Driving in Arizona...

Hey, I thought you might enjoy this -- especially those of you who are at least part-time residents. :-)

HOW TO DRIVE IN PHOENIX, ARIZONA.

1. You must first learn to pronounce the city name, it is: "FEE-NICKS".

2. The morning rush hour is from 5:00am to noon. The evening rush hour is from noon to 7:00pm. Friday's rush hour starts on Thursday morning.

3. The minimum acceptable speed on most freeways is 85 mph. On Loop 101, your speed is expected to match the highway number. Anything less is considered "Wussy".

4. Forget the traffic rules you learned elsewhere. Phoenix has its own version of traffic rules. For example, cars/trucks with the loudest muffler go first at a four-way stop; the trucks with the biggest tires go second.

However, in the East Valley, SUV-driving, cell phone-talking soccer moms ALWAYS have the right of way.

5. If you actually stop at a yellow light, you will be rear ended, cussed out, and possibly shot.

6. Never honk at anyone. Ever. Seriously. It's another offense that can get you shot.

7. Road construction is permanent and continuous in Phoenix. Detour barrels are moved around for your entertainment pleasure during the middle of the night to make the next day's driving a bit more exciting.

8. Watch carefully for road hazards such as drunks, skunks, dogs, barrels, cones, cows, horses, cats, mattresses, shredded tires, squirrels, rabbits, crows, vultures, javelinas, roadrunners, and the coyotes feeding on any of the aforementioned items.

9. Maricopa Freeway, Papago Freeway and the "I-10" are the same road.

SR202 is the same road as The Red Mountain Fwy unless you are in the south-east valley where it is the San Tan Freeway. It curves around and heads north in the Far East Valley and becomes Red Mountain Fwy again… as to where that takes place no one really knows.

Dunlap and Olive are the same street too.

Jefferson becomes Washington, but they are not the same street.

I-17 is also called The Black Canyon Freeway as well as The Veterans Memorial Highway.

And if all that isn't enough to remember SR 51 has recently been renamed to Piestewa Freeway because Squaw Peak Parkway was too easy to pronounce.

SR 101 is also the Pima Fwy except west of I-17, which is also The Black Canyon Fwy, and The Veterans Memorial Hwy.

Lastly, Thunderbird Rd. becomes Cactus Rd., but, Cactus Rd doesn't become Thunderbird Rd. because it dead ends at a mountain.

10. If someone actually has their turn signal on, wave them to the shoulder immediately to let them know it has been "accidentally activated."

11. If you are in the left lane and only driving 70 in a 55-65 mph zone, you are considered a road hazard and will be "flipped off" accordingly. If you return the flip, you'll be shot. Twice if you have out-of-state plates. No exceptions.

12. For summer driving, potholders are advisable and asbestos suits are permissible if in seasonal colors.

Mind the chicken...

Yikes - its been a bit since I posted last and there has been a lot happening. So, let's see here...

The single biggest thing has been the fact that I ended up with a particularly nasty bout of food poisoning last weekend. I had the Quick Draw on Saturday and then went with some friends up to Payson (map here) on Sunday morning. We grabbed Starbucks on the way out of town and went to Beeline up there for breakfast. We puttered around Pine and then had lunch at La Sierra and went to the North's meeting. So I got see tons of people I haven't talked to in awhile, which was really nice. But, moving on with the story... we changed clothes and headed up to the Rim afterwards. Well, partway up to the Rim -- at Christopher Creek (map here) -- I switched out driving with one of my friends because I wasn't feeling well and we continued on up to the turn-off for Woods Canyon Lake, because on the road that goes out there is a great vista point. By the time we got there I was really feeling bad so I waited in the car. But, after awhile I knew I was going to be sick - so I went off into the woods and then came back and we piled in to head back to the Valley. Partway down we had to pull over so I could be sick again and then when we were in Star Valley a few miles outside of Payson and I got really bad... my arms and legs began to constrict and cramp up and then I lost the ability to move my arms and hands and couldn't walk... it was pretty bad. So my friends called the paramedics and they took me into the hospital. They got me on IVs (OWWWWW - I HATE NEEDLES) and shot me up with some meds, did blood work, etc. and so I began to improve but I was extremely dehydrated. After I got out on Monday we all went and got some shut-eye at a friend's house up there in Pine which was really nice of them. My friends drove my car back down to the valley and I've spent the majority of the week asleep. I went in to work for two half days on Thursday and Friday and I'm planning on going back full time as of Monday. So, that was my fun Payson trip.

