Driving Woes

Let me preface this airing of grievances by saying that this blog is not about my feelings toward my newly acquired car Joan Jetta (if you get why this name is incredibly clever let me know because you get an automatic spot on my awesome person list.) I love Joan and I like to think that she loves me. So don't think this is me being mad at my super cute car.

Shall we begin? Yes? Good. So I believe that there is a system for driving on highways in Utah, and by highways I mean I-15, because what else is there. I-15 has either three or four lanes. The right side lane is for the slow people, the left side lane is for people who think they are in the Indy-500. I like sticking to the middle lanes. I feel at home there going 5-10 miles over the 65 speed limit. So something that really gets me mad is when people don't respect this system.

Example number one, when someone decides to ride my tail when there is no traffic on either side of me. I'm cruising along between 70 an 77 miles an hour in my friendly middle lane and some car, usually either a ridiculously large truck or a shiny sports car come speeding up behind me and then slows down and continues cruising like 3 inches away from my bumper despite the fact that the left and right lanes are wide open. Seriously bro? Just change lanes. Your type belong in the left lane anyway. I'm going a respectable speed and if you don't like it move. I mean I try and be courteous, if I'm in the left lane and I see approaching cars I move over. So why can't these D-bags juts merge into the available space?

Next, if you have cruise control use it. I hate it when one minute a car going 85 races pulls in front of me and then 15 seconds later they've slowed down to 60 mph, and then when you start getting close to them they speed off in a huff. My speed ain't changing pal, its you, so there is no reason to get offended. Stay at a constant speed. Please.

If you merge unnecessarily into spaces where you have no business merging. I hate you. Everyone hates you. This isn't a spy movie, and I highly doubt that dangerous merging is going to get you anywhere much faster.On a similar note, use your friggin blinker. It's there for a reason. No one in Utah signals and it makes me want to hit a wall.

Thats about it for now. I guess it boils down to this, if people would stop driving like they have a pregnant woman bleeding out from a gunshot wound in their front seat the highways would be a happier place for everyone.

Righteous Indignation

I am a Mormon. Many a time in recent years, especially since I've moved away from home I have found myself wondering if I'm LDS because I believe its the truest religion or if its because I was raised in Utah County and feel a strong sense of social pressure to be Mormon that I can't escape. For those of you scoffing right now try spending 18 years in Mapleton and the tell me you don't feel a little brain washed. For the most part however I have decided that I do believe in the church, most of the time. Sometimes the general authorities say things and I think, no, nope, no, I don't believe that, and I never will. I'm not a sheep, and if that sends me to hell so be it. I won't get into all the points where the church and I disagree. I don't like discussing religion, or politics. My beliefs is my beliefs and I don't need your approval, and you don't need mine. However, I got some church related news tonight and I feel the need to voice or more actually type my anger, cuz I be pissed.

So apparently the general authorities decided, with no warning by the way, to cancel the morority/fraternity program. In fact they got rid of the whole IWA/IMA program. And I am mad as hell. I know this might seem weird. I've always kind of mocked myself for joining the morority, and in the final months of my first year in I was kind of doubting my commitment to the whole thing. But now that it's gone I'm mad. Because if I'm completely honest with myself without Upsilon my year would have been a fatty mess. It was in the morority that I final found friends. It was after joining that I decided I didn't have to move back to California even if it meant being an exotic dancer to pay the bills. It shrunk the huge number of nameless faceless people at the University of Utah to a small group of girls who were a lot like me. And the connection was quick. It made finding a whole new group of friends far less intimidating. Basically, in the mushiest terms possible, the girls I met in Upsilon were my life preserver. Without them I might have drowned. And now the church has decided, with no clear reason, that this program isn't something they want around. And I am not ok with it.

I don't know why this happened, but I have my suspicions. The church just reorganized all the singles wards in Utah. They are expanding most of the wards and being very strict about everybody going to their ward and ONLY their ward. So basically what I've gathered is that the church wants all young adults to get married as soon as possible. But instead of giving us a lot of options that will allow really sort through all the candidates and find someone who is really right for us as an individual they want us to choose from one of the 150 guys in the one singles ward we are assigned to. Apparently they think if we just date our way through the singles ward we're bound to find someone we can put up with forever. To me it just seems hugely hypocritical. They are telling guys to date and girls to get out there and all this stuff and yet they are tearing apart an institution that helps people find each other in smaller settings. They want us married but only if we do it their way.

Which brings me another problem I have that is connected to this whole dating/sorority/singles ward thang. The general authorities need to get with the times. It's not 1950 anymore. I mean sure, it would be super keen if a guy would take me on a date to the movies in my poodle skirt, and then after three dates he would give me his class ring and we would be "going steady" and then 2 months later we would get married. But that just isn't how it works anymore. First I don't even know anybody with a class ring, or even a letterman's jacket for that matter. More importantly dating is expensive so I understand if a guy wants to get to know a girl and really decide if he is interested before taking her out. Also being friends is a great way to start a relationship, and the sororities/frats give the YSAs a great way to meet one another in a low pressure way. We make friends, some people find lovers, urbody leaves happy. Another thing I don't plan on being a housewife and I also don't plan on marrying a guy after three months of dating. No thanks, not my style, never going to happen. I'm not just going to marry the first dude who seems nice and can provide for me and my 2.5 kids and our dog Rover. Things have changed. The nation wide average age of marriage is 28. So maybe the head honchos should just chill the frak out, and let us single adults figure out our crap instead of trying to force us into an early and unhappy marriage.

In conclusion, I'm pissed, I want my sorority back, I'm writing this exceptionally tired and I want to hit something. Oh and if this doesn't get me sent straight to hell, well then I'm sitting pretty.