Chaos, panic, and disorder- my work here is done.

OK, every morning I commute from N. Garland to N. Dallas on 190 and then in the evenings, its back the other way! I love 190 because its one of few highways that's not completely clogged up! Probably because people don't wanna spend the money to drive on it, but either way, I like being able to use the accelerator more efficiently! It was pretty nice up until now. I don't know if it's due to gas prices going up or number of death wishes going up, but I have encountered one Sunday driver after another lately while trying to get back and forth each day! Some people do this EVERY DAY!! I know this because I'm starting to recognize their cars! Yes that means YOU, you Waldo looking guy who drives the 1985 4 door Celebrity with faded paint and one working headlight!!! WHY, why must you insist on getting in the middle lane where the speed limit is 60 mph and chug along at 40 MPH?!!!! You're not the only one! There are many who do this in the dead of rush hour and infuriate all 500 cars behind them. Then we wonder why we have wrecks and angry, road raging drivers. You pokers drive me INSANE!! If you wanna to save your gas, thats FINE!!! But do it somewhere else!! I would like to AT LEAST go the speed limit and get home alive as opposed to getting run over because I'm stuck behind you!!!!! If you cause accidents, keep in mind that you also cause the gas guzzling, idling back up that sits behind the accidents. THEN who's saving gas?!!! Next time, you go on a nice little Sunday drive on a weekday, take a back road and check out the pretty scenery for the full effect!!!

I live in Firewheel (North Garland) and constantly hear about these supposed storms that "sneak" through here after midnight EVERY TIME!!!! I'm starting to become annoyed with the over-dramatizing weather forecasts that I watch almost every night lately.  I understand "Better safe than sorry" but this has grown to a point where I just don't take these guys seriously anymore! We get one flash of lightning, one clap of thunder, and a couple of rain drops and thats the extent of it.  Waaahhhhhh!  Maybe some guy in Tornado Tyler is reading this and thinking "WTF You lucky gal!" but I just I just feel the need to vent about my frustration regarding the overbearing coverage on weather that just turns out to be a plant waterer for us! Gimme some REAL storms! Rerrrrrrrrr! 

Do you ever find yourself driving in traffic or sitting at a stoplight, looking in your rear view mirror, and observing those approaching behind you?  There always seems to be that one guy that approaches and approaches and approaches closer and closer at such a high speed that you wonder if he is even gonna STOP!!  At the very last second, this person barely misses you as he swerves into the lane next to you and speeds on his merry little way!  Why do people do this?!!!!!  The best part is when this bumper brusher owns either a really nice, really big, or a really nice big vehicle!!! Its like they wanna trash it!!  Even BETTER, they have all the room in the world to change lanes loooong before they reach you, and they swerve at the last minute anyway.  I understand how some can get lost or change their mind while on the road, but it seems unlikely to me that 9 out of 10 people do this at every single intersection. I admit I'm a bit of a speeder so I can't understand why I continue to almost get run over by these people on an everyday basis. Even at an intersection, I think my car is a big and noticeable enough object that others can see it from at least A FOOT away!!!!!  So Bumper Brushers, make up your mind what you are gonna do before you find yourself up a tail pipe or fixing a dent in my bumper!!   

I heard about this story where a parent is wigging out about Texas schools having a moment of silence during the school day. He believes that it is a sneaky way of promoting prayer in schools. First of all, whats so bad about prayer from anyone of any religion? Every moment of silence I experience is not necessarily about prayer. Sometimes the quiteness can lead to clearing of the mind, better ability to focus on what you are learning, and maybe prayer is an option to get through the day. Sounds to me like the schools are trying to offer the students an opportunity to meditate in whatever way is needed to make them more focused and productive. I applaud the school system and wish that I had that priviledge as a student back in the day! I believe that its bad enough that public prayer is taboo in schools, but when you can't even give a student one moment to THINK at all, I have to draw the line on that!! Its not like the system is trying to push one belief or another on all of the students. If this freaked out father doesn't like the idea of prayer, perhaps his child should take that moment to think about how he can better his grades. Hmmmmmm....... 

A chicken and an egg are lying in bed.
The chicken is leaning against the headboard
smoking a cigarette, with a satisfied smile
on its face.
The egg, looking a bit pissed off, grabs the
sheet, rolls over, and says, "Well, I guess
we finally answered THAT question."

