if i had my own world... there'd be no more... packed parking lots

yesterday morning i started writing a post about something semi-interesting (to me at least) that has nothing to do with what goes on in my everyday life because i like to shake it up sometimes. since i had already written a post about sadness (but mostly nothing) just an hour earlier, i had decided to save it for today. but then i went to campus, and the frustration that i suffered pushed semi-interesting thoughts to another day.

so, a bit of backstory. i used to drive to campus all the time. obviously. but then i got married and only had one class to take and buying a parking permit for hundreds of dollars so that my car (that i did not have at the time) could sit on a mason lot for three hours a week just did not make sense. especially since there was a shuttle that went from basically my backyard to campus every day. then i made a stupid decision and started the struggle that is the mason phd program. and while i was on campus more often, all of my classes were night classes and the shuttle starts running at three and i still did not have a car and parking permit prices were raised. so i continued to just take the shuttle, and when i needed to be on campus for a bit early in the day, i would use the meter parking (where it is usually very easy to find a spot). (side note: my husband and i were sharing his car at the time. he was also taking classes. so the car was usually free in the mornings.) 

but this semester i have to be on campus a lot. and most of the time it is before three. and paying for parking every day just did not make sense, so i went out and bought myself a parking permit. (my credit card was really sad that hundreds of dollars were spent on something besides books. it's still in mourning.)

but the thing about taking the shuttle for the past few years was that, while i knew that parking on campus was bad (i mean, it's not something that you easily forget), i guess i distanced myself from exactly how bad. yesterday, i found out just how awful it really is. (the university got a bunch more students, closed some of the lots, and "doesn't guarantee you a space with the purchase of a permit" which basically means that they sell way more permits than they have available parking spaces.) i sat in my car circling the lots forever. to put things into perspective for you, i went through the entire maroon 5 CD that i had playing in my car and still did not find a spot. 

and every time i would leave an area all the parked cars in it would just disappear and everyone behind me would miraculously find spaces immediately. so the next time i would stay in an area longer, knowing that the minute i left it the students would be out of class and come move their cars, but they never came. the second i left, there they all were. i should hire myself out as a spot finder for other people. maybe that way i could get back the money for this permit that makes me half an hour late to my office hours and annoyed to the point of wanting to punch every single person i see in the face. 

i obviously have a great semester of parking to look forward to. 

*Secret Crowds - Angels and Airwaves

i can tell that we're going to be friends

yesterday i got pulled over by the cops for the very first time in my entire life. i've never even been with someone who's been pulled over before. but there i was, eleven thirty at night, just leaving mason's campus to drive my sister home, and i see the flashing lights come on behind me. my first thought was, "wait... he can't be pulling me over, can he? no of course not." a couple of seconds later, after the realization that we were the only two cars on the road hit, i pulled over. i was tired, cut me some slack. anyway, he comes over to my sister's side of the car, and she rolls down her window. this is how our conversation started:

sister: ooh it's cold.
cop: yeah, the weather's changing again.
sister: i know. it's crazy! i mean, you don't know what kind of shoes you'll need when you wake up in the morning.
cop: *slightly confused laugh* is that the problem with the weather changing, then?
sister: of course!

then he proceeds to tell me that i rolled through a stop sign, and a few minutes later he said that since i had a good record he would let me off with a warning. we then all said bye and good night like we were good friends and i forced myself to wake up for the rest of the drive.

my sister is weird like that, making friends with the randomest of people at the randomest of times. i remember when she called to activate her credit card, she was on the phone forever. when she hung up she started telling me the life story of the dude that was activating her card (i forgot his name), including where how was going for spring break, how long he would stay there, and who he was going with. she was sad that she'd never get to talk to him again because, "he was really cool."

