The pedal to the metal

This past weekend I went to visit old bff (not to say she's not a current bff, but I mean my oldest bff) Julia.

She lives in the fine city of TO - the fine city that I just ran away from as if it was burning to the ground, and the hem of my pants were close to catching on fire.

The short drive from where I dropped my mom off in Mississauga to Julia's apartment took me well over an hour. Now, I'm sure there was a quicker route, but alas, I pretty much picked my route by the street names I knew. Really, that makes sense, doesn't it?

As I sat in traffic, I became aware of my road rage once again. Sigh. Damn those drivers on their cell phones, damn those drivers who don't stay in their lanes, damn those drivers who cut me off, and damn those drivers whose music blares so loud, I have to turn up my own radio to hear it. The thump thump thump of Ludacris drowns out my Taylor Swift. Sheesh!

Funny thing though, is that driving to me is a relaxing escape. When I'm feeling all mixed up about anything, being able to get into the car and drive somewhere just leaves the stress in the dust. So even in my moments of road rage on St. Claire Ave, I still find peace. You know, in between the yelling and throwing my hands in the air. I can breathe...breathe...breathe.

I was happy to park my car in the parking lot of her building and let it sit there, untouched, until I was ready to head back home. I don't actually mind driving in traffic, but the TTC really is a godsend. I finally used up the rest of my tokens I took with me when I left, thinking that I will eventually use them. True, it's only been a matter of about 4 months, but still, that seems an awful long time to have 3 tokens, considering I'd go through 10 in a week before.

We zipped our way around the city by streetcar or subway. As I stood up on the subway to get ready for our stop, I had to focus to keep my balance. I felt like my subway-riding skills I had perfected went down the drain. (Could also have something to do with the fact that I am a couch potato now...) I teetered back and forth and had to hold the pole to stay on my feet. Good thing this was before the wine (but after the mimosa with lunch).

Everyone is just in such a rush to get places down there. It's a city on the go. Perhaps it was their frantic actions that started the fire that made me leave...