Do you know what I love about blogging? Realizing I am not the only freak in the world. I was thrilled when I admitted the following things and so many of you chimed in with similar views:
- I have an addiction to office supplies and can’t walk in and out of Staples without buying new pens.
- I go through at least 6 calendars a year, re-writing all 50+ birthdays each time.
- I’m convinced McDonald’s serves the best Diet Coke.
- I don’t clean my baseboards.
- I let my dogs clean up spills for me.
The list goes on and on. Blogging is fantastic in that it gives us weirdos a community, a network of other unusual people we can consult for support. And even though I know this happens, I am still always surprised to find a kindred spirit who also re-read Christopher Pike books as an adult. Or some such odd behavior.
So, of course, I felt moved when I read the entry that Alice wrote recently. It spoke to my soul, moved me to stand up and say, “Ok. Me too.”
I joke often about how I don’t take left turns. But seriously? I don’t take left turns. Well, if there are only a few other cars out, or if it’s an intersection with a left turn arrow, (no “Yield on Green” sign though) I’ll do it. But if there is even the slightest chance that I could be faced with the decision to turn based on the speed of the oncoming traffic - I won’t do it. I know routes all over town that either avoid left turns completely, or limit them to the “safe” ones that I can make without fearing for my life.
I also avoid the interstate and major highways when there is anymore than “No Traffic” on the road. Since I leave for work close to 6am, I’ll take the highway in. But - I will NOT take it home. I take another route that is slower, has gobs more traffic lights, and goes about 5 miles out of the way. BUT I DON’T CARE. I refuse to drive through major cities on road trips, and I only use the one entrance into the Target Shopping Center with the green arrow. MrZ thinks riding in the car with me is the closest thing he can come to Hell without actually being on fire. And he would actually rather be on fire. If I had a dollar for every time he exclaimed, “OHMYGOD!” at me choosing a round-about route somewhere instead of the straight line path - I’d be rich enough to hire a driver.
I do all of this to avoid what Alice is speaking of. The anxiety and panic that overwhelms me when I’m in an unfavorable driving situation, is terrifying. I have vivid (very vivid) nightmares about dying in car crashes am convinced that everyone on the road is an idiot who is destined to kill me and my family with their 5-lane cross-highway left turns.
So, Alice. Thanks for making me feel not so freaky. And let me know if the hypnosis works.
I LOVE Christopher Pike, lol I read all his books still and I am 34 now, LOL!
As far as Christopher Pike goes, my favorites were “Remember Me” and the “Final Friends trilogy”. And yes, I’ve read them both rather recently. I love(d) those books, man.
I have a ton of Christopher Pike books, the entire Last Vampire series for sure which are hanging out on my bookshelves. They are the best to pick up and jump in the bathtub with, really quick non-thinking reads. Love em!
I don’t take left turns either! I will go right and then take a safer left turn into a parking lot, where I can then turn around and take a right.
Thanks for making us weirdos feel better. :o)
Thanks for linking to that post. I don’t drive on the highway AT ALL. I haven’t in over a year, and before I did it that time, I hadn’t done it in about a year. I hope never to do it again.
Now that I know there are MULTIPLE people out there who read Christopher Pike again as an adult, I may do just the same. Do you guys check them out at the library or where do you get them? I might be embarrassed! LOL
Oaky…so YOU talk about how weird your obsession with office supplies is…but is it weird that anytime I walk through an aisle with office supplies, I think all things Zoot? Yes? Sorry, but I do…
Sometimes I feel like I have a giant bullseye painted RIGHT on my van. It makes me crazy.
I wonder if the bad driving is a southern thing? Seriously. I am from California, and all you had to worry about out there was them running you over. Or shooting you. Maybe people are just crazy.
I get those vivid-tragic-death dreams too. It scares the hell out of me. I’m convinced I will die at the hands of another, most likely in a car, and abandoning a family. WTH?
And even MORE weird, yesterday my cousin and her 11 month old daughter were directly behind a car that was hit by an oncoming vehicle who crossed the yellow line. She swerved to miss them and avoided colliding at all, but the guy that crossed the yellow line died on impact. They were 10 feet from a fatal wreck. We hugged them both very tightly last night. You just never know…
And now that everyone reading this is depressed…
(Sorry)
I admire the left turn thing. That takes some dedication.
I don’t share your problem, but I sympathise. Actually, once I read about how much turning sucks for you and how you are kind to people who are turning in front of you (”Take your time!”) I remembered that and I’ve started being less impatient when people take ages to turn. My town is big on road rage (not that I’d get really impatient or anything).
I read Alice’s entry, and its weird, because despite the fact that I feel totally confident when driving? I still occasionally get panic attacks on the motorway. It makes no sense to me ’cause I don’t FEEL scared and at first, I didn’t even realise it was because of the motorway. I thought it was something else, so the first time it happened, I almost blacked out and had to pull over where I burst into tears and ended uphaving to go to hospital for a CAT scan of all things, as I’d also had a cold and a bad headache that day (turns out I just had sinus disease). So i thought it was just that, but I still get really panicked sometimes while driving. I don’t FEEL panicked, but my body says otherwise…I start shaking, I can’t breathe, I can’t see properly…so I understand that part of it
I felt the same way reading Alice’s post. I’m doing much better about the whole thing than I used to, but I have to say, there’s nothing worse than having a panic attack while driving, which only happens to me on the freeway. I’m tired of people telling me to just “get over it”, because it’s really not that easy.
I totally commented on that post, too, because I am desperately afraid to drive on the highway. Although my recent “I’m just sitting at a red light and - oh my goodness - that car’s totally about to hit me” accident has not left me all that certain about the city streets either. I’ve gotten a lot better in the years since our major accident, but I don’t take the highway. I don’t see it as that big a deal, but a lot of people seem to get bent out of shape about it.
Yeah, I pretty much only do “safe” left turns, too. I can drive on the highway, but really prefer not to drive on a BUSY highway…IE: around DC. I had a panic attack driving the beltway one night when it was pouring down the rain and it was dark. Now, I avoid that area on my drives to Florida from PA. I also avoid Baltimore, Richmond and Jacksonville. I haven’t figured out how to avoid going through Orlando to get to Disney, yet, though.
McDonald’s serves the best Coke products PERIOD. It’s because they are very anal about calibrating their machines to the exact specifications that Coke provides - other places adjust their settings to chintz on the syrup since it is more expensive. Also, the straws at McDonald’s are slightly bigger which changes how much you are getting when you drink it.
I’ve always found that Burger King has the best Coca Cola. It’s more syrupy, but that could be a regional thing. I love just admitting wierd things about myself now because I find so often that someone will agree or come back with their own wierd thing. It is a good bonding experience and it lets you know that it is not that…well it’s still wierd, but you’re not the only wierd one, whichc is kinda better than being normal.
I always use Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as my “excuse” to avoid driving situations…I was T-Boned at a blind left turn onto a very busy highway…one foot further and I would have not made it. So I avoid left turns, and that specific left turn, in order to avoid debilitating panic attacks. I used to avoid the interstate but now I have to drive my boss to meetings…he often comments on my white knuckles gripping the steering wheel.
If Alice is driving on the Garden State Parkway in NJ she has every reason to be terrified!! Driving on the freeway in NJ is just taking your life into your hands.
Did you know that UPS makes their drivers map out their routes to avoid all left turns? According to my husband they found that it was ultimately more efficient (and I’m sure safer!). There must be something to this. I hope you now feel less freaky. Plus you can share this little fact with MrZ when he is particularly frustrated with your driving.