No more for now.

Slugging hasn't been entertaining enough for me lately to blog.

People are just weird as crap. I think I've become desensitized to it. After being in a car that broke down last month, I've think I've had everything happen to me that's humanely possible.

I've sat in smelly cars, I've had slow and fast drivers. I've had two attempted brainwashings. I've sat in cars with baby seats in the middle instead of to the side. I've sat in crappy cars and I've sat in many Mercedes. I've had a woman driving that wasn't smelling so fresh. I've had a drunk driver drive us. I think my first month or two were much more entertaining.

I may update stuff. I may update HOV cheaters and put their pictures online. I actually have a portable HD video camera now. so maybe I'll just document cars and not type anymore. We'll see.

No A/C the day before yesterday.

I swear people are just content with IHOP air. It always smells like stale air in IHOP. You get into a car and it is hot, it is stuffy, and it just sucks a big donkey d***.

Will it hurt to turn up some kind of air? At least I got to sit in a Mercedes two day in a row, after that; I think it's the Slug God's way of saying, "Hey I'm sorry, lemme hook a brother up."

The slug etiquette of not saying anything has got to change for the sake of air quality level inside the car at the very least.

Blocking the Box

There should be explosives at each intersection that blows up everything within the box the second it hits red. I don't know how many times I've been stuck in Rosslyn between 10-20 minutes to drive 150 yards to the light. Only 8-10 cars get to go if that each light because of the douchebags that don't know how to not block an intersection. And two cars when it's blocked.

Thanks douchebags.

Suggestion # 43

Wear deodorant.

Nothing worse than a guy with bad BO. Some people just walk around smelling like a gym locker.

Why would you want to put a gross spit cup

in the cup holder? with crap all over it?

FREE PASS ON HOV?

Since when do "government cars" get passes to ride on HOV?

This car had one person in it. It wasn't a police car. If you're not on duty to pull people over, then why are you on there?

Should it say:

HOV-3
3 people or more, motorcycles, and government vehicles? Isn't the only way they can get on there is if they have official business? Like escorting VIPS, and not going to work from Dale Blvd?

What a bunch of bastards.

No Air and Driving Slow in the Fast Lane

"He's barking up the wrong tree if he thinks I'm gonna move!"

I've come to the conclusion that I don't like Mercury cars. I don't know if older people like stale air or not. It reminded me of an IHOP. I always thought IHOPs smelled like old people.

This lady didn't turn on the A/C until halfway through; and when she did she just turned it on without adjusting the temperature. She had it cranked at 68 degrees when it was probably 60 something outside, and my stomach was giving me problems which didn't help. I was just hoping I wouldn't explode in her car from the way she was just driving, how cramped the space was in the car, and how much air was in the car. I just wanted to jump out the window. I don't think I've felt as uncomfortable as this morning other than the Vajajay lady last week that smelled really bad.

And she was one of those people that didn't think the passing lane was meant for, well, passing.

Smoke coming out of the hood is no good

So the Volvo I was in started sputtering as I opened my eyes from a mini nap. It was a super nice Friday, the windows were open...

And then I kept hearing this weird noise. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the driver looking a bit nervous, and we start slowing down from 70 to 65 to 55. We go maybe another 3/4 of a mile before it just starts making a lot of noise and acceleration is non-existent.

The driver gets out of the car, as I do, since I don't want to sit in a stationary car in moving traffic.

I'm already calculating how long it's going to take me to get home. An hour later than expected, at the very least. I thought maybe a nice car would stop within a few minutes to see if we needed help or if we needed a ride.

Nope. After 2o minutes I sit up on the Jersey Barrier to create a visual to motorists to say, "hey, we're stuck, help us out."

A cop comes maybe 10-15 minutes later, to see how we are doing. You can see his face as he pulls up, it's the "yeah these people are screwed" look with a semi smirk. He tells me to get down and tells the other slug that he got a call that a "citizen" was on the barrier and they thought it was unsafe.

Not a call saying, a car is broken down and they may need help but of someone sitting on the barrier. Thank you kind sir/ma'am. Which is why he thought it was funny when he pulled up because we're there, broken down, and that's the call he gets; thinking some crazy person is running around along the highways wrecking havoc.

