Driving me crazy!

Before anyone goes all Fine Young Cannibals on me, listen to my story. I'm going to provide some observations and reason...with some evidence that there really, truly are very...very few good drivers anywhere. Oh...and everyplace you go has a different problem.

We all know that I'm stuck in Ohio right now after living in Atlanta for 10 years. Most probably know that I was raised in beautiful central Florida and since 1988, have lived in no less than 5 different towns.

That alone, should qualify me as the random observer of peculiar driving habits.

It's simple. Really. It is. Here is your breakdown:

Florida (mostly Orlando)- Tough place to drive because its mostly a mix of the elderly and tourists. Neither have their wits about them any more. Yes, the people who are actually from there have an idea of what they are doing...but they are in the minority. By a large margin. You really have to pay attention driving in Florida because you never know what the person in front of you is going to do.

Lynchburg, Virginia - I lived there in 1988-89 while working at a TV station there. Two BIG issues. One...no acceleration lanes for the highway. None. You stop...you get on the highway. That is tough if you've lived anywhere else with major highways. Think about it.

But there is more from Lynchburg. The biggest problem in my time there was the green light stopping. Yes, you read that correctly. People would just randomly stop at intersections when the light was green. No rhyme or reason. They'd just stop. Again, a scary thought if you aren't locked in. I can only imagine the amount of wrecks in this eating food, texting society today.

Jacksonville, Florida - Not horrible drivers, but it is tough on the highways (see above). A few who thought they were on NASCAR tracks, but not too many. Really, I didn't see any major issues there.

Nashville, Tennessee - Them folks in Tennessee ain't right. You can call them the Tennessee Divebombers. What do I mean by that you ask? Well...imagine you are in the right lane getting to exit off of the highway and all of a sudden a car from 4 lanes over, against the wall wants to get off at the same exit. No, there usually isn't that much traffic. The only thing I can figure is either they didn't know they wanted to exit or they just weren't paying attention.

Atlanta, Georgia - Some of the worst traffic in the world. But really, I don't think that people there don't know how to drive. They do. They just don't care. They are crazy. They all think that they are Bill Elliot or Dale Jr. Either that or they are so late due to the traffic and living so far away from work that they just say "Fuck it".

If you've ever sat through rush hour in Atlanta, think about what I'm saying. It makes sense...doesn't it?

Cincinnati, Ohio - Really, here the drivers are just stupid. They have no sense or idea about what they are doing. By the way, you have to lump Northern Kentucky in here too, because if it is possible...Northern Kentucky drivers are stupider. It's like they've come off the side of a mountain to drive or have never left the farm. They don't get simple traffic laws, lane changing or speed limits.

Back to Ohio...the biggest problem I've run into....nobody will change lanes. Ever! They lock into whatever lane they are in and won't move. If they are doing 80 in the right lane, they'll slow down to 55 behind the car in front of them...even if they are the only 2 cars on the road. And they won't pass. They do this in every lane on every road. You could be going 20 in the passing lane and they'll get right behind you and won't go around. EVER!

I don't get this.

Quite honestly, this is just something that has been on my mind for awhile. I'm not sure what made me think about it, though I have a suspicion. I'm really not an angry driver, an aggressive driver or a heavy speeder. I'm not, ask my wife. It is just random observation, stream of thought....and yeah...a slight bit of underlying annoyance.

We'll go with the obvious music choice here...enjoy your Cannibals (Thanks You Tube):

Annoying people....

If you've spent time with me, then you know that I'm not a particularly judgmental person. I've been told that I am very open minded and willing to listen to or look for the best in just about everyone.

I had to throw that out the window today. Not permanently, just for today.

You might be asking: What happened today? The answer: I had class today.

For those who don't know, I've been taking computer web design classes which are fairly complicated and very monotonous. A lot of it is learning computer programming code and language...and let me tell you, if you think learning Spanish or French is tough...

((My brain after class//Courtesy: My Mac))

So anyway, today was Web Design/HTML/XHTML and CSS, Level 2 class. One day...8 hours. Not fun...but interesting. Most of the classes have had 5...maybe 6 people in them. Today, we had 10.

I knew we were in trouble, when class member number 10 walked in. Okay, made his entrance.

Picture this guy if you can: 40 or so years old...maybe 5-10 or even 6-feet tall, about 40 pounds overweight. He's wearing a yellow t-shirt that says "Security". Not a big deal unto itself. The issue came when you looked at the head. He had...god's honest truth...a full-fledged, out of date, lead singer of the Clash...or Mr. T...mohawk.

Again, I don't judge, but it was a giveaway. No sooner did the guy sit down, then he started asking questions. About everything. And talking about what he did in his other classes and his website.

The problem came in when the guy teaching the class, kept talking to him. He would talk and just go off on tangents. Complete...out in left field tangents. It doesn't bother me when people ask legitimate questions. Questions that they can't answer. It bugs the crap out of me when people hijack rooms and don't shut-up.

I'm hoping I don't have Mr. Mohawk in any other classes. It's hard enough staying focused on the complicated task at hand. It's really...really annoying when you get completely distracted by someone who thinks that nobody else is in the room...or trying to learn something.

There...I feel better now...I got to vent.

The only fitting video I could find is the trailer to Despicable Me...which by the way is a pretty funny movie: Thanks YouTube

Time to pack the boxes...

Do you know anyone who actually likes moving? I don't. Not that I know a ton of people...I do know a decent amount and I've never heard any of them say that they liked it. I sure don't.

But it comes with the territory. I guess before anyone starts asking, I better add that we are staying in Cincinnati (Southern Siberia)...for now, we are just going to change addresses. We are leaving the 105-year old house we've been living in and moving to an apartment, which will be weird unto itself.

