Slightly sarcastic, these are my thoughts on the things going on in MY world.

Friday, March 16, 2012

Neighborhood Watch

In an effort to avoid the traffic congestion on the Beltway, I use a series of major side roads and neighborhood streets to kinda/sorta run parallel to the Beltway for a portion of my trip in to work. I still have to deal with a stretch of the Beltway, because let's face it, back roads get congested, too!

Anyway, one of the neighborhoods that I have driven through for several years has put up a series of road "humps" in an effort to slow traffic down (they weren't always there, and I respect the fact that they're trying to keep the neighborhood safe from speeders). There are also 3(?) stop signs along the main road to keep the cut-through commuters on their toes and driving at a safe speed. There is one spot where lots of people try to stop where NO stop sign exists, which dances on my last nerve, and has also caused some close calls due to these drivers' idiocy. But that's another story; I shall step away from this, and breathe deeply.....

A little farther in my commute is another neighborhood that is trying to deal with cut-through commuters by installing a 4-way stop, a 3-way stop (at a "T"), and lately, a speed bump/hump. What I find funny about this particular location is that here recently I've observed a lady in her car, located on the other side of the road, just before the bump, slumped down in the driver's seat, facing the direction I'm coming from, - doing what? She's not there every day, but enough that she stands out. I also think she's local because the same car she sits in on the side of the road can be seen in a driveway. Is she talking on her cell phone, and doesn't want to disturb people in her home? Or is she sitting there, taking down license plates and vehicle descriptions? For what purpose? Will she turn them in to the police, who will do what with them? Am I in for a nasty letter telling me to cease and desist driving through this neighborhood? Or am I just worrying for nothing?

Strange musings from my daily drive.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

How DO You Know?

How do you know when it's time to give up? Give up on a relationship, a job you've held for over 2 dozen years (which is in its final stages, anyway), or on the current blogs you read?

Does it take the blogger no longer amusing you, or is it the fact that they haven't posted in a month of Sundays? Can you just not relate to what they say any longer? Have they become too commercial, too many sponsored posts for your tastes? Do you click on their site daily, just to see the same outdated post, day after day? If you do decide to remove them from your favorities list, do you feel guilty when you hit that delete key?

What about the job? What is the final straw that will make you say "I've had it, that's it, I can't take it any more. It's time to walk away from this, it's not worth it any more, no matter what"? What about if you can hold on for some, it-makes-sense-to-you length of time? Can you get your financial ducks in a row to see you through the coming job search, all the applying for jobs, and (hopefully!) the interviews that will lead to another job? How long can you survive without an income?

And the relationship..... That's totally personal, I understand. Only you understand your priorities, and what has to happen before you're comfortable walking away. I've discussed this, both physically and via texting, with both my girls. One is married with children of her own, the other is in a relationship - but I don't think they would say they're in a perfect situation, either. Do you wait until X happens? Do you wait until the last child is older?

I find myself thinking through all these situations, some with greater depth than others. And two of the three are way more major than one is, certainly! But my mind goes round and round, trying to weigh this against that, and see if there's a right decision out there.

Or maybe, it just has to be right for me?