Anyhow, the other rider has AAA and calls a tow truck. The driver calls his wife to pick us up to get us to the lot.

No one stopped to help us. I thought about walking to the exit, and to the mall where emy car was. It would taken the same amount of time, so whatever. If you see a car broken down with slugs on the side of the road, please pick them up. I know I will.

I took a nap and awoke to find a car breaking down.

The one I was in. Yes, I had thought about it, and it happened.

I was in a car that was billowing smoke two exits from our Slug Stop. And yes, it took an hour for me to get to my car after the guy called his wife to pick us up. I'll have more details and photos later.

Complete and Utter Hell.

I've been in Texas for a month for work. Now that was hell. It was hot, I never saw daylight, and after a few days in San Antonio, there was nothing really to do that hadn't already been done.

So I didn't feel like slugging yesterday, as it was my second day back. I drove and slugged in today. I got into the smelliest VW that smelled of woman odor (to say it in a nice way). She must have known it because she drove with the windows slightly opened and it was 60 degrees out. And her hands were on her legs the whole time. So I don't know if some women are naturally stinky like that or if she did something funky with her husband minutes before she picked us up, but it smelled bad.

And she drove slow. So not only could I not breathe, it was prolonged by her slow driving.

Welcome back to DC, me.

I've been away...

FOR A MONTH! I'll be back next week.

Another Baby Seat in the Middle And Tourrette's

This lady almost hit a bus. She had a mild form of Tourrette's. This is the second person with Tourrette's I've ridden with. She drove a minivan. Seriously, we veered towards a bus and she stared at it, as if it would magically move over for her. She should not be driving.



This lady left her baby seat in the middle (it has happened before). I barely fit back there, if she had to sit back there you'd know she'd throw a hissy fit; she's not as tiny as me. She was definitely the slowest driver to date. Pushing 60 top speed, it took us 35 minutes with a little traffic instead of 20-25 minutes.


My shoulder to the door.



Other shoulder to gross baby seat.

NON HOV tips

Well if you get stuck driving down 95 after HOV hours like I did yesterday in rush hour... Here are some tips. I drove for two years from Georgetown to Woodbridge so I'm used to the patterns.

People start cheating about 10 minutes till 6pm. You could try that. But it'll bottleneck down by Springfield at the multiple exit/entry points as everyone gets on at 6pm. So if you get on at the Pentagon at 5:50pm you're still going to get stuck at Springfield.

Or you could wait 15 minutes and wait for the bottlenecking to get better at 6:15pm. It'll get bad at the entry points at the Pentagon though and be bad until you get to the Little River Turnpike exit. Then HOV starts moving and regular 95 lanes start backing up.

But, it opens up again at Edsall Road as everyone is jumping off onto HOV.... So if you are patient then go regular 95. There are three lanes vs. two, and everyone is jumping on HOV so it clears up non HOV lanes. As with the case yesterday, after the mixing bowl I hit no traffic to my exit; it starts to get backed right at the 156 exit right where the rest area is.

That's good for Mondays thru Wednesdays. Thursdays are just a pain in the butt to drive for some reason so try not to drive in non HOV lanes or Friday afternoons.

It's a gamble once you get down to the mixing bowl as to which route you should go. I used to jump on HOV, then jump off at Springfield. There are three entry points which really backs everything up and it's a lot faster in non HOV from Monday-Wednesdays.

If you are traveling by yourself south on 95 on Friday, I would suggest picking up a slug or two and dropping them off at Potomac Mills. Then jump on Route 1 and get off where 234 is back to 95. It's always backed up b/c of the HOV merge (ends), and thest fastest lane is the right lane. If you come off the exit it's right there.

When Speed Racer listens to Slow Music

I don't understand how people can be a fast driver but listen to slow music. There was an accident in the HOV lane so the car I was in pulled out into regular traffic. Yes, illegally. Which is fine, only if he had jumped back on HOV after it was visible that traffic ahead was bad, and HOV was clear.

We passed the accident but he still stayed in regular traffic. The whole time Speed Racer was gunning it and then slamming on the brakes while listening to I Love Jesus music. Awesome.

Turdsday...

I think the people at Crystal City slug spot are the most organized. The ones at Rosslyn are the most weird, but proactive. The ones at the Pentagon are the most disorganized.