*We're Going to be Friends - The White Stripes

i'm driving in my car

i remember reading Tex in sixth grade while a friend and I were in the middle of our SE Hinton phase. there was one part in the book when tex and mace are driving to town and tex asks his brother if he ever wonders about the story of everyone else on the road. every other driver is going somewhere and to them, it's a hundred times more important than where mace and tex are going. mace, who has way too many responsibilities for a kid his age, is suffering from an ulcer and basically says tex is stupid.

ever since i read that a million years ago, i can't help but think of everyone's stories when i'm on the road. sure, they're all made up, and most of the time are probably really really far from the truth, but i still do it. i divorce some people and widow others. i make some fall in love and others fall out of it. i make people desperate and excited and tired. i give them long distance relationships and guilty secrets and business trips. i make dreams come true and hopes shatter. i create traffic jams and strings of nights sleeping in clothes on motel beds. people become pilots and CEOs and liars. they go out for diapers and never come back. they stop for milk and find the love of their life. no matter how uninspired i'm feeling, the minute i get into a car, my mind is able to think up a million and one scenarios from a quick glance in a car.

random note: there are a bunch of emails sitting in my inbox waiting for replies. if you are the sender of one of these emails, know that i'm not ignoring you i just don't have the time/brainpower to answer right now. but i will try to eventually.

*Fire - Bruce Springsteen

you're a creep

latest in the series of creepy guys i run into on campus, is this dude (and his friend) in my security auditing class. i've talked to him a couple of times before, but just the basics like 'what do you think of the class so far?' 'have you looked at the homework yet?' and that kind of stuff. yesterday, my first class got out early so i was a little early to the second one. i was sitting on a bench outside of the room waiting for it to empty. creepy dude and his friend come over.

creepy dude: hey.

me: *looks up from phone* hi. *small smile. looks back down.*

creepy dude then asks basic how are you questions and turns to his friend to talk about how i did my undergrad at mason and i was in forensics and stuff as if i was not sitting a foot away from them. i pretended not to hear him.

creepy dude: so, did you look at the homework yet?

me: um... it's not due for another two weeks, right? i don't usually start things this early. i'll probably look at it the weekend before it's-

creepy dude (cutting me off): your face glows. *creepy smile*

me: uh-

creepy dude's friend (cutting me off): like a pregnant lady's!

me: oh. um... okay... thanks?

we get into class and are told to exchange contact information. i take creepy dude's email address. he faces the front for a few minutes and then turns around again.

creepy dude: i noticed you asked for my email address.

me: um... yeah... ?

creepy dude: why didnt you just ask-

me thinking that there's no way in hell i'm giving him my number because he seems like someone who would be a constant caller.

creepy dude: my facebook?

me: i dont usually exchange facebooks with people for contact information.

creepy dude: oh, so you have a facebook?

me: uh yeah.

creepy dude: i'm gonna add you. what do you call yourself on it?

me: my name.

creepy dude: sexy sarah *said in a way that made me wanna go shower and with a sleazy smile.*

me: no.

driving home, i laughed about it with my sister. and then we put my ipod on shuffle, turned the radio up really loud, and sang like idiots at the top of our lungs as we drove through the dark and nearly empty streets home. fun.

*You're a Creep - Aneta Langerova

i learned to play on the safe side so i don't get hurt

i doubt i'll ever be jumping out of a plane armed with only a flimsy parachute. as much as i say it looks fun, bungee jumping is definitely nowhere in my plans for the future. even if it wasnt against my religion, i cant see myself drinking or getting into drugs. i have too strong of a survival instinct. unfortunately, that instinct only covers things that i view as "extreme." i have the same complacent attitude about some of the more everyday risks that put me and others in danger as i do about germs. i lay for hours in the sun without sunblock simply because i'm too lazy to put it on... there's no way i'll get skin cancer. i won't buckle up if i'm in the back seat... what are the odds of a car crash throwing me through to the front? if i need to, i'll text in the car... i'm a good enough driver to multitask.

this public service announcement (PSA) produced by the gwent police department shows just how big of a risk that last one is. the psa was said to be too graphic and violent to be shown on american tv (though it's nothing worse than what most shows are airing) so americans can really only see it online. having grown numb to most of the psa's showing in america, i think this one os great for shocking people into action - or in this case, unaction.