Let's see, the monsoon season is here... I don't know if we've officially had monsoon storms yet, but we have had some pretty big thunderstorms - and some whopping dust storms. I guess the dust has been three times the federal limit because of the storms here recently. I can tell you this... there was one last week that was so bad you couldn't even see through an intersection the visibility was so low from the dust. I literally shook dust out of my clothes when I got inside and I was only outside of the car to walk between it and the house and when I got out to return some movies. For those of you who aren't in Arizona... here is a picture of a Phoenix dust storm..

Right out of the movies, eh? They're pretty intense.

OK, I got some new lights for the bedroom... for the end tables... I'd take a picture but I'm too lazy... let me see if I can find one online... Yup! Found one. Gotta luv Google. OK, here it is... there is one on either end table now...

Oh, and I finally got my associates degree. It's officially here and all that stuff - the real paper. I had the courses done but never got around to putting in for it... and then I did and it took for-ev-er to arrive. I figured I'd get it when I retired, but lo and behold, there it was. So that's a relief... of course now I have yet something else I need to file. ;-)

The car is at 11,300+ now... and I missed my appointment to get the filter changed, etc. (it was the Monday I was in the hospital) so I've got to wait for my mechanic guy to come back from vacation - so that bites.

District Convention is next weekend - so that will be exciting! I'll get to see people I haven't seen for awhile... maybe... I'm not sure... I think most of the ones from the northern parts of the Valley had an earlier one. Oh well - it will still be fun. It looks like I actually might be staying in a hotel on that side so I won't have to drive over the 45 minutes or whatever every time. One of my friends has a big suite and extra space... and it has free breakfast!!!! (They so had me at free food).

Well that about takes care of it I think... I'll post again if I think of more critical stuff. ;-)

Oh, that's right... saw Transformers (good) and License to Wed (not so good). I want to see Hairspray but I'm trying to behave myself and trim down on my spending... I've been hemorrhaging cash of late... ;-)

It's officially warm...

Well I'm sitting here on my lunch break and trying to remember any highlights for the past day or two...

I would say the single biggest thing that's changed is that its officially hot now. :-) We've been at, or near, 110 all of this week and they are predicting that the monsoons will be late - so no relief in sight. I heard the first cicadas of the year yesterday though. For those of you who don't know what they are, I think this is an article about them on Wikipedia (click here). The reason I say I think is because Wikipedia seems to be down at the moment and so I can't verify that's right. That is what came up from Google though, and we all know we trust Google. ;-)

I played tennis for the first time in ages last night - so that was good... I think. I'm surprisingly not sore today - but I'm sure that will hit tomorrow. Hopefully, I can play more often - I need it. No, not because I'm putting on weight (in fact I've lost a few pounds this past month - down to about 152 - yikes). Plus, it seemed to help me sleep better.

Oh, and here's a bit of news. I get to go to Orlando in October! I booked tickets from Southwest for a trip out there for the 2nd weekend in October. I fly out Friday and back in on Monday. Its a short and sweet trip but should be fun. I haven't seen my grandmother from out there in quite awhile and I can always use a weekend away from the Valley.

Other than that - nothing new to speak of...

It's all about the food...

OK - so I know that it seems I have a one track mind - that's its all food, all the time. If you are one of the many people who firmly believe this about me... I just want to say you are so right. :-)

So let's see where the food brigade takes me today shall we?