There's no confusion at Crystal City. People stand in their lines and are quick. At the Rosslyn one, people are proactive in finding rides and won't hesitate to walk up the line to find their ride. At the Pentagon, people stand there when there are 20 cars back. WAITING for the cars to come to them. It's as if the turn lane is a moat filled with dragons that they can't cross to expedite the process.

I was about six cars back and flabbergasted that this old guy just sat there instead of walking 15 feet to see if he could find a ride. Apparently the car next to him wasn't going his way. But instead of moving up, he sat there until that car went away; with eight cars in line. That is why a lot of times the Pentagon is 30 cars back and it takes 15 minutes or more to get to the front. And that's why I don't pick up at the Pentaagon that often. I had a meeting there and got out at 4 so it wasn't that bad, but even at six cars back it was still painful to watch the slowness that I almost drove to Crystal City to pick up a slug.

Bad. At least tomorrow is Friday.

Randomness...

I drove and picked up the same woman in the same day... and then the next day. Then today she rode in the same car with me and also in the same car back. I have a stalker!

Just kidding.

It was just a funny coincidence, that someone has a similar schedule for a couple of days that would make that happen.

I got into a Ford F-150 today and thought how cool it was. Then I was getting motion sickness from how he was driving. Things have been somewhat normal lately... I haven't had any incidents as of late. Other than the slugs freaking out in Rosslyn in line. People get so scared when they see 10 cars and are too impatient to wait that they start walking up to the cars to see where they go. But if a car isn't going their way they lose their spot so it gets all hectic.

What's Worse than a Big Ego in a Corvette?

A bigger ego in a piece of sh*t hybrid car.

What is it with people that always have to be ahead? You know the people I'm talking about.

• Trying to merge into an exit lane while in the middle lane; instead of braking slightly to ease behind the car they are next to, they speed up, slam on the brakes
  
• The drivers that speed up in the slow lanes for merging traffic so other drivers can't merge onto the highway. Oh wait that's why mornings suck so bad from Dale City to Lorton because people don't know how to merge!

Well PADG1 (license plate of morning douche), the award goes to you this morning. You had a slow car in front of you, (both of you in the left lane) which you didn't attempt to pass for several miles.

When I passed both cars (this was after a metro bus passed both cars on the right), little penishead tailgates the bus and is trying to get over back to the left lane. This is half a mile before the Memorial Bridge exit (which is what, a whole 30 seconds away)?

Since his car was so small he gunned it and fit into the small space just as the exit popped up and was maybe six inches from me when he pulled the move and popped into the left exit lane, which I was getting of at as well.

1. You were 30 seconds away from your exit.
2. You didn't attempt to pass until a bus pass you and three other cars.
3. There was plenty of space behind my car and the car you passed.
4. You risked hitting my car within inches to prove that what again? That you are the man.
   
5. You were driving slow in the passing lane then decided it was Speed Racer time before your exit.
   

If someone can install a need a cow plow for my car I'll be happy.

It's holiday week.

I'd suggest slugging as opposed to driving. it may be easier to find a ride. There were barely any slugs today at Potomac Mills. guess what I'm doing tomorrow?

Dang. I missed a stretch limo this morning.

I was two seconds from catching a ride with a stretch limo. in HOV.

Summmofvabeetch.

It pulled up and took two people then took off. I got into a car that played really bad 80's songs (second time I've had this guy).

Eating Sunflower Seeds can be Hazardous

Eating sunflower seeds while driving can be hazardous if you... drop your spit cup in your lap because the wind blew it from your hand.

Because your A/C stopped working.

And all your spit shells land in your lap while you're driving in your nice dress pants; and letting them sit there for a good 10 minutes. Because? You don't want to make any sudden movements while driving getting the gross crap off of your pants and have it fly in everyone's face because the windows are wide open.

You can't see it because the inside of his pant leg is at an angle that you can't see the shells. But it was quite hilarious. You can see the OH SH*T moment after he looked down and debated whether to swipe it off his pants then or not.

Happy Friday people.

Taxis in Slug Lines only require ONE passenger

The good thing about cabs in the morning is that you don't have to wait for a second person. The drawback: they drive as slow as molasses. Late braker, and crappy alignment made for a fun ride.