in the video, a teen driver gets distracted by her texting and hits a car head-on. after that crash, another car hits them in a side collision. you see the texting driver screaming hysterically as she realizes her friends are dead. the camera switches to a young child in one of the other cars asking why his [dead] parents are not waking up. it switches again to a glassy eyed baby who was also killed in the collision. the video continues with the police and paramedics on the scene.

did you know that the chance of crashing increases 23 times when you're texting?? that's more than drunk driving! but people still dont see it as a big enough risk to take seriously. only 17 states ban texting while driving for all drivers.

is this really a risk you're willing to take?? no text message is worth your life... or anyone else's.

share the video. the more people see it, the better.

*Because of You - Kelly Clarkson

trying to turn around on a one-way street

for years, i hear people talking about 'that far fish place' as the most amazing seafood you could ever eat ever in your whole life... at least living in jeddah. me and my sisters are the only people in the family who hadnt gone, or were. last night we (or me and oneof the sisters) went with a few of our cousins. the place was good, we had fun, but the real story comes in before we even get there.

we pick up K from her job at nine and head off to the fish place. it's getting pretty close to ten when we start getting close (yes, the far fish place was named that for a reason). so we're driving and all of a sudden K goes, 'dad, you were supposed to turn off there.' he immediately says, 'no, i'm sure there's another exit to get to it coming up.' there wasnt, which K was kind enough to point out. repeatedly. we drove right past the place but couldnt turn off the road anywhere to get to it.

let me take a minute to describe the road situation. it'll make the rest of the story seem slightly less insane. from left to right: there were lanes going in one direction, a cement barrier (not the sidewalk kind but the mini wall kind), lanes going in the other direction (which we were on), a bunch of sand, some more cement barriers and fences, a side road and the restaurant.

so we go past the restaurant and realize that we're gonna have to drive a while before we can u-turn when the other cousin we were meeting started to call and ask where we were. K got a bit impatient and told her dad to go turn in the sand and just drive in the wrong direction until we got to the missed turn-off. he went into the sand, but refused to get back on the road in the wrong direction. so he started driving in the sand hoping to find a place where there wasnt cement or fencing to cut through to the side road.

we drove for a while in the sand, getting closer and closer to the missed turn and further from the restaurant... still no place to leave the sand. we finally come to an empty sandy lot with still no way to get out. K gets out of the car and walks around for a bit, coming back to tell us that she found a way out. there was a rampish type sandy part which apparently seemed drivable. so, though A is calling them both stupid, K guides her dad to where he should drive up. we start up a little bit before our tires start spinning and we create our own sand storm, completely obscuring our view.

after giving up from that, we go back on the sand the way we had come and make it to in front of the restaurant, but still separated by the barriers and side road. A was all for parking there and walking the rest of the way. K was not.

after a few more minutes, the dad (I'm gonna call him Mr. O from now on, it's shorter) finally gave in to K's crazy idea. he drove back up the sand and got back on the road... driving in the wrong direction. at night. with cars coming directly towards us. yes, we stayed in the service lane as much as possible, but this is saudi arabia where everyone drives in the service lane. my sister's inner comm major came out as she let everyone know that she didnt want to die - loudly and repeatedly.

after a few more illegal (though i'm not really sure that matters here) moves, we make it to the turn and get to the restaurant to eat. surprisingly, all in one piece. no one even honked at us, which makes me think it's not all that uncommon on that road. not something i find very comforting.