Breakfast was a Village Inn - I met Evan and John (well, picked them up actually) and we went to breakfast. Let's see... what did I have...

Coffee. Orange juice. Stack of whole wheat pancakes filled with banana slices and topped with strawberries and pecans. Bacon. Eggs. Oh, and hash browns. Yum. I was full.

On to lunch... I went to a deli I didn't know existed - which new places for food are always exciting! It's called 'Jason's Deli'. For their location on Google maps click here.

Dinner was an eat at home thing because, although its shocking, I actually did go grocery shopping today. I know, I know - total shocker.

Other than that... not much new. I turned 9700 miles on the car... always exciting. Oh, and I decided that I'm going to have to give up and make a summer shopping trip - these winter clothes are getting to warm considering its 110º + here.

Oh, I got a new pair of sunglasses the other day. They're Fox: The Meeting. For pic click here. They don't work so well with just t-shirt and jeans - but with nicer outfits they're perfect. They're my 'hide-from-the-paparazzi' glasses. :-D

OK, that's about it. I need to go consume some more calories...

Friday So Soon?

Well I can't believe it but its Friday. My problem is I don't remember the week passing by. Needless to say, I've been really busy at work. But such is life!

I went and got my car washed today - seems like I have to do it every week in the summer - the dust is so bad. But that means its all shiny again - zoom zoom! :-)

Otherwise there wasn't much of interest today.... I had 'Swiss steak' for lunch -- which was a first. Wasn't bad I guess. Came with corn on the cob and butter and herb potatos. It was the special at the cafe at work. It would have been better if I didn't have to eat while on a conference call - but it was either have a lesuirely lunch or a dirty car over the weekend. Yup, the choice was obvious. ;-)

Breakfast was more interesting! I was running late (naw me?) and my first con call was at 8:30. So, since I woke up 10 minutes before I was supposed to leave for work there wasn't time for breakfast at home. And, since I was late - no time to make it to the cafe. However, someone was nice enough to bring me a plate of danishes! So I ate seven of those and managed to maintain conciousness until lunch. :-)

I was so tired when I got home that I crashed... and didn't wake up until a bit ago - it being after 1 a.m.. So that means I'm still out of food... and further behind on my side jobs - but I'm feeling slightly rested! ;-)

Its off to bed for me though - have to be up early tomorrow ~

Beware the 'shrooms...

Before I delve into the story behind the title...

I'm not going to post a bunch of updates - just because I'm so busy I think its a never ending battle. I'll keep em short sweet and hopefully more regular.

So here's the funny story about 'shrooms...

I had to mail some stuff to Brad today (some hair product and a PCI wi-fi card) and so I ran to my apartment on lunch and grabbed the stuff and went to the Post Office. Would you believe that I barely had to wait in line and got the nicest most helpful postal employee on the planet? It was exciting! Anyways, back to the story...

I was in a hurry and I needed to get back to work so I decided to swing by the Chandler Fashion Center and go to Wildflower Bread Company for lunch. Well I was on the phone with Hilary and hadn't even looked at the menu when it was my turn so I just ordered what I saw first...

Which happened to be some type of grilled portabello concoction.

Hmmm...

Don't get me wrong - I love portabello mushrooms... especially grilled... but this one came with a side of leather. Trying to talk on the phone and knaw through the 'shroom was quite the exercise! So here I'm talking to Hilary with the phone pinned to my ear -- sitting at this table that couldn't stay level if its existance depended on it -- mangling this sandwhich in front of all the chattering suburbanite women. Let's just say it wasn't my proudest moment.

Oh well - I'm going to go scrounge up some dinner. Later ~

The 4-day weekend

I have to say that this four-day weekend thing is a novel concept for me, but I think I'm becoming a fan. :-D

I requested Friday off on Thursday evening --- and got it. Woo!