I'm not sure what my problem is and I'm thinking it may have something to do with the fact that people in Dallas love to drive like bats outta hell, but i can't seem to get through my paranoia while on the road myself! In November I was rear-ended (for the 2nd time in my life) by a guy while making a right turn over by my house. I have had to see a Dr. to treat my back and neck pain, so you could say it was quite a hard hit! Ever since then, I've been very skiddish on the road. I'm one of those overly careful drivers now because I constantly fear that some one will hit me again! I hate stopping at lights becuz i think the person behind me won't see it and stop in time! I hate changing lanes on the freeway becuz i always fear that some one will jump in my desired spot and broad side me! I'm scared of getting T-boned at my green light becuz some one else ran their red light! I think (even though there is no horn or crossing arms down) that if I try to cross train tracks, the Wabash Cannonball is gonna come plowing right into me! I even get scared as a passenger in other peoples cars! I know it gets on their nerves to have Lil' Miss Right Seat Driver constantly nagging at them to "Watch it" and "Stop...Wait!" So how do I over come this paranoia that has taken the enjoyment and confidence out of this easy task that i have worked on mastering for the last 14 years? I don't really wanna go to therapy over something this stupid. I know mentally I'm a great driver. I just don't trust any one else to look out for me! I'm thankful for another day in which i haven't died in a firey crash on LBJ! Hopefully tomorrow will be the same or better!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qA34ClNbH8c&eurl=

Gotta see this!

Today I was sitting at the stoplight on Midway @ 635, headed home from another Monday at the office. While waiting for the light to turn green, I noticed 2 young people (1 male, 1 female) standing on the median in heavy coats and knit hats holding up cardboard signs. Naturally I thought, "GEEZ, you stupid pan handlers! GET A JOB!" Of course anyone who sits in an office all day long between 2 treacherous commutes would think this way when seeing people just standing around doing nothing and getting dollars handed to them from those like me. I was a bit put out knowing as well that I was in for a long slow ride home myself. The young man turned around as my fellow commuters and I started to accelerate through the intersection and I began to get a glimpse of the cardboard signs, thinking they'd say some crap like, "God Bless, Hungry and Homeless, Please help, etc." To my BIG surprise these little signs said nothing of the sort. All these people wanted to get across to us was ONE word. "SMILE!!" Both people had signs with this word written in big bold letters and I could not help but to giggle in delight as I passed them by. I made eye contact with the man and he could see that I had done exactly as he asked of me. He did the same in return! Some how, my trip home was a little brighter because of these two people. I would have never thought of such an idea up until this afternoon. In a world full of hate, greed, anger, depression, and extreme ups and downs, it was a welcome random act that not only surprised me but lifted me up in a small way. I wonder how many others had their crappy day turned around just because they saw those one-worded signs from such unlikely people. I wonder why more people don't stop and take time to do something so small yet so touching to brighten the day of another random person. These 2 looked like they were having a blast standing out in the cold wind with eachother as they watched their small signs transform people's moods in big ways. When was the last time any of us decided to go do something off the wall like that? I challenge myself and all of my readers to think of a way you can do something big or small to transform either a day or the life of some one else whether you know them or not!

These are a few ideas I've heard of in the past that we can use:

In the drive thru at Taco Hell, volunteer to pay for the meal of the person behind you! At Starbucks, pay for their coffee!

Ask a random person you come across at a store how they are doing.

Compliment them on something they may be wearing. That makes MY day!

Call up an old friend to say hi and see if you can lift up a prayer or a good word for them!

Send a greeting card to some one you know is having a rough time!

Stand on a street corner and hold up a sign with a funny or encouraging word on it!

Leave a plant on someones door step with a note saying "Have a nice day!"

If you live near an elderly or disable person who gets the Dallas Morning News, bring it to their door for them!

Last but not least, SMILE!!!!!!

Ok so I stayed cooped up at home all weekend long becuz the news kept screaming that the abomidable snow man was coming to Dallas and and was gonna kill us all! It merely rained all weekend long and the worst I saw was Dalron Drive turning into Dalron River. Nice peaceful view I might add! So being the sane, safe person, I hurried home on Friday and stayed indoors literally 3 days straight. Believe it or not, going to work on Tues was a welcome reprieve for me. But I wake up this morning to find that it has snowed all over DFW and we were extremely surprised! Funny how we're expecting this on the weekend and nothing happens and then 2 days later....BAM!!! Well, I tried to get on 635 and drive into work only to slip and slide and skid all over the road everytime I tapped my brakes. Freaking out, I phoned my boss and basically said.....um.....yeah......F THIS!!!! I'm going back home! I sat in one stretch of highway for 30 minutes be4 I realized I was getting no where fast and finally exited and took the scenic route back home and to the safe warm company of my sweet lil' Melvin! Ahhh, gotta love Texas!!!

