I headed off to DC last weekend and came back on a monday night. It was the first time in 7 months I was behind the wheel and the first time ever I was driving on the right side of the road. I've lived in the Commonwealth all my life, and getting used to not turning on to the wrong side (i.e. the right side) takes a bit of effort! Heck its not like I'm a mediocre driver, I used to test drive cars for my news organization back home..have driven in the Outback in a fancy sports car (courtesy a very rich friend) and can make a 180 or 360 without panicing or killing someone (testament can be a very senior official of Hundai Motors who has ridden in the back seat of a car I've spun on the Western Ghats... poor man!! all he wanted to do when we stopped was get out and take a leak!!) But all this American Anti-Anglo Saxon behavior is beyond me!! Why can't the left side be the right side???? But now I'm digressing!! The drive to DC was relatively calm, except for a quick chase and pull over by the NY state troopers!! My American friend was doing 82 in a 65 zone...thus recieving his first ticket in more than a decade of driving!! The drive back though was really stressful. Dan's leg was cramping so, I had to drive all the way back from Pennsylvania to Syracuse which is basically across 2 states..i.e 7hrs st driving and it was a mess! There was a snow storm all the way and visibility was almost none. We had to form a car line so all the trucks and cars could see where they were going with each others lights! Thank god for the civilized way truckers drive here... no weaving.. no cutting and no dangerous driving!! In a snow storm u thank strict highway patrols and police for enforcing traffic regulations!
In the midst of all that snow...we managed to squeeze in some outlet shopping! Dan remembered somewhere down the road that he needed printer cartrage! A printer cartrage in the middle of a snowstorm....is a very interesting product to shop for!!
Americans!!! The retail binge never stops... its like the postman..come rain, sun, shine, hailstorm or snowstorm....we WILL shop!
And it didn't end there..we reached Syracuse at around 12 midnight and promptly picked up another friend to drive all the way to the grocery store... if you've ever bought groceries at mid-night....you'll know the feeling I had that night!! The feeling that life was really pathetic! And grocery shopping a manifestation of the lack of life we all have here!!