So, these past four days have pretty much blurred together. I haven't stuck to the traditional concepts of 'day' and 'night' but instead stayed up/out or both until I couldn't stay awake - crashed whereever I was and continued on! No, nothing crazy - this is me we're talking about here. I still took care of all of my standard stuff that I normally have - but I refused to work on any projects and I didn't do any side work either. Amazing how much left over time there is after those things disappear.

So I've played more video games in the past 96 hours than I have in the past 96 weeks - and I'm certainly not complaining! I got to watch movies and go out to eat (and not be in a rush)... good stuff.

Anyways, on to the more important things...

Pirates was OK - but I was very underwhelmed by this third installment. Too many plot lines - too much extra story stuff stuck in there, and not enough Depp to keep the boat afloat.

Oh well - Spidey III was a bust... Pirates III was a bust... guess I'll have to try Shrek III and see where it places. It's not new, but I did see Stranger Than Fiction over the weekend as well - not a bad movie - especially if you have any type of writing interest. :-)

In other news - I test drove my car with a tech for a half hour on Saturday - but wasn't able to get the blasted problem to kick in -typical. However, they are still going to keep trying to get it to trigger while they have that computer thing plugged in. Meanwhile the new seal is supposed to be here tomorrow so the door's wind noise should go away... and he was supposed to work on that loose shock/rattle thing as well. I should hear from them tomorrow.

As much as I love that minivan... I am really looking forward to getting my real car back. ;-)

I was given some blues CDs from a co-worker to listen to... so I'm officially a fan of Stevie Ray Vaughn and John Lee Hooker. Old and ancient blues respectively, but it beats that Led Zepplin / Rush / Pink Floyd stuff they have been trying to 'educate' me with. :-D

Well that about does it for right now -- I'm going to try to get a decent night's sleep before work in the morning...

My Minivan...

You'll never guess what I'm 'zoom-zooming' around in now... that's right... a MINIVAN! Joy! Not.

I made arrangements to take my car in to have them look at that same vibration/power loss/terrible noise issue. So I went over to the dealership today and dropped it off. Hertz wanted to put me in a Ford Focus (Yikes - fold me in 7ths please) so I am paying an extra $6/day to get the upgrade... and what did that get me? A Mazda 5... which is their minivan. Let's just say 'soccer mom' wasn't the look I normally go for.

Anyways, I got a call from the dealer this afternoon and was told that Mazda wants them to drive the car as much as possible with the computer-reader thing attached in order to figure out the problem. OK, so that leaves me with two questions.

First, if Mazda says you can hook it up and constantly be recording what's happening... why the heck didn't they do that one of the first two times it was in for this problem?!

Second, I've been told it is against the law to drive with that thing attached... so if that is the case, why would that be the official recommendation from Mazda?

Oh well, I made it ... shall we say 'clear'... that I didn't want to see the car until it was fixed. And no more of this me having to call them junk either - I told them I expect a phone call daily with an update on the progress. And, since the tech is going to be driving it home again like last time... I told them I wanted the seats wrapped and the thing detailed afterwards because the last time the tech drove around in it I ended up with grease on the headliner! As I always say... the busier you are... the more proficient you become at... shall we say... 'explaining your position'. So, I'm hoping that all gets taken care of right this time.

The other things that are supposed to be getting taken care of is the wind noise that starts at 60/70 mph in the driver's window area and the rattle that appears to be a loose shock in the rear.

By the way, the oil analysis came back and said the only out of the ordinary thing was the high levels of copper but that was due to engine break-in.

Let's see what else is going on...

I'm thrilled to announce that I'm completely unpacked now... no more boxes anywheres... not a piece of clutter or mess. Makes it so much easier to live here now. ;-)

Oh, and I'm quite excited because I get to go to an advance screening of Pirates of the Caribbean 3 tomorrow night with friends from downtown. So, I'll try and let you all know how that goes.

Oh well, can't think of anything else critical to report on tonight... later all...