Frustrated at Traffic? or Just Frustrated?

The answer is yes.  I am frustrated.  For me, my level of frustration at traffic is a good barometer of my overall mood.

I just got back from a trip to Phoenix.  Interstate 10 most of the way and that’s where my frustration begins.  Or is it?  I have to say that there isn’t a stretch of Interstate anywhere that I know of where that many people purposefully camp out in the left lane.  The speed limit is 75 through most of that stretch and most of the folks going 65 or 70 do hang out in the right lane.  However there are exceptions.  There are also a surplus of folk who go 74 and refuse to move into the right lane when faster cars approach them from the rear.  What is going on there?  Did their folks teach them wrong or not at all?  Are they too lazy to actually engage in the driving process?  Too lazy to actually change lanes as road conditions and traffic warrant?  It not only annoys me, but it’s dangerous!

EVERY time I drive to Phoenix I get annoyed with this bad driving behavior.  However, there is more going on here.  Many times, I am able to set aside my disgust and/or anger and cut the obviously bad drives some slack.  Maybe they weren’t taught by good driving parents like I was.  My Dad is a fantastic example of how to drive correctly, especially on cross country drives on the interstate.  Perhaps they don’t know any better.  (of course the signs that read, “Slow Traffic Keep Right” could be a helpful hint, but I digress)

In the Bible Paul talks about helping out our brothers with weaker faith.  Romans 14:1-3

¹Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. ²One man’s faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. ³The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him.

Driving and eating meat aren’t exactly the same, but hopefully I am drawing the connection for you.  In Christianity, we accept our brothers and sisters who might have weaker faith and don’t pass judgment.  On the highway, when I am in the proper mood, I don’t pass judgment on poorer drivers because I figure they are just clueless and it’s not really their fault.

When I am in a bad mood, for whatever reason, I have a much harder time cutting slack.  It’s a good barometer for me.  Good mood, my gift of mercy is fully functional.  Bad mood, I struggle.

The solution lies in me.  These other drivers aren’t likely to change.  (I may still launch a Public Service Announcement campaign)  The answer lies within.  I gotta maintain the attitude of mercy.  Just because you (not you.  the proverbial you) can’t drive doesn’t mean I’m gonna let it ruin my night!  I will pray that God helps you because obviously you don’t have good driving examples in your life.  That shouldn’t make me mad.  It should, and does, make me sad :-(

and the Peeps

These guys are pretty entertaining even without Glady’s

Happy Pi Day!

It’s Pi Day, 3.14.  A friend of mine reminded me on Facebook, so I reminded everyone else.  It’s getting a few comments, like this one:

“e to the x dy, dx. e to the x, dx.. cosine, secant, tangent, sin, 3.14159!”

So, I thought I’d record it.

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Like I said, Happy Pi Day!

Be it Resolved in 2010 – The Ultimate Hike

I want to try this in 2010.  I’ve climbed Pusch Peak a couple of times and Picacho Peak once, although it’s been a couple of years since I’ve done either.  I’d say at my current fitness level, I’d be looking at a couple of months of pretty intense hiking.  Assuming I got serious about this right away, I could try it this Spring.

What am I talking about?  Hiking from Catalina State Park (2,700′) to the top of Mt. Lemmon (9,080′).  Looks like an all day hike with wonderful scenery and a quite a leg burn.  Read much more about it here.  I’ve already hiked to Romero Pools numerous times including a few days before Thanksgiving and the day after Christmas.  Here’s a nice map of the trails leading out of Catalina State Park.

April sometime would be a good time to make this hike.  Plan B could be November, which would give me all year to get ready.  I’ll let you know!

I Shot a Deer!

With my camera, but still.

I decided that today would be a great day to start a morning hike along the Linda Vista Loop, just a couple miles up from the apartment (actually, I decided yesterday was a great day to start, but since I didn’t, today was a great day to start).  It was warmer than it’s been thanks to a nice cloud cover, but the wind was kinda gusty.  I figured I would warm up once I got on the trail. Turns out I was right.   50 degrees is kinda refreshing when you are huffing and puffing.   (the trail has a 300 foot vertical climb and I started out at a brisk pace… plus I am not in my best shape yet)

I was probably a little past half way around the loop when I heard some crashing through the bushes.  Two White-tailed Deer bounding by about 50 yards in front of me!  They keep trucking until they were out of sight, but then I guess one doubled back.  He was maybe 75 yards in front of me just sorta posed.  He gave me enough time to zoom in with my camera and get off a couple of shots.  I grazed him on the first shot, but the other two were dead on!  I feel like God rewarded me for getting off my lazy backside and getting out in His creation!  It was a great way to start the day, for sure.

Click on the pics from this morning’s hike for larger versions.

White Christmas 2009

Here’s who woke up to a White Christmas:

Snowman Mike in Anchorage

I’ll Be Home for Christmas

As in right here in my apartment.   It’s a bit odd that I don’t feel that bad about it.   I DO miss my kids and grandkids in Texas, but there is just no way I can swing a Christmas trip this year.  Other than missing them, I am good with laying low this year.

I have friends locally that are going to ask, “What are you doing for Christmas?”  and they might invite me by ’cause they feel sorry for me.  I appreciate it!  But honestly, I am good with some alone time.

It’s not usual, I guess, but I do very well in a crowd, one on one, and by myself.  When I first took the Myers-Briggs personality test when I was a teenager, I was right down the middle extrovert/introvert.  This surprises people I know, because when I am with people, the extrovert comes out.  However, I really need my alone time or I go a little crazy.  Of course, I need my hangin’ with the peeps time too or I go a little crazy.

I am looking forward to the two or three Christmas gatherings I have yet to attend in the next couple of weeks, but I am also looking forward to watching a little football Christmas Day and making some phone calls.  I’ll be home for Christmas.  Celebrating with my Savior on His Birthday observed :-)

I Ate an Eel

Yeah.  I know!  Who knew that would ever happen?!

When I was a kid in Oregon and swimming in the Mollala River, running into eels wasn’t a good thing.  Not because they were dangerous, they were just kinda gross.

Flash forward 30 years to this afternoon.  Pastor Steve invited me to lunch and suggested sushi.  I’ve had sushi once in my life and that was just this past Summer.  I’m not even sure that counts.  It was sushi that you buy at the grocery store complete withe wrapped in plastic packaging.  Still, it was pretty good!  I do like just about everything, so I was willing to try sushi for real.

We met at Kampai Sushi located on the NE corner of Oracle and Orange Grove.  Pastor Steve had some good suggestions as did the waitress.  We ended up getting a platter that included two “rolls” and 9 chef’s choice pieces.  I wasn’t sure what to expect.  I didn’t tell my pastor this, but when I saw “rolls” on the menu, I was thinking, you know… rolls.  Like bread!

Anyway, we had a “volcano” roll and a “playboy” roll.  They both had crab meat, so I figured it was gonna be good!  It was!  Pastor helped me figure out the chop sticks (I wasn’t a complete rookie, but the pointers helped) and the wasabee and we were off.  The rolls were awesome!  The pieces were varying degrees of good to really good.  The shrimp was my favorite.  The eel, well, that was my least favorite.  A little bit slimy and very soft meat.

The rolls were so good we ordered an encore that had soft shell crab.  mmmmm!  Next time (and there WILL be a next time) I will skip the eel.  The eel sauce, on the other hand was pretty tasty.

Merry Christmas from Tucson!

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