I got time on my hands

I woke up on the wrong side of the bed today, so I made a list of things that don't tickle my fancy....

Straight to the list

1. Tags: clothes tags are a given. No one likes them. They are a nuisance and a waste of resources in my opinion. However, if there is one thing I despise more than clothes tags, it has got to be bedding tags. I HATE THEM! Nothing makes my skin crawl worse than the sensation of comforter or pillow tags rubbing against my skin. While I make sure to cut the tags off my bedding, I cannot do the same with other people's stuff.

2. Orange and/or citrus scented/flavored anything: I love a nice chilled glass of orange juice. My go to breakfast of choice is a toasted bagel with cream cheese and a side of orange juice. I also enjoy the occasional orange/mandarin/tangerine fruit and that is as far as my love for orange goes. Orange candy, orange soda, orange/citrus fragrances I cannot tolerate and they go straight to the trash. The smell of the fake stuff makes my stomach churn.

3. Cops

4. Flu shots: fact: the flu shot will not give you 100% protection against the flu. Fact: flu shots are mandatory for healthcare workers...unless you have a doctor's note. Fact: I've gotten the flu shot for the past 5 years. Fact: I've gotten the flu the last 3 out of the last 5 years. Fact: I currently have the flu. Fact: to hell with the flu shot. 

5. Uneven roads/potholes/craters in roads/steel plates: DC is notorious for uneven roads and crater sized holes in their roads. Some roads are so uneven, it feels like the car is going to lose a wheel, if not the entire vehicle falling apart while driving on it. NoVa on the other hand has a problem with manhole holes. There is one particular section of Rte 1 that feels like an obstacle course from having to constantly navigate around what seems like hundreds of  random sunken manholes which might as well be potholes. 

6. Hot drinks: they are great in theory. Nothing better than a hot cup of coffee, chocolate or tea on a cold day. But as soon as I finish a cup of whatever, I immediately feel really hot, like burning sweaty hot, and then my stomach starts to feel funky and I must chase it with an ice cold drink of water which gets me back to feeling as cold as I was before I had the drink. Lose-lose situation for me. Maybe I'm just weird. 

Something else happened

Oh me oh my! I just realized I never followed up on my last post.

My ticket got dismissed y'all, YES!

After parking in what I later found out to be a spot reserved for motorcycles only, and being skipped in line because of a broken  number machine (you know, the pick a number and wait to get called system), either that or workers not doing their work like they were supposed to which ended in me staying for close to 2 hours instead of 45 minutes, which meant I had to keep feeding the meter for longer than expected, I was finally called to go in front of the adjudicator along with two other gentlemen.

I the first person to be called and I was asked to sit at the end of a table and look directly into a tv monitor with an attached camera...definitely not what I was expecting. I was in the hot seat. Well the adjudicator proceeded swear me in, read me my rights and violations and ask me for what I was pleading (not sure of the technical term here) and then he proceeded to pull A VIDEO FILE of the events from that faithful day. I must admit, my heart skipped approximately 10 beats when he mentioned the video. All I kept thinking at the time was OH CRAP. Then came the moment of truth when he asked me to provide an explanation as to why I shouldn't have to pay. So I told him exactly why I shouldn't have to pay. I said: BECAUSE I GOT CAUGHT IN THE RED LIGHT. AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THE VIDEO, THE LIGHT TURNS YELLOW RIGHT AS I APPROACH THE CROSSWALK BUT I DID STOP!!! I DID NOT RUN THE RED LIGHT. I was also thinking about saying GEEZ, CUT ME SOME SLACK. WE ALL KNOW DC TRAFFIC/PARKING TICKETS ARE DESIGNED TO RIP OFF PEOPLE ANYWAY WITH YOUR PHONY WORKERS AND TRICKS, HENCE THE REASON WHY YOU BROKE A RECORD IN THE NATION BY MAKING $120 MILLION IN PARKING TICKETS ALONE LAST YEAR. YEAH I KNOW THIS HAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH MY MOVING VIOLATION BUT I JUST NEEDED TO REITERATE. Well, I didn't say it in those exact words but it was close enough. I was then asked about my driving history, whether I had any other tickets from the past two years. Answer: NO. So, he agreed that though I was in the crosswalk, I did stop and since I had no previous tickets I wouldn't have to pay up.

