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12/17/2008

A Loooooonnnnnnnggggggg way home

It normally takes me about an hour to manage the 43 miles between where I live and where I work. And that includes running through McDonalds to pick up a coffee on the way into the office on the morning side of that equation. Last night, through the suddenly severe snowstorm which hit us mid-afternoon in the Chicagoland area, it took me 5 hours and 15 minutes to drive home. The time the trip home took was not the issue. All those non-driving idiots out there that spun out and hit dividers and each other, snarling up traffic REAL good, weren't the issue either. No, the issue is that no one will ever know or give me credit for demonstrating an amazing feat of bladder control during that trip. I had WAY too much coffee yesterday. I stopped in the men's room when leaving the office. And made it all. the. way. home. without stopping in anybody else's men's room along the way. And I didn't use a clothespin. I guess those man kegels really paid off.

Trinidad .... Trinidad ..... Trinidad .... I am so dreaming of Trinidad. And occasionally, my mind wanders down to Tobago. Speaking of Trinidad and Tobago, at the end of this post is something I feel is a better closing for my blog posts, because it is true. It comes to me from Trinidad. It will close my posts from now on.

We are slightly more than halfway through this month. Close to Christmas and all that that implies. As things get busy, do take the time to click on the links in the next paragraph and help drive traffic and money into Zoeyjane's site for charity. Read it and click. Please.

Zoeyjane of Mommy is Moody is DOING something. She is donating all the revenue from her advertisements on her site, for this month, to To Write Love On Her Arms. Go to Zoeyjane's site and read This Post. She gets paid by 'Impressions'. Just going there helps. Click on her ads - and help more. Click through to To Write Love On Her Arms and see what they do. Just doing that will help, too. This paragraph is going to appear at the end of each post, each day until the end of the month. As a reminder. Just click through. And help. Save the women and men and boys and girls that don't need to live without love, that don't need to suffer addiction and depression, that don't need to die.


What follows I learned from Tash. It is an African proverb - it means, "Where I go, I am wearing you."

Ndinombethe.

30 comments:

Jientje said...

Five hours and fifteen minutes!!! Oh my, I know how long THAT is, we spent the same amount of time in the car recently when we went to visit my sister! But we did not make it without finding a restroom, congratulations to you and your bladder!! Oh and um ... clothespins would be VERY painful!!!

Shadow said...

i'm quite happy with my home to office, 3km's. office to school, 4km's. school to home, 3km's. home to mall, 2km's...

Nan Sheppard said...

We drive an hour and a half to towm and back, to school and work every day. When people visit they say *sigh*, how can you bear to leave this beautiful place?

When we move, we will live 2 minutes from everything, in an APARTMENT!how's that for a turnaround?

Anonymous said...

Wow - that's an amazing tie up, even for Chicago standards! I'm sure you and your bladder were counting every exquisitely painful minute too. Thanks for sending the snow our way - I'll remember to stop by the bathroom before going anywhere today!

MissyBoo said...

Man kiegels *sheesh*!!! Seriously well done on your bladder control.

I would be one of those non-driving idiots in a spin... drove in the snow once, vowed never to do it again!

Christy said...

Go bladder, go!!! LOL

Ndinombethe said...

I completely appreciate what an amazing fete that was - I suffer from coffee bladder (oooh I'm so going to use that to explain to Paul why I always need to go) - well done!

Ndinombethe right back at you my friend!

Anonymous said...

Man kegels? Who knew?

Ugh, that is the worst kind of traffic. I've been stuck inside for three days due to ice, but at least I can use the bathroom when I want to, make a latte in the meantime and not deal with traffic hell.

I very much *love* that saying. It is so true, isn't it? We impact one another here in the blogoverse.

Expat No. 3699 said...

Wow, that was a loooong drive home. My usual half hour drive turned into an hour and a half. The thing that struck me was they weren't plowing, but spreading salt on top of the snowy, slushy mess. That made absolutely no sense to me.

Anonymous said...

Over 5 hours? I'd have never, EVER made it. Not even close.

Wait. What? said...

Yikes Lou!

My drive down lakeshore at 5 PM took 1 hour and 30 minutes and I was grumpy about that! Now I feel some sort of wierd blessing it was not longer!

Cat

Colleen - Mommy Always Wins said...

Holy crap!!! FIVE HOURS?!? Thank God I live in Milwaukee! ;-)

Unknown said...

5 hours, 15 minutes!!! I'd have stopped and rented a hotel room, or maybe had a LOOOONG sit-down dinner with a very nice restroom.

That is absolutely something that would happen in Denver.

Ndinombethe---is SO PERFECT for all these mama's... EVERYWHERE we go (even the bathroom) we're wearing our little spawn.