Yes,oh yes.....lovely LBJ Freeway once again has become the epitome of small wrecks turning into big shows! This morning there was an accident on west bound 635 right after the Skillman on-ramp. I sat for 30 mins listening to the radio guy telling me that the back up was all the way to Hwy 80, NO WAIT, to Oates Rd., NO WAIT, to I30. Yeah, thats my final answer. Thanking GOD I only live at Jupiter, I sat and scooched and sat and scooched, inch by inch all the way up til Skillman. At this point, there was a Tru Green Lawn Care Truck on my right inching closer and closer to me before he realized "OOPS there are actually CARS in my lane!!" Well, that made him mad. I kept looking at this vehicle, wondering if I will ever have the honor of seeing his left blinker come on. I waited and scooched and waited and scooched some more, not paying much attention the the lawn dude as I am more focused on getting past this traffic jam. He slammed on his brakes, jerked into drive, and slammed on his brakes. Still no blinkers to be seen, I just moseyed along, jamming to the radio, whatever. Then I pulled right up next to lawnmower man. Curious, I peaked into the truck and saw this....an angry guy throwing his hands in the air and mouthing out things that I really couldn't make out but I'm sure were less than friendly. But still, NO BLINKER!! I kind of chuckled and inched up further only to notice whats holding this poor man up, CONES, orange cones! Hmmmm, we must be coming up on the accident and it must be blocking his lane. So instead of curteously turning the blinker on and merging in like a good boy, he chose to sit there and throw a fit because nobody would take time to READ HIS MIND! By the time I got past the accident scene (which at the point consisted of an 18 wheeler and about 5 cop cars) I lost track of the road raging driver but still had a good giggle the rest of the way in. Well, i dunno whatever happened to the poor TRU GREEN LAWN CARE man, I hope everything worked out for the best for him. But this re-iterates what I said a month ago! I don't have ESP! No blinker, no courtesy, no spot!! Sorry!

"The Texas Attorney General's office says two North Texas fathers are among the worst child support evaders in the state, and they belong behind bars.

James Dickens of Fort Worth owes $37,028 for a child who lives in Azle. Jason Bass is behind $25,734 in payments for a child who lives in Overton."

OK, If my own dad got away w/ owing over $75,000 of child support, then who's to say these guys will ever get busted.

May God bring peace to the children these idiots left behind. There may be a lot of $$ owed, but these dad's owe so much more than money.

What I would give to have a DAD that gave a crap. The love and guidance of a father is priceless. Dads, take care of your kids, no matter the cost!!!!!!!!!!

Today I was talking to my co-worker at lunch and she mentioned to me that her cousin was gunned down sometime yesterday while trying to retrieve her belongings from the house she shared with her boyfriend. This cousin had called her father to go w/ her to collect her things so she'd feel protected from such an event, but a lot of good THAT did. My co-worker also mentioned that this made the news but after checking all the network stations websites, I have yet to find the story at all. Apparently this man wanted to reconcile with this woman and when she refused, he shot her in the back and the chest as she went inside the home to grab her stuff. He was arrested apparently afterwards.

This happened all because he didn't want to live w/o her. Now he not only has to live w/o her, but he has to live in JAIL w/o her. Why are some men such idiots??? Not all men, but the ones who do stupid stuff like this to try and hold on to what they've already lost! Now my co-worker has one less cousin, her family has one less daughter, sister, niece, friend, all because of this selfish act of one stupid man who didn't wanna lose his girlfriend!

I get angry seeing guys that do psychotic things like spy on, follow, snoop on, scream at, stalk, hit, and KILL their women when they don't get their way. I REALIZE WOMEN DO THIS AS WELL, but you just don't see women doing it this often or this violently!! I can't fathom why a man can't just let go if he has pissed his girlfriend off beyond repair and she feels the need to bail out in order to find happiness. If you can't let go of some one you love so they can be truly happy, then you really don't love them at all and it'll eventually lead to stories like this!!

Women have become possessions rather than partners anymore and its no wonder we are quick to get angry, say SCREW YOU and move on to the next guy. Women are becoming intolerant and violent as well (Believe me, i am one!) because men have used their strength and superiority to hurt and control us. What other defense do we have anymore! I call these men....WEAK!! Any man who is truly a strong man will have the strength, when the time comes, to just let go and let live!

I noticed this morning and at lunch time that the worse the weather got today, the more idiotic the drivers become on LBJ. I saw people cutting each other off, nearly taking off front bumpers. I saw people people speed right past me, going OVER the speed limit even, while they turned around and looked at me like I was retarded or something. Not the case, I'm just a normal Texan trying to not get my cute butt killed by these road conditions! I'm sorry people, but i could not believe how careless ya'll can be on the road. What is the hurry? I even almost got rear ended by a pickup who sped up behind me and barely missed clipping my back bumper while speeding over to the next lane!! I was not even going that slow!! Right below the speed limit at slowest!! I'm not afraid of the icy weather, I'm afraid of the idiots driving in it! SLOW DOWN PEOPLE! Your jobs, stores, appointments, etc. will still be there when you arrive. Well, unless of course you get yourself KILLED!!!! Have a lovely evening and stay warm! :)

