Driving while...

I have started a new Master's program to get my MA in Teaching, with a concentration in secondary English. My first class is about inclusive classrooms, and as a summer class it packs a lot of information into a short amount of time. Unfortunately I got behind on my audio lectures that are stored in an online classroom. My first test is today, and I still have 4.5 hours of lecture that I have not heard. However, I have managed to read all the reading materials.

Last night my sister suggested that I listen to the lectures on the way to and from work. That would be two hours of lecture that I could combine with time spent doing nothing else (other than driving safely). In her opinion, it would be just like listening to the radio.

I had to think about that for a while, because honestly I could do that with my laptop on the way to work. How I would take notes while I was driving would be a challenge that only a good imagination and ingenuity could overcome, but listening to the lectures was perfectly reasonable.

That is when I tried to picture myself in my car, listening to the lecture, and somehow taking notes. I have heard of a lot of people doing things while driving - putting on makeup, eating, talking on the phone, texting, doing their hair, and even changing their clothes, but I have yet to hear of someone taking a class while driving.

Honestly, I have actually tried to study on the way to an exam in my car. I would keep my notebook in my lap or on the seat next to me and look at it at stop signs and stop lights, but listen to a class? I don't think I have the ability to concentrate, understand, and retain information while I am also driving that would make it a worth while endeavor.

My inability to multitask in this manner, or admitting that I am a poor auditory learner, fit in well with the course content on learning disabilities. In this case, I do not have the superior abilities needed to succeed.

CDOUGDIG

I was running late this morning and did not get to take a cup of coffee from home to enjoy on the way to work. As a result, I stopped off at a Bruegger's Bagel shop in order to get a good cup of reasonably priced coffee. On my way out of the shopping center in which it was located, I saw a vanity plate that got my attention: CDOUGDIG.

My first thought was - Hey Doug, all I'm seeing you do is drive, not dig. Honestly, Doug, in your white Tacoma pick-up truck, who is ever going to be able to read your vanity plate while you are actually digging - or whatever else you may mean by that? Seems a little silly if you ask me, but I know, you didn't.

Maybe next time you should.

From this moment on, I am available to review your vanity plate choices and tell you which ones are funny, interesting, and worthy; and which ones are best left in your head and not on your bumper. Please submit your choices to me for comment by commenting on any of my blog entries, and I'll be sure to respond.

The motto for my vanity plate review service:

Review to avoid looking like a fool - otherwise, car-pool.

NEED NAP

I saw this vanity plate on the way to work: NEED NAP. I couldn't agree more.

Crash

On the way home from work yesterday, I witnessed a fender bender. There was quite a bit of traffic, and you could only advance in short spurts. In the lane next to me, a car ran right into the back of a stationary SUV. I had already stopped, waiting for my lane to move forward, and was looking for vanity plates to read. The SUV was about 15 feet away from me and I happened to be looking at its plate when a black car plowed into the back of it. The driver couldn't have been going more than 15 miles an hour, but he didn't even brake before hitting the SUV. He must not have been looking in front of him at all.

I turned to see what he was doing, and he was looking down into his lap. He seemed unmoved by the accident. The hood of his car was raised and crunched in and his grill and bumper majorly damaged. I was surprised by how much damage his car had sustained in such a low speed collision. The SUV seemed fine with the exception of its hitch. That was hanging by a thread after the accident.

My lane started moving again after the SUV managed to pull over to the inner shoulder of the road. I watched the black car sit in the lane in my rear view mirror for a while. I'm not sure what the driver was doing, but he wasn't moving his car out of the way of traffic.

I thought about pulling over to be a witness of the accident, but as all rear end collisions are the fault of the car in the back, I figured that I wouldn't be needed.

It was a strange experience.

On E

I can imagine that 30 years ago it was probably relatively easy to run out of gas, especially when you think of the gas shortage of the 70's, but what about today? Can any American have a valid excuse for running out of gas these days? (with the exception of my husband who's fuel gauge is broken)

Yesterday I witnessed someone on the side of the road filling the tank of their white BMW station wagon with a gas can. It appeared that someone in a green Ford had given them a lift back to their car.

Honestly, you ran out of gas in a BMW? Not only should it have a gas light to tell you when your tank is getting low, but it is sure to have some computerized voice that informs you in grammatically perfect English that, "Your fashionable European vehicle needs to be refueled in exactly 54.26 miles from the black and white, Grade B dairy cow that you are scheduled to pass on this country road in approximately 3.5 seconds."


It is my belief that you must either be a legally blind and deaf BMW driver, or you're an idiot in an expensive car. I think only the later could get a driver's license, so there you are - an idiot.

Siting: The Million Dollar Man!

That's right, guys, I saw the Million Dollar Man while commuting to work this morning. No, not the Six Million Dollar Man from the 1974 TV show, but the Million Dollar Man - completely different. Who is the Million Dollar Man, you might ask. Well, let me tell you.

The Million Dollar Man was a professional wrestler from Texas or Arizona that hit his wrestling peak in the late 80's and early 90's with the WWE, World Wrestling Entertainment (formerly the WWF - World Wrestling Federation). Today he is a motivational speaker and evangelist.

How did I see the Million Dollar Man? Well, it was rather easy. I was driving along I-40, like I do every work day morning, when a white minivan merged in front of me from an on-ramp. And there it was! The vanity plate that said it all: MILLN$MAN.

So, honestly, I didn't see him in person, but I saw what must obviously be his white minivan, right?

Amazing. Celebrity vehicle siting on the way to work. How lucky am I?

Rain Music

My husband left his CD in my car from the weekend. It's a mix of different songs including Townes Van Zandt, Old Crow Medicine Show, and Drive-By Truckers.

One of my favorite songs on the CD is by Ryan Adams - Damn, Sam (I Love a Woman That Rains). It seemed very appropriate for this morning with the rain, and it just has a wonderful melancholy sound that reverberates best with gray skies and damp coolness.

Ryan Adams : Damn, Sam (I Love a Woman That Rains)

As a man I ain't never been much for sunny days
I'm as calm as a fruit stand in New York and maybe as strange
But when the color goes out of my eyes, it's usually the change

But damn, Sam, I love a woman that rains

Clear as a bell, and sound as an old engineer
Clear as a bell, and sound as an old engineer
With talented breezes that blow off your hat with a sneer
As a man I've never been much for talking to
I'm as open as the door in her house that leads to her room
And when the color goes out of my eyes, she's usually too

But damn, Sam, I love a woman that's blue

As a man I ain't never been much for sunny days
I'm as calm as a fruit stand in New York and maybe as strange
But when the color goes out of my eyes, it's usually the change

But damn, Sam, I love a woman that rains

You should be able to listen to the song at Lyrics Mode. I highly recommend it.