((Moving in 10/1/09//Courtesy: Me))

In my chosen profession, moving has been part of the price of being in it. Lynchburg, Chattanooga, Jacksonville, Nashville, Atlanta and Cincinnati all cities that have been part of my wandering life since 1988. All of them have been fun experiences...and in most cases I moved more than once in some of the cities.

Early on...moving wasn't a huge deal other than the fact that I did it primarily myself. The chief would inevitably come to wherever I was and help as did my grandfather. Of course at that time, I didn't have too much stuff. Hand-me down furniture, a TV, some clothes and a few odds and ends.

Funny thing that happens over time, you accumulate things. I'm no exception to that and by the time I arrived in Atlanta, I had accumulated a pretty good amount of stuff. The initial move to town was aided by my friends Dave and Michael who after helping get the sleeper-sofa that I had owned up 3 flights of stairs said "Dude...we love you, but unless you get rid of that, we'll never help you move again".

Really, unlike Jacksonville, where I lived in 4 apartments in 5 years, I only moved twice in 10-years in Atlanta. Both moves in Atlanta were done with a mover, I'll never move myself again. Of course, I got married in Atlanta and the amount of stuff I now have doubled.

We had a relocation company move us from Atlanta to Cincinnati. That was interesting and forced us to get rid of some stuff. We left a 2600 square foot house in the ATL to come to a 1250 square footer here. The house in Cincy has some good things: A backyard for Daisy....a nice back deck and cool front porch, but it also has a leaky basement, no insulation and only one bathroom.

The thought of going back to an apartment isn't particularly appealing, but it will work for now. Just the idea of not banging my head in the low clearance basement will be an improvement. We can't keep the house cool...or at least the upstairs because there is no insulation in the house...at all. During the winter, we had to keep the heat on 56...to keep the gas/electric bill around $300.

((Winter in Southern Siberia//Courtesy: Me))

So it is back where we started...an apartment. We are going to do some of the moving ourselves since we are just going down the block (less than 1-mile). We'll hire someone to move the big stuff.

By no means is it permanent. We still don't know yet if we are staying here. While the town is decent and I really like my job and the people that I work with...it has been a very tough adjustment. I can't speak for TLB...but I still feel like a visitor here, like I am on a long assignment or something. Maybe that will change...either way, we will probably have to move again around this time next year. Where we go...we will see.

Enjoy today's music...Unto itself an okay song...but possibly one of the coolest things I've ever heard is when 92,000 Auburn and Georgia Football fans sang this in unison at the end of the 3rd quarter in the 2008 game at Auburn's stadium...kinda gave me the chills.

Anyway enjoy your Jovi...Thanks You Tube:

Long, long way from home....

I'm just going to say it. I miss my Braves baseball. Right now, sitting in Southern Siberia (Cincinnati) the city that denies that its southern because its in Ohio, I miss my Braves baseball.

Why can't we go back to the days of the superstation? You, I suppose could argue that if I miss it so much, I should just by the MLB package on DirecTV or MLB.com. And you know what; you are right, I could spend the money, but that would take only part of the pain away.

Even when we lived in Atlanta, we didn't go to a lot of the games. Sure, I would work them from time to time and there was a stretch where I would take my credential and just go and hang out, but that is no longer an option.

((Braves Spring Training//Courtesy: Me))

You see, I grew up on Braves baseball. When I was a kid, we didn't have a Major League team playing in Florida, now there are two. Sure, they came for Spring Training, but that is not quite the same thing. No. The closest thing we had were the Braves. WTBS was on the cable as far back as I can remember and we could on occasion pick up 750 WSB Radio.

My first Major League regular season game. A Braves game. In 1976, we saw the Braves play the Pittsburgh Pirates at Fulton County Stadium. I don't remember much other than they lost and Richie Zisk had a ton of RBI's.

Even as I got older. I would make the pilgrimage. In college, we went once or twice. Got cheap centerfield tickets and made our way around the stadium. The Braves weren't very good back in the 80's (understatement) and you could get away with it because there might have been 5,000 people in a 50,000 seat stadium.

I had to live without them for a year or so when I moved to my 1st job in Virginia, but I came back. My parents moved to Atlanta by 1990 so I always had an excuse to come visit and I would drag the Chief (father) with me. He's not much into baseball, but always humored me.

There were more trips. The drunken Jacksonville sojourn with 3 some friends from work. Seeing my 1st World Series game in 1996. Unfortunately it was the Game 6 that the Braves lost late to the Yankees and ended up losing the series. Heck, I even got to see the Braves play the Cubs...at Wrigley Field (Scratch one off the list).

Once I got to Atlanta, I lived the dream, I got to cover my favorite team. The 1st time that I walked into the locker room, the producer I was with had to punch me in the arm to keep me from drooling. I got to know some of the guys. Good people. Sure, they sort of lived in their own universe, but pretty friendly. I would run into a handful of the guys at the LA Fitness that I was working out in for awhile. They would play pickup basketball. I played a couple of times and we got some good laughs out of it.

Now I'm not anywhere close to Atlanta (7-hours away). Plus I work on the weekends. We get a steady diet of Cincinnati Reds baseball. Yeah, we've been to a few games. The stadium is actually very nice, a comfortable place to go watch baseball. But when the national games are regionalized on TV, we get the Northeast team. Not the Southern team.

We do have tickets to see the Braves when they come here and we are really looking forward to it. I still know a few of the guys on the team and who work for them, but I probably won't get to visit. But I'll be happy. I'll get my Braves fix. I'll see my team play in the town I'm currently located in. Not ideal....but it will do....for now.

Check this out. The Superstation TBS Braves Open from 1986. Pretty Cool eh? Thanks You Tube: