Road Rave

Before I moved to California I had several people tell me that I would be relieved to finally be surrounded by good drivers. Both my father (who grew up in California) and by brother (who has lived here for about five years) told me that the driving in LA far surpasses the driving skills of any other state. Well, California drivers, I’m here to tell you that not only are you not that great of drivers, but I have never seen poorer parking jobs in my entire life. I can appreciate the fact that California drivers know where they are going, how to get there and don’t mess around. There are definitely those hippie drivers in Boulder who are staring at the scenery and soaking up the joys of life while cruising in their car. And this can become aggravating when they are going 10 under the speed limit. So, yes, I agree that California drivers are better in that area. But I don’t think it warrants them the title of the “best drivers in the country”, especially when you see their park jobs. I go to the same parking garage almost every day and always find myself having to pass up several—I’m talking like six or seven viable parking spots because some douchers don’t know how to stay in the lines. It’s like all these drivers are in such rush to get where they are going that once they are there anything goes! No, not “anything goes” in a parking garage. You know what goes? Staying in the lines. Jackasses.

Sticking with the car theme, I saw several personalized license plates today, which reminded me that I hate them. Honestly, they should be illegal. They are a driving hazard, more of a driving hazard than talking on your cell phone. It’s like doing a crossword puzzle at the wheel. How frustrating is it when you are behind a personalized license plate that you can’t figure out? You stare and wonder and talk out loud trying to run the letters together in hopes that something will sound familiar. If the plate is really tricky you could lose your focus, get distracted and that very license plate could end up imprinted on your front bumper.

While I was passing up several potential spots due to poor parking decisions today, I had the opportunity to make another observation. There is a semi-unwritten rule about what cars you can “pimp out” and what ones you can’t. Your car has to be cool to begin with before you can add spinner rims or a matte finish to the paint. Needless to say if you are driving a forest green Ford Focus you might want to focus your funds somewhere else than on 22” chrome rims.

I’m going to end this post on a very positive note because sometimes I feel like my blog makes it sound like I’m hating on LA all the time. I really am coming to enjoy this city. It’s so different from where I’ve lived before and I’m loving exploring a new place. Yesterday I experienced the nicest public library I’ve ever seen. It had a café with the best frozen yogurt in the city and it didn’t smell like homeless people and wet books like the Boulder Public Library does. New places are always so exciting!