He then wrote me the dismissal letter, handed me a copy and I was out of that building so fast. It was such a relief to know I didn't have to pay that ticket. 

It happened....again

Sigh... It seems I just can't do great things while behind the wheel anymore. Why won't the universe just let me be great? Why I ask?

Got a ticket in the mail.... $150

What the stupid camera didn't capture was me stopping to let some pedestrians cross (that lady and guy behind the van in picture 2. I remember clearly because I was checking out their store bags, you can see them if you maximize the image)...and also the fact that I was making a right turn on my way home from church!!!!!!!!

I will be in court (or wherever it is that people go) to contest and adjudicate this ticket. 

I just need find my power suit so I will look right for my day in court!

It happened

I got in my first fender bender and I was at fault.

Good news is: I was surprisingly calm soon after it happened.

Better news is: the damage to both cars was very minimal; my license plate and the holder is a bit banged up...nothing too noticeable. The man's car had a punch hole in his rear bumper from one of the screws that hold my plate in place. My plates also left color indents on his bumper but that will come right off after a couple of washes.

Best news is: the man decided to let me go. God bless him for the kindness he showed me. I'm very very grateful for that.

Thank God for little big mercies.

It could have been much worse.....pic borrowed from sfcitizen.com

I want to Eat Mor Chikin

All this talk of Chick fil A these past couple of days is making me crave their diabetes in a cup lemonade, artery clogging nuggets and yummy waffle fries :-)

Un/fortunately, there isn't one remotely close to me.


Go fried chicken!!!!

Drinks for the Summer Heat

During these dog days of summer with particularly oppressive and borderline unreal heat outside, nothing beats the temperature better than an ice cold drink. Some of my favorite summer drinks are Starbucks Iced Apple Chai, a good old Sweet Tea from Micky D's, yum yum...not to be confused with Iced Tea, or worse, Lemon Iced Tea, yuck!!! A cola Slushee or Icee isn't bad, neither are fraps or iced coffee, although I'm not a huge fan of the latter. But for those days when I crave imitation Mexican food, nothing compliments my steak quesadilla and mystery meat taco while cooling me down better than a delicious meat flavored mango and strawberry Fruitista Freeze from Taco Bell. No the drinks aren't flavored with meat, but I find that my drink is always somehow mysteriously infused with a hint of meat!

2012 Olympics

I was glued to my tv on Friday evening like the millions of other viewers across America to watch the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics and the show was rather anticlimactic for me. I couldn't finish the whole show because I had an emergency and had to leave halfway through the show and I wasn't even bothered by it. Anyway....

Go team USA and team Ghana!

These are the athletes I'm rooting for this year:
1. Team Gabby Douglas: besides the fact that she bears an uncanny resemblance to one of my friends, who can resist her charm?? She's SO cute and I hope she wins gold in all her competitions.
2. Team USA Women's Gymnastics: I get the fact that everything needs to be technical and what not but let's face it, these are a bunch of high school sophomores and are nowhere close to women. They are such an adorable bunch and I want to adopt them all. I just saw the breaking news that they won team gold, yay. I had no doubt in my mind that they were going to crush the competition, which they did with ease. Congrats Fab Five!
3. Team Ryan Lochte: this is an old classmate of mine from high school. He won many swim meets for our school back in the day and it's great to see him do so well on the world stage. Go Ryan!
4. Team Missy Franklin: another cute teen sensation. She's so poise and she's determined to showcase her talents to the world by winning gold in the women's 200 free (um...free what? Lol. I guess freestyle).
5. Team Duke Micah: Ghana's representative in fly weight boxing who won his first match! Woo hoo. I hope he wins all subsequent matches and brings home the gold.




RIP John Evans Atta Mills.