The April showers that have decided to prolong their stay by two months... area drivers have not acclimated themselves to precipitation and still can't drive in the rain.



So yes, another note on the parking situations on Thursdays, you CAN wake up later and still find a spot.

Will I Keep Slugging?

In response to a comment on my last post: I was going to write a quick answer then my brain started to think... what are the pros and cons? so here goes...

Pros:

• It is cheaper to commute
• Better for your car ( I put 70,000 miles on my car in two years driving to a non slug location) driving 70 miles round trip. If I had known about slugging when I worked in Gtown previously, I would have saved miles on my old car for those years.
  
• Less stress when being a passenger for the 25 minutes. It's nice being driven around. Sleep, read, relax instead of stressing out why some dummy is letting everyone in front of them in rush hour. This is the Biggest pro for. After cost.
  
• You get exercise from walking to/from metro/commuter lot (not much but better than nothing)
• Some interaction with people. About 10% of the rides, there are conversations
• You go when you want (no set carpool). If you are late no one will get mad. If you are early, there is someone to pick you up.
  
• Faster than VRE, and you're guaranteed a seat. People are grumpy on VRE.
• Not possible to get kidnapped in the morning, there are only two exits, and another person in the car.
  

Cons:

• Weird people on the metro
• Primetime is 7am-7:20am for parking for lots. Most spots are gone by 7:10am. If you oversleep you are done for. There are overflow lots for parking though but few.
  
• Weird people / Slow driver / Crazy drivers
• You could get kidnapped on the way back home, there are multiple exit points.
• You don't really save overall commute time. People don't account the time it takes to get to the lot, then walk, and wait, then metro to their workplace.
• Bad music selection or no music at all on the radio
• Stupid things like baby seats in the middle seat, strapped to the seat belt.
• Stupid people in slug lines making up their own rules (about where they are in line) or can't facilitate rides by calling out the location of a car they are not getting in.
  

There are more but these are the ones I can think of really quick.

So yes, I'll keep slugging. It's interesting and amusing to me. Some of the things that would normally bother me, don't anymore; it also gives me something to write about and share to you all the weird people that do it.

I really think Crystal City people are more normal than Rosslyn and Pentagon slugs/drivers. And it's cheaper /faster to get to. From a slugging standpoint if you can work in Crystal City, it's the optimal destination for a slug. The Pentagon stinks for picking up and dropping of slugs. And the general population doesn't work there. So Crystal City wins on the most ideal destination for a slug.

Once you do it a couple of times, it becomes routine. You don't worry about the initial concerns because it is safe, and less aggravating. It does take a certain personality type; mainly those that aren't high maintenance. 80% of my rides are free of any annoyances. The other 15% are minor annoyances like no music, or placement of objects in the back that you have to share. The 5% are times when I think of ways to jump out of the car.

But given the population of people and the diversity of class and cultures, it's not bad.

I overslept and it is raining.

You know what that means? Probably no one slugging and everyone driving. Instead of wasting and adding the 10 minutes to look and wait before deciding that no one is coming, I went ahead and went slug-free for today. The funny thing it still takes the same amount of time to get to work.

You go out of the way and drive 10 minutes to the commuter lot. You wait from 1-15 minutes for a slug/ride.So that's a minimum of 15 minutes there (from driving to the lot and waiting with 5 minute average wait time). It takes 25 minutes to get to Pentagon in HOV. From there, it's another five to ten minutes to Crystal City or Pentagon. Right there that is 45 minutes not including metro from leaving the door of my house. The walk to my Ballston office is five minutes, and the metro ride is 10 minutes from Rosslyn. So from when I leave my house it's about an hour; if I slug it in, my cost is the gas to the commuter lot (5.2 miles each way, say 10. That's $1.20 with today's gas prices), and then $3.30 in round trip Metro tickets.

Commuter Cost from Slugging to Ballston from Woodbridge daily: $4.50
Commuter Cost from Slugging to Crystal City from Woodbridge daily: $1.20

It took me 55 minutes to get to work this morning driving solo. This means driving up Route 1 and taking the Route 1 exit past 123 (to bypass traffic on 95 where people don't know how to merge). Then getting off at Edsall - Sleepy Hollow - Wilson; to get to Ballston because it bottlenecks again at Edsall Road / $395.

