Venting about Road Rage

I want to tell you all about my wonderful weekend with family in Spokane, but first I have to vent.

I was riding my bike to work today. It is beautiful out and I was enjoying the ride around Greenlake. When I got just past the Greenlake Library, there was a guy parked in the bike lane so I had to pull out into traffic to go around him. As I passed the SUV I said "Thank you" in a slightly sarcastic tone (who me?). There were plenty of parking spots open across the road. I don't know if he thought I said something different, or if he just had a total anger management problem, but he pulled up at the stop sign in the left hand turn lane--I was going straight--and yelled "Why don't you go f*** y0urself?" I replied "Glad you have your own lane all to yourself" and rode on, thinking that was the end of it. However, about a half mile further he passed me then pulled into the bike lane and stopped. I passed him and said "I don't know what your problem is, but you need to get over it." I didn't hear anything back from him, but I had a feeling he was going to do it again. Luckily a cop was parked just ahead and I yelled to him that he should "watch this guy." Then I pulled off the main road and walked my bike for a bit to get my heart back to the correct speed.

I made a few mistakes here; not getting the guys license plate number, not stopping to talk to the cop, not calling 911. Not being sarcastic in the first place would have made the whole thing not even happen. I don't feel like there was anything wrong with me being irritated with the guy parking in "Bike Only" lane, or that I should have "shut up and taken it" though. But I have to admit that it would have made my morning commute much less nerve wracking.

The fact that he was willing to go out of his way to follow me when he was going to turn left. His over reaction with language--I never once swore at him, but I heard many choice words coming from his automobile, beside the sample I gave you above. This was an angry man and it really affected me--my heart was beating much harder and faster than usual and I felt flustered for about an hour. Taking the walk also made me late for work.

I know it is over reacting, but all morning I feel like I am going to see the guy around a corner, or that he is going to be on the phone when I answer it. That feeling is already fading, but it is frightening to me to have felt that way at all.

I talked to the police after I calmed down to find out what I should have done. She asked me why I didn't call 911. I told her because I wasn't sure if it was a crime, or if I was over reacting. She said I should have called and gotten his license place number. In the future, I will know what to do, and as GI Joe says "knowing is half the battle."

Bling!

Shoes to go with the dress:
I bought these today--they are really comfortable, in addition to being cute.

We are in Spokane this weekend visiting family and wedding shopping. We looked at the florist, the new venue and got the bride's makeup done at the MAC counter at Nordstroms. I have my fitting appointment next Friday morning, so hopefully everything will be checked off the to do list soon.

Chocolate and Roller Skates

Yesterday I went to The Theo Chocolate Factory for a tour and had a wonderful time--I recommend it for all of my friends and family that like chocolate, whether you live in Seattle or just come for a visit. Actually, even if you don't like chocolate--just abstain from the many lovely samples given out--it is still an amazing tour.


I went with the University District Youth Center, where I volunteer. Usually my day is Monday, but I start work at noon every other Friday so thought I would tag along on this. I had wandered by the Theo store during my ramble in April and thought that I should take their tour at some point and there was my opportunity! And I got to hang out with some lovely, down on their luck, teens. It is deeply satisfying to help this group, so if you have some time between Monday and Thursday 12:45-4, to help out, call Brynn at 206.526.2992. /plug.

Tonight Dr. T and I are going to a Jet City Rollergirls bout to see DiBrarian roll. It will be my first time and I really have no idea what to expect beyond tough girls on roller skates. Should be fun!

cutest bike riding librarian

This could be any of 4 of us at work. Exciting, eh? Lately life has just been work, biking, and dvd's at home. I did go see a friend's band last week at The Comet Tavern. On a Wednesday. And I couldn't sleep after so I was sleep deprived and got sick for a day or two.

Oh yeah! And The Boy had his birthday! He is 15, can you believe it? I am having a hard time with it myself. I took him and a couple of friends to Gameworks on Saturday, then they went to the movie theater next door and I picked them up after. They saw Wolverine: Origins. I want to see that too, but I didn't want to cramp their style. It was the first time the 3 of them hung out together and really seemed to enjoy it.

And, even though I haven't been writing here, I have been writing over there.

It's Raining It's Pouring

Not sure why this rain is so tenacious. It must have been raining all night. I woke up early this morning, fumbling to the bathroom with all intents to go back to bed (I still might), when I step off the carpet into water. Splash, tepid wetness on my feet, between my toes, waking me up... It wasn't so bad, easily cleaned with a mop and I unclogged the drain outside the door to let the backed up water swirl down. Then I went to the computer to check the weather forecast (rain) and thought I heard water pouring in the storage room, where there should be no water to be poured. By the time I got in there with the flashlight, the sound was gone. There was a lonely puddle of water on the floor, again, not too bad. So I moved a couple boxes out of the way and called the landlords. I think it is coming in some vent pipes and leaking out of the furnace somewhere. I could hear gurgling (much like pouring) when the furnace turned on. That's a lot of rain.

This weekend was both lame and great. Lame because I had to work all weekend with The Boy here. Great because we had my Dad family over for dinner, minus Dad--Sorry! It was a beer tasting party. Dr. T and I made beer from the set up that two of my sibs gave me for xmas. The Dunkel Weissen was pretty tasty. Now we have to decide what to make next. Dinner turned out yummy too, even if it was an hour later than I thought it would be. We split into various entertainments and whiled the time away. Wii was played, others chopped things in the kitchen. I showed my sister's my p-patch and they were soon drawn away to the more interesting things growing in the more established plots. We packed the visit up fairly early as The Boy had school in the morning and Sister U still had studying that night.

Yesterday I went to see my mentee. I brought her some baby clothes and we chatted for a little over an hour. I keep wanting to take her out to do things, but her baby is still pretty young. She looked a lot healthier and happier this time around. The baby was darling. He is starting to fill out a little and he has the straightest, shiniest black hair you have ever seen on anyone.

I think that now I am going back to bed.