OK I don’t know how many of you live or work in the Galleria area in north Dallas, but I have to drive through there each morning while heading to work, and I noticed something quite aggravating about the intersection of Alpha and N. Dallas Tollway. Often times, I have had to sit through at least 2 light cycles on westbound Alpha before I am able to head straight through the intersection. This is NOT due to heavy traffic, but it IS due to the RED LEFT TURN ARROW RUNNERS. Yep, these fine folks are coming northbound on the Dallas Parkway and turning left on Alpha to head west. Well, gol’ darn it, they miss the GREEN left turn arrow. So when my turn comes to go straight, I have to sit and look out for those who have or are currently cutting ME off by running the red light and making their turn. That clogs up the intersection until about midway into the green light cycle on the other side of the tollway overpass, which I will miss AGAIN because some one else did not wanna wait 2 minutes for another chance to turn left! I didn’t think much of it at first but now that I see it and pay the price of waiting for it every single day, this situation has started to REALLY work my nerves! This is not an occasional person. This is a group of many cars that do this! EVERYDAY!! I don’t know why their time is so much more important than mine! Somehow I keep getting cut short of getting where I need to be because I’m waiting for the impatient ones to get the heck out of my path! Whats to be gained from this, besides accidents and (I WISH) more tickets handed out for running a red light? YES, LEFT TURNERS, an arrow counts as a light!!! If you’re in that area and the arrow goes away and the light is RED, freaking STOP!! What is it that makes your destination so meaningful that you have to clutter up an intersection and cut off those who have waited patiently for their turn? I’m glad we are not all this self-centered or we’d never survive the drive each day!!

OK, think of me as your guide to the good and the bad of businesses. I am here yet again to complain about the aggravation i am experiencing from the world of consumer purchases. This past Sunday was my dear ol' birth mom's 49th birthday. For my Grandmas birthday a couple of weeks ago, i had tulips sent to her residence. She LOVED them. So did Pat, my mom. Pat insinuated that SHE would like some flowers for her birthday as well. I said, "No prob"! Well Friday, 9/1 rolls around and I remember that I should send Pat flowers for her birthday, which is 9/3. I panic and look online for a florist that can get flowers to her by Sun. The florist I normally use has no delivery dates until 9/6. OK thats fine. Its my fault for not thinking ahead. I came across 1800FLOWERS.COM and they promise delivery on 9/2, Saturday. GREAT, she can have the flowers the day before and she can actually enjoy them all of Sunday. Perfect! So i order some lilies to be sent to her on 9/2 and i pay for them. (sigh). Got that out of the way. :) She'll be so pleased. Well, Sat AM comes around and i get a phone call from the company.

"Ms. Barnhart, we don't have that particular flower available so we'll go ahead and replace it with a similar flower @ the same cost. You only need to call if you object to this. Otherwise the flowers will go out as scheduled. Have a nice day."

hmm, ok I won't call and object then. I just want Pat to have her flowers on her birthday. Sat PM comes around and I call Pat to make sure she got them.

"No flowers here", Pat replies on Sun AM.

So i called the company and they said that 7-8 florists rejected my request so 1800flowers just canceled my order and never called to tell ME that. So Pat never got her delivery.

"We're sorry," they said, "we'll refund 1/2 your $$ back and send you a gift card for 50% off your next purchase. Also we'll see this delivery gets to her on Monday (which was Labor Day)"

OK fine. So Monday AM, i get a phone call from the company.

"We regret that we can not deliver the flowers today, but we'll see that they get to Pat on Tuesday 9/5. Also we are sending you the gift card and a 20% refund."

HOLD THE PHONE!! 20%?? Ya'll told me 50% on Sunday!!!

"Oh yeah, 50%. We'll see this gets out tomorrow."

(SIGH) ok fine.

Tuesday comes and i get my 50% refund, but Pat still gets no flowers.

Wednesday, no flowers.

Thursday (today), no flowers.

No phone call from the company either!

So I call 1-800-SCREW YOUR FLOWERS back!! I explain that this order was supposed to be out last Saturday and that i feel jerked around by the company!! The lady on the other end was sooo kind as to offer to reschedule the delivery. I FEEL LIKE I'VE BEEN DOING THAT ALL WEEK LONG!! Even though Pat lives 7 hrs away from me, I could have driven the lil' bastards up there myself!!!!! NO, i don't wanna reschedule. You obviously can not handle delivering a damn bouquet of birthday lillies to Chanute, Kansas! Why reschedule so i can go through another week of this BS!! I want my damn $$ back. Just cancel the order. I'll bring her a blowpop when i go up for MY birthday, you dimwits!!!

Moral of my story is. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY unless you want your flower delivery to be "whenever we darn well please!" I normally prefer Florist.com. At least my Grandma had a nice surprise ON her birthday from them. They're also cheaper. Thats my 2 cents on this one. Good night and good luck!!