Commuter cost from Driving solo to Ballston from Woodbridge daily (32 miles not including stop and go and lower mpg rate): 3 gallons of gas round trip = $7.32. with no parking fees. With parking fees / $15 / $17 / $20 depending on the car lot you park at.

This does not include a parking cost which would be $8 daily. I have someone else's parking pass. So it could potentially be $15 in commuter costs a day, if you get the early bird. If not you're paying up to $19 a day to commute.

Taking the VRE costs $7.80 each way, and metroing to Ballston from Crystal City is $4.50 round trip.

Commuting via VRE to Ballston from Woodbridge + Metro = Roughly $20.10

Math is fun.

Posessed Cars.

We got into a Chevy from Rosslyn yesterday that was possessed. The turn signal part of the car (that makes the clicking noise) was like a metronome. After she turned it off, it would go doublespeed. When we came to a stop I think she turned on A/C so we couldn't hear it as much. At first I thought it was her keys clicking but it was louder and more methodical. I think her signal had three speeds.

There was that shooting in Dale City at the OmniBus HQ so people in DC that usually take the bus were now slugging back to Woodbridge. One guy metro'd from Midtown to Rosslyn to get a quicker ride.

After I got back to Hoodbridge, there was a lady that needed a jump start parked next to me, so we grabbed them from some other commuter 10 cars down and got her good to go. I gave myself a pat on the back for not shocking myself.

Oh Yeah I Forgot...

Within the first couple weeks of me starting slugging, some car picked me up and then proceeded to drive to the Costco Gas Station (next to the commuter designated lot at Potomac Mills). Why did the guy not wait until he filled up with gas first? I could have gotten into another car and to work 10 minutes quicker!

Long Lost Friends and Fighting for Space against a Child Seat

Yesterday was interesting. A driver and a slug knew each other from being in ROTC together in high school. They talked the whole time and exchanged numbers. Pretty cool.

So I get in this morning into a car after walking by 10 cars that weren't going my way. I find a car that is showing a sign with my destination, but upside down.

Awesome!



This stupid baby seat was directly in the middle. Only a 10 year old could fit comfortably where I sat today. I think I have a permanent indention in my shoulder from the top of the baby seat, trying to make space with the baby seat.

I'd hate to see a 200 lb person try to sit there. And yes my button is unbuttoned.

White Knuckles

I got to the lot this morning and I see a Jaguar in the front, with a passenger. I give myself a mental fist pump and hope that he's going where I'm going.

He does! Another mental fist pump but as I get in, I notice how small it is. What is it with Jaguars and how small the interiors are? Isn't there a middle ground between American cars and Imports where there is a nice in between? American cars have the worst interior design known to man, and I think Jags are second worst. The back looked roomy but the front was a bit tight for me.

Then another dagger: No music. With a "luxury" car you get no exterior noise. What does this mean? Every little noise, grunt, sniffle; apparently my driver was a mouth breather. It took a whole two minutes before I couldn't take it anymore and grab my mp3 player to find out I grabbed the wrong headphones for it. They apparently fit my phone and apparently it only works in one ear.

After we jump on HOV, he jumps to the left immediately (with no cars around, behind or in front of us). So I'm thinking; oh geez, now I get to stare at everyone passing us on the right.

Annnnd I was right. One lady in a minivan almost took us off the road, and all this guy does? He flash beams her really quick like ten times. And in a Charles Heston voice, "IDIOTAS!" and then after I looked over, he bellowed a deep, "DIPSHIT!"; again in a Charles Heston voice. No other words were uttered. He was exercising his right as a slug participant to speak as few words as possible (to not encourage conversation in the car), to express his emotions. It was pure awesomeness.

I'm noticing also that he's keeping behind all cars 2.5 to 3 seconds, which is far apart for HOV standards. So people are passing us, and he beams a bus which obviously can't see anything. Why even bother beaming a bus?

As we pull off towards the Memorial Bridge exit, we see a Minivan pulled over. The same one that almost sideswiped us to get past us. She was the only passenger. Oh sweet justice.

I OWN THE ROAD!