Anonymous said...

hiya. i soooooo hear you loud and clear. here in ottawa we have just experienced one of the worst traffic days in history (apparently). i left my home at 8:30 am to head into work, 2 hours later i was at a location on the queensway that should have only too me 20 minutes to get there on a regular day. i simply turned arount and came back home. it
s insane.

like you many people were calling into radio stations saying how badly they had to go to the bathroom.

so good for you!

calicobebop said...

Oh my goodness! You poor thing in traffic! I hate traffic with as much bile and vitriol as you can imagine. I completely sympathize and am quite proud of your bladder control. You go!

moneythoughts said...

Glad you made it home safely. As for the functioning of your systems, I am also glad you made it home safely.

Tara R. said...

"man kegels " Bwahahaha! Did you at least have an empty Micky D's coffee cup with you?

Anonymous said...

Hubby would have never made that. He would have stopped right at the side of the road ;)
What are man kegels?
Glad you stayed safe :)!

Julie said...

I guess being cranky because it took an extra twenty minutes to get home from the airport on Monday (picked up my husband from his last trip of the year, hit the rush hour traffic) isn't gonna cut it, huh? Not compared to your five hour agony.

Another really nice thing about Anchorage is that we just don't seem to have tons of drivers that don't know how to drive in snow and ice, except for some people on post who just moved here from the south. Once in a while I find myself following a car with a deep south license plate -- Alabama or Georgia or Florida -- and they are going about 3 miles an hour, even when there is no snow or ice on the road. Guess they are prepared for those icy patches.

I am impressed with the whole control thing. With the cough I have had for the last eight weeks, there is no way I could risk it -- one too many deep coughs and things could get unpleasant...

hockeychic said...

Glad you made it safely and with no accidents, vehicular or otherwise!

Vikki North said...

Oh -Lou,
I don't know if you remember California when it rains? We don't know how to 'just drive in the rain' much less what you deal with. If our roads turned icey, there would be maximum damage in my neck of the woods.

Ndinombethe back at you.

tracey.becker1@gmail.com said...

Will definitely go to her site. And that snow! Oy... the snow. I shoveled 3 times yesterday and still woke up to our cars and driveway covered!

Unknown said...

Jientje: I think that from now on I'll keep and empty McD coffee cup in the car. As long as I'm alone in the car.

Shadow: Nice to have everything close. In the summer - which is what you have right now.

Nan: An apartment? You're going from a house to an apartment and that's a GOOD thing?

Bama Cheryl: You're welcome - I sure as heck wasn't going to do anything to keep it here!!

M+B: Not something you want to do 'once'.

Christy: Where's my clothespin?

Tash: Finally - someone who appreciates me.

Maggies Mind: Someone is going to ask me, later in these comments, what 'man kegels' are. A woman.

Employee: Nor me, darlin'.

Ree: Do kegels. It works.

Cat: 355 was a horror.

Colleen: Yeah. Lots of taverns up htere with rest rooms.

Hyphen Mama: No way was I gonna check into a hotel room ALONE.

Raino: Wise move on your part. Darn Canadians are smart!!

Calicobebop: Isn't "Go!" rather inappropriate?

Moneythoughts: Thank you, Fred. Like I said - an empty McD's coffee cup, in the car, at all times.

Tara R: No - but I will from now on.

Nicole: All I can suggest is that you Google 'kegels'.

Julie: Oh no. There was no coughing. Man kegels can only do so much.

Hockeychic: Thank you. The laundry was safe.

Redchair: Oh, I remember. Especially around Escondido, for some reason.

Tracey: The vision of your kids playing in that snow makes the 5 hour drive home more palatable.

Patsy said...

I love the closing thought to your post. That is a beautiful thought.
Be safe and stay warm.

Congratulations on the bladder contol. :)

Anonymous said...

I lost it at man kegels.. :)

Anonymous said...

I crossed my legs (like a good Jr Leaguer would do) at the mere word kegel. Such a Lou thing to say. And, I think if your commute is that awful? You need books on CD. It made my long commute worth doing for two years. Kudos on the bladder.

Cathy said...

I so hated traffic in Chicagoland. On time it rained heavily and some streets flooded--it took me over 2 hours to get Schaumburg to north Chicago (montrose and damen)

Joyce-Anne said...

Yuck! What a horrible commute. I'm glad you made it all the way home.

Anonymous said...

I can tell you what "Kegel" are in German ;)

Eric S. said...

I have learned that if I visit blogs on a schedule, it leaves more time for me. Take your site for instance, I visit now on Sunday, and read the whole previous weeks worth of posts. Now I do have to admit that I am very bad about commenting. But I must say I enjoy reading the comments on your posts. You have some very fun readers.

I'll work on being better, and I know what you mean about having a hard time staying in cheerful holiday mood. I hope you enjoy Trinidad, and that it gives you a long deserved break.