brilliant, big, wide, and parchment-colored. I would have looked at it more, but I was watching out for that deer.
And that is a young male deer standing RIGHT on the side of the road so close I could roll down my window and pet him, and he is chewing something desultorily and watching traffic, like any bored jaywalker, and I am terrified that he's just going to start crossing the street and no one will see him because there are never deer HERE, and it's so dark, and even though it's not really safe at all, I am looking in my rear view mirror and sending telepathic messages to the deer to turn back and go home . . .
Good thing his telepathic receiver was on because he turned around and shuffled away. I spent the rest of my drive watching out for him on the side of the road because I was afraid he would jump out from there to punish me for ruining his fun, but that didn't happen. Phew.
Also, the moon tonight was impossibly big and beautiful. Yesterday was supposed to be the day, but full+1 today was just gorgeous and brilliant, big, wide, and parchment-colored. I would have looked at it more, but I was watching out for that deer.
04 September 2009
Me & Other Road Hazards
I should've known yesterday was going to be a bad day when I almost pulled the not-matching-shoes trick again (see July 27). Luckily, the second mismatching shoe I grabbed to put on was a second left shoe, so I couldn't fit it on my right foot, and I had to confront the fact that something was wrong, which led to the discovery that this second shoe was not, in fact, from the correct pair. (Last time, I put one shoe from each pair on correctly, so I didn't have to notice.)
Not much sleep, bad shoe day, 8-5 at work, and then a choir rehearsal. If I had decided to go home between work and the rehearsal, I would've had to fight traffic for an extra 45 minutes or so and only had about 15 minutes at home, so I decided to eat dinner, do a little writing, and leave straight from the area near where I work. Not surprisingly, I got lost, but I knew enough to get there eventually (on time, even).
There is a lot of construction between where the choir rehearses and where I live. Even on a Thursday night, traffic is bad. It changes from 2 to 3 lanes and back with little warning, and you have to pay attention because sometimes you need to go from 40 mph to a dead stop in a few yards.
Somehow I made it home after the last rehearsal, but this time I wasn't so lucky, and I got lost. Very lost. In a city I particularly hate to drive in because frequently streets are not marked by any kind of sign, and signs directing you to major highways are either nonexistent or so close to the turn-off as to be unhelpful on a road that has eight lanes.
If there are guardian angels, I think mine probably hates me because it has to work so hard all the time. While being particularly lost, I accidentally ran a red light. It's a good thing the other drivers were all paying attention because no one even came close to getting hit, and them blaring their horns reminded me once again that I need to pay exquisite attention while I'm driving because it's really not safe for me to be driving when I'm like this (which is most of the time).
I would get rid of the car, the car payments, and the (increasingly) expensive insurance if I could use the public transportation system, but I can't because where I live is so far from the metropolitan area that buses only come once an hour or so and only during part of the day. I can't afford to keep my car and insurance and use park & ride, so I'm stuck being a hazard to myself and other drivers. I hate this.
Just another thing to thank the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs for. Thanks, guys.
Not much sleep, bad shoe day, 8-5 at work, and then a choir rehearsal. If I had decided to go home between work and the rehearsal, I would've had to fight traffic for an extra 45 minutes or so and only had about 15 minutes at home, so I decided to eat dinner, do a little writing, and leave straight from the area near where I work. Not surprisingly, I got lost, but I knew enough to get there eventually (on time, even).
There is a lot of construction between where the choir rehearses and where I live. Even on a Thursday night, traffic is bad. It changes from 2 to 3 lanes and back with little warning, and you have to pay attention because sometimes you need to go from 40 mph to a dead stop in a few yards.
Somehow I made it home after the last rehearsal, but this time I wasn't so lucky, and I got lost. Very lost. In a city I particularly hate to drive in because frequently streets are not marked by any kind of sign, and signs directing you to major highways are either nonexistent or so close to the turn-off as to be unhelpful on a road that has eight lanes.
If there are guardian angels, I think mine probably hates me because it has to work so hard all the time. While being particularly lost, I accidentally ran a red light. It's a good thing the other drivers were all paying attention because no one even came close to getting hit, and them blaring their horns reminded me once again that I need to pay exquisite attention while I'm driving because it's really not safe for me to be driving when I'm like this (which is most of the time).
I would get rid of the car, the car payments, and the (increasingly) expensive insurance if I could use the public transportation system, but I can't because where I live is so far from the metropolitan area that buses only come once an hour or so and only during part of the day. I can't afford to keep my car and insurance and use park & ride, so I'm stuck being a hazard to myself and other drivers. I hate this.
Just another thing to thank the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs for. Thanks, guys.
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