*Not Meant to Be - Theory of a Deadman

it's not right, not ok

the commotion of a story that just happened:

we were at our cousins' house (the cousins we are with all the time and the ones who are mentioned a few times on this very blog, lets call them K and A) and it was getting time to go. my cousin had a fight with her brother over the weekend and he is not one to get over things fast, or let you get over them. this wouldnt be such a problem except for the fact that he's usually the one that takes us home at the end of the night. so today their dad was supposed to take us home. it was agreed upon and everything. but he decided to sleep early and didnt let K or A know so that we wouldnt have to leave early. so when K calls to say 'okay where are you', he says 'i gave the key to your brother.' she was annoyed but whatever what's done is done. so we get in the car and she doesnt want to sit in front (her usual seat) because she's so beyond annoyed with him that sitting that close might lead to the start of a world war. my sister sits in the front instead. it's a silent ride to our house, with a quick stop at the gas station store thing. we get to our house, close the gate behind us, and hear a car speed off only to screech to a halt not too far away. we are halfway up the stairs to our house when my sister notices that the car is stopped and K is getting out and walking back towards our house. we run downstairs and open the gate just as she reaches it.

apparently he said either she rides in front or he leaves her here - he was not going to look like a driver. he threw the key at her and stalked off, telling her to decide. so she came back to our house to call her dad to pick her up (she had left her cell at home). of course, that means the dad would have to take a taxi to our house because the brother used his car. the dad was annoyed cause the brother had already told his distorted side of the story. a couple of phone calls later, K decides to give the brother the key (which she still had) and take a taxi home. so she goes back down and we head into our rooms. we of course each go to our windows to see what happens, and see K waving at us to come down. my sister runs down again to let her in. it turns out, her brother hadn't left to let her decide. he had just left her.

that is wrong for several reasons. girls can't drive in saudi arabia, so she was basically stranded with a car, and not even right in front of our house. what if we hadnt seen her? also, you never ever ever not for any reason leave a girl alone on a street at night here. i dont care who she is or what just happened. you dont do it. we live in a pretty deserted area, but there are still cars that come by, some of them carrying guys that i would not like to be stranded on the street with.

end of story: the dad took a taxi and came to pick up his daughter and his car.

sure, K could have sucked it up and just sat in the front seat, maybe even should have, but sometimes you just cant. you are so mad at the person (which she has a right to be) that you cant bear to be next to them. and really, would it have killed him to just drive the five minutes it took to get home without anyone in the front seat? he's furious with her, too, so i cant believe that he would have wanted her next to him either. and no matter what, you do not say you are leaving for a minute and disappear, leaving your sister stranded on the street. you dont do it.

*Better That We Break - Maroon 5

speed so fast i felt like i was drunk

whenever i hear virginians complain about the "bad drivers," i have to laugh. the worst driver i've seen over there would still be too cautious to drive in jeddah. you've heard of places where the traffic laws are more like suggestions?? yeah, jeddah's not like that. here, they're more like big jokes. to be a good driver, you really have to disregard a lot of the traditional rules of the road. people drive between two lanes so that they'll always be able to get into the one that's moving faster. i've seen people make a left turn from the right lane of a four lane street. right of way goes to the person who wins the game of chicken. if someone is going the wrong way down a one way street, they will rightfully honk angrily at every car they pass going the right way. i've been in countless almost-accidents. but though this driving is awful by any standard, it's a normal part of life here. i rarely think twice about it. it just makes everything a little more exciting.

since this is a post about driving, let me take this chance to wish a particular car full of desperate guys an accident. a really big one. after sharing a room with my sister for the past eight years, i have developed a habit of leaving the windows of my room uncovered - like i dont close the curtains or whatever. now, i get claustrophobic if i cant see outside. i have really big windows - i like the sunlight - so people often have a problem with this because, yes, you can see into my room. in america, my bed is out of the way so it's not a problem. and here, we now live in the middle of nowhere with like one neighbor so it isnt a problem either. or it wasnt until i noticed that the same car full of guys had circled around our house at least five times. i noticed when they stopped in front of my window and held their number up. so now i'm sitting in the dark getting a headache from the computer glare. i mean, really, do you have nothing better to do on a friday night that look into my window and stare at me sitting on my bed with my baggy tshirt and sweats?? if that's the case, then i sincerely pity you.

*Fast Car - Kristian Leontiou