Painted White Lines & the People Who Ignore Them

There is this portion of my commute home in which the southwest freeway (59) merges with Beltway 8 going east.  Three lanes of Beltway 8 merge together to become 2 lanes right before the merge with 59 and then becomes 3 lanes again.  Shortly thereafter, Beltway 8 merges back into 2 lanes.  Traffic backs up horribly in this area.  When painting the lines, for whatever safety reason, the City of Houston decided to leave enough room on Beltway 8 that if someone decided to blatantly disobey traffic laws and keep driving in their own imaginary lane, regardless of the striped off area that is no longer a lane, that person would be able to do so without worrying much about dying in a violent wreck.

This infuriates me.  See, my exit is directly after the merge.  So, when others are merging left to get on the Beltway from 59, I'm merging right to get off the road.  Everyday, there are people who think painted lines don't apply to them.  As I patiently (sometimes impatiently) await my turn to merge right, other arsehats decide that it is the cool thing to do to drive over the painted-no-longer-a-lane area to "merge" right.  

I'm unsure if I am so irritated by this because they are constantly breaking the law and not getting caught or because I'm too much of a goody-good to break the law myself and therefore am stuck waiting my turn to merge.

In my next life I am driving without abandon.  Don't worry, I'll at least sign up to be an organ donor to even things out.

Have a Magical Day!

First, a little good news: the 3 legged cat finally reappeared today.  I had been worried since I hadn't seen it in nearly a month and it has been so insanely hot outside.  I threw an ice cube in the water I set out for it.

Second, the fish I bought for my classroom has been acting strange.  It buries itself head first into the rocks.  I'm guessing it's because he hates the lights?  I'm going to work on finding some sort of hiding space for the fish for inside the tank.  His new name is Jack.  Funny, since last year's fiction assignment was "Where's Jack?".  Little did anyone know, Jack was really a fish.  

My school is still under construction.  That's been an adventure.  Here's to learning how to be more patient when things are miscommunicated.  I cannot change others or their actions, but I can change myself and my circumstances.

I've inadvertently taught how to imply things.  Everything is "magical".  Disney folk, you'll understand.  

Back to School

Well, it's time.  I guess I've somewhat already been back at work since I've had training for the past week and a half.  However, now it's officially time to go back to school for the teachers in my district.  WHOO! (Right?)

I may be an odd duck out for this, but I'm excited for the new school year.  I've picked up a handful of really good tools in the past week and a half of training which I can't wait to use.  That, and I've been really bored.  It's not that I haven't had things to do this summer - I have.  Maybe I'm a workaholic.  I prefer to think of it as I prefer to have a greater purpose to dedicate myself to on a daily basis.

Anyway, my future father-in-law sent me this teacher joke today and I figured I'd share it in honor of going back to school.  Good luck everyone going back!

A former Sergeant with the Marine Corps, having served his time, took a new job as a school teacher; but just before the school year started he injured his back.

He was required to wear a plaster cast around the upper part of his body. Fortunately, the cast fit under his shirt and wasn't noticeable. On the first day of class, he found himself assigned to the toughest students in the school.

The smart-alecky punks, having already heard the new teacher was a former Marine, were leery of him and decided to see how tough he really was, before trying any pranks. Walking confidently into the rowdy classroom, the new teacher opened the window wide and sat down at his desk.

When a strong breeze made his tie flap, he picked up a stapler and promptly stapled the tie to his chest. 

.....Dead silence... He had no trouble with discipline that year.

Wrapped Up (Part 3)

My original intention was to go old style pilot - which translates in my head to black leggings, knee high boots (I have some amazing boots), some kind of shirt I didn't give any thought to, and a white scarf tied around my neck.  I was most excited about the boots and leggings.  Pairing the two make me want to climb things  and crouch around like Catwoman.

Alas, I was too tired this morning to figure out a solution to the problem of not knowing what shirt to wear, so the whole idea was scrapped in favor of tennies, jeans, a navy shirt and a white scarf.  The V neck of my shirt went well with the style of the scarf.  I don't know what the actual name of the style is, so I'm going to call it the lazy ascot.  I'm not sure I'd wear this style again, though I think it looked good.

I'm getting bored with these bathroom pictures, so expect more odd poses.  I have no idea why I am contemplating the ceiling.

 

Wrapped Up (Part 2)

My good friend, Arianne, sent me a whole slew of ways to wear a scarf.  I liked the way this one was tied.  You pretty much fold it in half, put it around your neck, thread one end of the scarf through the end loop, twist the loop once and thread the other end of the scarf through.  Viola.  

I was concerned the scarf would be too heavy - it's a silk scarf by Anne Klein.  However, it was the only thing keeping me mildly warm today.  I forgot how thin the leggings and shirts from Victoria's Secret are and how cold the trainings for school are typically.  

Since the whole outfit looked nicely put together, I'll probably wear the whole ensemble again.  

Yes, that was taken in the bathroom.  Enjoy the peek at my shower curtain and rug.

In other news, my Sebring was posted for sale at a dealership in El Paso, TX.  It was pretty much my first car.  I exclude my Porsche 944, though it truly was my first car, because I never really learned how to drive it.  I'm really going to miss the Sebring.  Here's hoping somebody buys the car and loves it as much as I did.

Sebring LXi Listing

Wrapped Up (Part 1)

Last summer I bought a bunch of summery (read: not heavy) scarves with the intention of wearing them and looking absolutely fabulous and chic (not like a hobo, like one suggested).  I got them home and realized, after a little bit of trial and almost all error, that I had no idea how to wear a scarf.  So into a box they went.

I recently re-discovered this magical box of scarves and instantly became re-frustrated with the concept of summer scarves.  In my frustration, I turned to Facebook and asked my friends how in the heck to wear a scarf in the summer.  I got varied responses.

I've decided to try them all and document them for you here.  I'm unsure how "wear it like a pirate" day will go, but I'm game.

Today's adventure in scarf land was the "square scarf around the neck and tied to the side".  Half the battle was finding a shirt to pair with this style.

I got a few remarks about the scarf - mostly positive, some entertaining.  All in all, I'd say I would wear this style again.

I know the coloring of the picture sucks.  My apologies.  Maybe I'll take the next one outside.  Maybe.