You know you're nearing the city when....

This past weekend, I took the three hour trek northwest to visit my folks. They live up in the country, out among the rolling hills of Ontario and the mooing cows. (And the damn crowing roosters.)

Driving home, while long and somewhat tiresome, is one of life's little pleasures for me. I feel at peace speeding along the country roads, farm and forests for kilometers beyond my imagination. On these wintry days when the snow covered fields are kissed by the shining sun, I want to pull over and stare across the landscape, soak in every sight to be had and breathe deep the fresh air.

The lack of traffic is another bonus on the drive home. The farther I get away from the city, the more it becomes just myself and the open road. The other cars I do encounter are either speeders such as myself, or lackadaisical drivers in their pick up trucks enjoying the beauty of nature -- drivers who are easy to overtake on the two lane highway.

The drive back to the city, however, is a different story. I leave behind me the horses braying in the paddocks on the side of the road, the freedom of space, the notion that a simple life is a good life. I also leave behind me drivers who drive like me. Confident with weather change, accustomed to snow drifts, a natural ease of rough driving.

The first half of my drive home found a couple dozen small snow drifts across the road. With such open fields, snow drifts are to be expected. There I was, popping along in my pregnant rollerskate of a car, on the tail of a farmers pick up, at about 115km/hr. Not terribly fast, but fast enough for the rural life. The impeding snow drifts made us ease up to about 110km/hr. Behind this pickup, I felt confident about my safety and skill.

Eventually, I parted ways with the pickup truck and met up with a line of traffic that slowed my speed to about 90km. I did my best to not be the impatient driver I usually am and pass those ahead of me. The line was too long and I was not in the mood for the weaving required to be first in line.

Suddenly our speed decreased to 70km/hr, to 60 km/hr! What was going on?? An accident???

Nope.

A miniscule snow drift has found it's home across the roadway. Drivers didn't know how to handle it. They slowed down, they waited for oncoming traffic to zoom by so they could drive AROUND it. Little did they know that their cars could drive right through it.

I snorted. I grabbed the steering wheel so hard my knuckles turned white. I yelled at them all "Are you kidding me!?!" A moment's vented anger for me is like a release of a week's pent up anger. I felt much better, sighed and sat back in my seat. I turned up the music even louder and sang at the top of my lungs.

Silly city drivers. They just need a good drive in a blizzard up north to get themselves sorted out. What nonsense!

All the things you said, running through my head

I sit here this Sunday evening, sipping my wine, watching Sex & the City, and can't stop thinking about my 28th birthday. Turning 28 does not seem to have the same stigma attached as turning 27. Which is a sigh of relief, I must say.

Though the nearing 28 does inspire me to behave like a grown up. When I think back to when I was a child, and what I thought of my parents' acquaintances who were in their late 20's... I would not peg them to be the teenager-struggling-in-this-adult-body like me. I could not imagine them giggling with their friends while watching old reruns on tv, or of making childish perverse jokes, and discussing the finer points of drinking.

But that is exactly it. I still feel like a teenager. I still feel like I want to run with reckless abandon. But then I hear the 28 year old voice in my head who says things like "Melissa....that's not a wise idea. Stay on the sidewalk where it's safe." She also says "Melissa...you don't need another drink..."

It's a tough struggle, I tell you. I'm sure I'm not the only one who faces these situations. Infact, I'm pretty sure most of my friends do. But it's not like we actually sit around and say "Hey, you'll never guess what the voice in my head stopped me from doing the other day!" No one wants to admit to voices in their heads, after all.

I digress. Wine, Sex & the City, and Melissa. The antics and trials of those 4 women puts a little something in my soul -- a little something that tells me I'm not alone. Fiction eases my mind.

Admit it

Yes. I know it's true.

I am a crummy blogger in 2008. Believe you me, it breaks my heart too.

Either one of two things has happened here:

1. I have lost my interest in my blog

2. I have poor time management skills

I elect number 2.

Though there is also the factor of 2.3: Not very much blog-worthiness living has been going on. Or at least funny things anyways.

Not to say that I suck lately or anything, but....... Just kidding....(maybe).

So I have a few highlights. Some funny, some not.

• My boss is a charming fellow, one who has his funny moments, but he mostly wears his serious pants at the office. We recently returned from a business trip down south where I got to experience his outside of the office personality. At the airport, we had to take a shuttle from where we returned the rental car to the main terminal. As I sat beside him, not paying attention to him reading his paper, but rather staring out the window at the greenery, suddenly the lady standing in the aisle infront of us, apologizes in an embarassed voice to him. Seems when the bus turned, she went to grab the rail, but grabbed his knee instead. With that charming glint in his eye (one comparible with the devil) he flashes a cool grin in her direction and says "Oh, carry on" and winks. The lady and her two companions giggle at him and smile while I laugh and sigh with that "You're so encouragable" smirk on my own face.
• My dearest little niece, Olivia, had entered into her terrible two's. Smart little cookie that she is, when she causes a fuss, yelling for Daddy, and does not get the response she is wanting, she resorts to calling him by his first name. Hehehehe....this is very funny to me. Not so funny to my brother.
• And last, but not least, is an update on the progress of my business :) M&L Ideas has been selected as a feature workshop presenter for the Mississauga Independent Film Festival this summer!!! Woo woo!!!! How sweet is that!?!?!?! So my mom and I are busy beavers writing our material with a new angle on it. If you want details on that, check out my site, www.ml-ideas.com and look on the sidebar for the link to events of where you can find us. Pretty damn cool I tell you.

I hope this little update has been as good for you as it was for me. Oh bloggerland, I miss you. Blogspot sites in general has recently been blocked by our firewall at work so I can't even read blogs (seriously, you have no idea how much that pains me).

Regardless. I should not make excuses. Blogging is back on the priority list.