Posts Tagged ‘driving’

Party himo

laelene Posted in video blog,Tags: , ,
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It’s really hard to see, but a white himo drove by me (Hummer limo) with this crazy open back area that I swear had a hot tub or mini pool or something. And of course it was just glowing like crazy with blue lights.

himo from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

Crazy commute

laelene Posted in general blog,Tags: , , , , , ,
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The first half of last week, my morning commute was a whopping 2 and a half hours in the morning.  Going home was much better at around 1 hour and 45 minutes, but still – over 4 hours a day just to get to and from work?  Factor in the 9 hours spent at work and I barely have enough time to get ready in the morning, eat dinner at night, rest, get ready for bed, and sleep in the remaining time.  Plus it’s been drizzly and cold, which makes things all the more miserable.

The sudden spike in commute time (it used to take me an hour and a half or so) is due to added construction along the 405, particularly in the Sepulveda Pass.  They’re shutting down Sepulveda going through the mountains, which means everyone is forced to use the 405 and congest even more than usual.  It’s absolute insanity and I’m getting really tired from all the driving.  I’m thinking of renting a place nearby just to alleviate the stresses of driving so much and give myself more time to rest at night.

At least now I have the SafeCell App on my phone so I can earn points for not using my phone while driving!  Once I save up enough I can redeem them for items at hundreds of retailers.  It’ll make my commute much more rewarding as I focus on driving safely and imagine as my points rack up.  🙂  Now if only I could find a good radio station to listen to… I’m so sick of all the music they cycle through and the boring talk shows that just repeat themselves.  I’m even sick of the commercials I’ve heard time and time again!  I tried audiobooks, but haven’t found any good ones since I listened to the ones I really wanted to hear.  Panda suggested podcasts, so maybe I’ll look into those.

Honking away earthquakes

laelene Posted in video blog,Tags: , , , , ,
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Going under the earthquake tunnel one night, capturing some of the honking in action. Don’t know what I’m talking about? Read about it here.

earthquake tunnel from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

Scenic, peaceful drive

laelene Posted in general blog,Tags: , , , ,
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I’ve been driving the 210 freeway in LA a lot more lately because that is how to get from my house to Panda’s.  Now that he is living from home, I go out to his town when I have time and I’ve found that the drive is quite pleasurable.  The roads are clear with only light traffic when you get to the Pasadena area and you drive along the rolling hills, getting peeks of great views.  There is a lot of greenery surrounding the roads and it’s very peaceful.

Usually PCH is known for its scenic drive, but I think that the 210 should be recognized for its scenic route as well.  Sure, it doesn’t give you spectacular views of the ocean, but it also doesn’t wind around hills and force you to drive in one lane.  You get lots of space, lots of nature, and a certain tranquility that you can only get if you park your car along PCH.  Driving it is a whole other story.  More adventurous and energetic, whereas the northern hills of the Valley are more zen and calming.

Being a light drive, you don’t have crazy drivers who cut you off or ride up on you until you speed up or move out of the lane.  It’s a great time to clear your mind and enjoy the weather.  No need to brake and go all the time, or try to get around that one slow car clogging up traffic.  There’s plenty of space to maneuver around cars (or be maneuvered around) without getting in people’s space and igniting short tempers.  I wish battling the 5 and 405 was half as easy.  That would make my commute an absolute joy!

Collector’s car

laelene Posted in photo blog,Tags: , , , ,
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old school car driving in westwood

Check out this old school car.

closeup of old school car driving in westwood

Is the license plate just sitting there or is it actually screwed in?

Pickups don’t pick me up

laelene Posted in general blog,Tags: , , , ,
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I have found that I’m not a big fan of pickup trucks.  Most of the ones on the road are a waste of space, since the owners rarely make sure of the truck bed.  Meanwhile, over half the length is the truck bed, so you might as well be driving a raised Smartcar for all the seating space you get.  Plus, a lot of them are open air, which is not aerodynamic and definitely doesn’t help with gas mileage.  Trucks aren’t that fuel efficient to begin with anyway, so it’s certainly not helping the case.

Of course, for certain professions, they are the perfect vehicle and can be very useful.  However, I see far more personal ones than commercial ones.  It’s not even like you can put people back there when you have a big group.  That truck bed is not a very versatile space – all it can really be is a trunk and people don’t need that much space in their daily routine.  I feel it would be much more sensible to drive a car that can fit at least 7 people if you’re going to be taking up that much space.  Perhaps they should make that part detachable!  Think of how much clearer the highways would be if all trucks without loads could just get rid of that tail portion.

Then again, the type of people who buy pickups probably aren’t the type who would want to drive around a tiny head portion of the car when they’re not transporting large items.  In the land of excess, it’s hard to get people to think more conservatively (in the environmental sense).  Oh well, it’s a thought, isn’t it?  I think either that or only having pickups sold for commercial use would be a good solution.  People who want to use one for moving can then rent them from a local leaser.  Now that would be a nice thing to see.

Blue lights

laelene Posted in video blog,Tags: , , ,
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You can always tell motorcycle cops from their distinctive blue lights. Panda and I saw one late last night that prompted a whole discussion about how you don’t really see them out after dark (and therefore don’t see those blue lights much). Well, one time I saw this chain of five!

cops on bikes from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

Police “chase”

laelene Posted in video blog,Tags: , , , ,
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On the drive home on the 405 and suddenly there are flashing red lights glowing around me.  A glance to the left found a police car advancing to pull a car over.   I slowed to let him pass and wondered if I was allowed to drive past him once he got the car to the far right lane and was just waiting for it to pull over.  Unsure, I just drove slowly until he exited.

I’ve definitely noticed a lot more police action lately!   In fact, earlier this week I was at McDonald’s for lunch and saw two cops on motorcycles pull over a car, then saw two cop cars in the parking lot, and as I was leaving, another one on a motorcycle had pulled over a car.   They must be short on money and really looking to fine people!

police chase down from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

Honkers

laelene Posted in general blog,Tags: , , , ,
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You know, I never understood people who honk.  Other than the occasional toot to let someone know you’re there when they look like they’re about to merge into you, I don’t see much of a reason to use that feature.  Yet, I see people who hold down their horn like madmen just because they’re driven crazy with road rage.  I see people who honk at you to get out of their way when sometimes it’s impossible and other times you weren’t going in their way anyway.  It seems that they need an outlet for their anger, which is all too easily incited.

Perhaps horns should be designed to be loud enough to make the same impact they do now, but somehow sound friendlier.  The blaring ones these days are annoying enough to make anyone hearing it grumpy.  Why do they need to sound so upset?  Sure they’re meant to be a warning, but warnings can be a loud enough volume without having to sound like someone’s yelling or screaming at you in a bad way.  I wish drivers weren’t so “trigger-happy” when using their horns.  It puts everyone in a foul mood and makes for worse driving.  Certainly not setting the right tone there.

Maybe it’s just because of the drivers in LA.  You’ve gotta be pretty aggressive to get around in this city, so perhaps that has put everyone in a poor mood, stressing them out.  Whatever the case, the driving experience would be a whole lot better if drivers refrained from using their horns so much.  That’s like walking around with a megaphone, blaring it at someone whenever they do something that ticks you off the slightest.  I feel that horns should be used sparingly, if at all, and better driving would be a better way of preventing the need to use it.  Save it for the time you actually need it for your safety, and not for whenever you feel like it.

Eye-catching

laelene Posted in photo blog,Tags: , ,
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People naturally recognize patterns and matching things.  So when you see a train of yellow firetrucks on the freeway, you’re bound to notice.

How many can you spot?

How many can you spot?

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