RAWWWRR...
Man, I came SO close to complete road-rage this morning.
I was driving to work and a complete and total fucking asshole, pardon my language, decided that they would either move into the spot in front of me or die in the process. This, mind you, while we were *just moving out* following a red light. I was the third car through in the far right lane at Kolb/Golflinks, going west; we were stopped, the light turned, the asshole moved up and put on their blinker-- and started shifting over. Please keep in mind, there was approximately THREE WHOLE FEET between me and the car in front of me-- seriously, three feet; their front bumper was overlapping the person in front's rear bumper, their back entire half of the car was overlapping mine-- their back bumper was behind where I was sitting.
I laid on my horn and swerved into the turning lane to the right (and thank the gods nobody was there, or I would've hit them)... and they kept coming. They actually forced me into the turning lane and kept going; the car in front gunned it and got out of the way with very little to spare, and I had to swerve *back* into the lane in the middle of the intersection. I kept the horn blaring the entire time, and I hope I embarrassed the shit out of them. Doubt it, though.
WTF?? They didn't even get over there so that they could turn-- instead, they moved up a bit and kept dragonfly-ziggzagging in and out of traffic. No, they just felt they could go a little faster if they forced somebody out of their place on the road.
I have to admit, for one really, really stupid second I wished that they had hit me; it would've been their fault, my car (which could use some body work) would get repaired (this was a late-model little silver car of some sort in good condition) and they would've been charged. But, you know, we were in bumper-to-bumper traffic; if they had, the cars behind would've piled up, the ones in the lane the asshole was moving from would've hit, and there would've been a minimum 6-or-7-car pileup.
I'm not a perfect driver. I'm known for being agressive and impatient, and yes, I do speed. But I do NOT, NOT, NOT force people out of their lanes. I've never done that, and if I ever do I hope a cop sees me. Again, WTF?? I saw the same driver slide into a spot on the far left that the car could barely fit into, just before a stoplight; the big SUV behind visibly swerved to avoid hitting them. They went on past where I turn to go to work, headed downtown.
This person will, someday, very likely cause their own death and/or that of others. I still can't believe they actually forced me into a right-hand turning lane just to get into my lane-- I wasn't in their blind spot, and unless they were stone deaf they couldn't have avoided hearing me, I had my windows open and there wasn't hugely loud music pumping from their car. They were, plain and simple, an asshole who didn't care what they did to anybody else. If someone had been in the turning lane and we had collided, I wonder if they would've stopped at all? I very much do not think so.
Okay, I've had my rant and I feel a bit better. But dear gods... There've been times that I wished I could curse people in certain peculiar ways-- never anything physically harmful, what I think of as 'effect' curses. One of these would be for all four of their tires to immediately explode in the instant that they put a key into a car ignition. Every time, no matter where, no matter whose car; BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!!! Every time. Warms my heart just to think of it, they wouldn't even make it out of the parking space.
**sigh** Wishful thinking, though... No, my driving's not perfect, and those who've ridden with me may be looking at me sideways right now and thinking 'hypocrit.' But this, no; not-perfect doesn't equal as-bad-as-this, so y'all can just shut the hell up, okay? -__- Ever been in the car with me when I had a wreck, hm? No, didn't think so. Imagine that.
Mother goddess on stilettos. I *really* don't want to die in a car crash, next to dying in my sleep it's pretty much #2 in the Don't Do This list. Urrrgh... Yes, I'm still angry. I started writing this in order to calm down, right after I got to work and was totally furious; I've had to get out of it for most of the morning due to stuff I'm finishing, and I only just now got back in and wrote this last bit. Believe me, I'm much calmer now than I was then-- I was scared. Anger and fear and all that adrenaline, right.
Think I need to go hiking again this weekend; it's getting to be a very good way to settle my nerves and achieve the goal of exercise. Anybody got any suggestions as to a place that's, say, within an hour's drive? I can always go back to Madera, but I'd like a change if anybody knows of somewhere relatively cool and shady.
Ooookay. **deep breath** Calm Ysabet is Calm. Graahr.