Man, on Friday I had a guy that had a steering wheel assister on a mid sized sedan; the driver was was maybe in his late 30's. He was jamming out to some underground horrible 80's style R+B, that only women in their 50's with female Caesar cuts should listen to.



He complained about cars cutting in front of him without using signals, motorcycles jumping in front of him, and then giving little speeches after each incident.

First of all, a man with a steering assister shouldn't be driving in the LEFT lane, regardless of how old they are. Especially when you're singing along to some bad R+B, that only middle aged women should listen to. So if you want bad music, bad commentary; this is your guy. . Complaining about cars that pass you while you are in the left lane leaves you with little if any, credibility.

Sorry dude, the road isn't yours.

Weight Limit

Is there a weight limit? Is 350 pounds too much for your car?

Best of This Week.

No A/C for four or five cars as noted this week.


Getting into a Mercedes that has double floor mats. I had these in the early 80's at my parent's house lining the hallway. I didn't think these still existed. I used to pull it up and make hills for my Hot Wheels go over them and torture myself by putting my arm underneath of it to see how bad the little spikes would hurt. They hurt.

Getting into a Hyndai from a person not much older than myself with easy listening tunes from the 80's on his CD mix. After he changed it from 107.3 A man my age should not be listening to 107.3. Or wear a college class ring. You might as well wear a pinky ring.

I got into a car yesterday with someone that I thought was sick, because she kept coughing, but it was like a nervous one. I realized that it was Turrets. I didn't think people with Turrets could drive? She was very nice but I also had thoughts of us running into a concrete barrier as well.

Speaking of concrete barrier, I sat in an Audi with a guy that was pulling 85mph with the windows open on HOV. It was nice to get home quick, but man, it was pretty loud.

This morning I was walking up to the lot and I was the closest person to the first car with a woman getting ready to get into it as well. I walk up and she says, "Crystal City!" followed by Sorry! and pointed to the two women about 25 feet away.

I was like what? I look in and there's no one in there, she was saving a spot for two of the women walking up but hadn't gotten there yet. I was confused, it was like the scene in Austin Powers where the guy is screaming from 50 feet away his demise. Except she was calling that the car was filled up before anyone got there. So I turn around (since I was in between the two cars) to the car behind it since she had pretty much claimed it for the other women. At this point the other two had walked up to this van, and no one to the first car, and so I walk up and get in; wanting to bitch slap her for being an idiot.

Was she going to give me the Heisman for trying to jump in when I was rightfully next in line because she saw the other women first? Stupid people.

Two for Tuesday: No A/C

This morning the lady drove us and had no A/C on. The front seat passenger asked to roll down the window and she said it was okay. Why didn't she just turn on some air, I was about to pass out in the back from the heat!

I fell asleep all the way to the stop and got out, I didn't drool on anything.

On the ride back, I got into an Audi, with both windows rolled down as well as the sunroof. I got in the back, and a slug got in the front. We drove 2/3 of the way there before he put the windows up because it was super window. And he was pushing 85mph during some stretches. I didn't care as long as we got there in one piece. I was imagining him flipping the car though. I'm just glad he didn't have techno music on or anything.

I was out sick yesterday so no ride yesterday...

What's up with NO A/C?

C'mon people. I've gotten into two cars and I lost five pounds each ride because I sweated it all out. If you can't turn up the A/C, then don't drive. And if you smell like earwax, take a shower. And use my deodorant. I'll put it in the car because you're obviously not using it.

Memorial Day Aftermath

So where is it in the DMV handbook that says, for the days after a holiday, that traffic shalt suck for two days? I was backed up all the way at a distance of not even 200 yards from our exit yesterday. And there were no accidents or anything.

I know it's not the rain. Oh wait I know what it is, it's people jumping on HOV when they have already been waiting for an hour in regular traffic. HOT Lanes won't work, it can't even handle non HOV people with HOV people now... And it will bottleneck.

Look at all the exit points. Whoever bamboozled VDOT into buying into HOT Lanes should hire me on board because I'd like to see how companies with fantasy visions sell it to idiots that waste taxpayer's money and time, and become rich from it.

I've been told by a VDOT employee that the State Police don't have the budget to patrol HOV lanes on a more regular basis. That's why you only see them like once a week if that. Maybe once every two or three weeks at exit points in the afternoon. So when HOT Lanes are in effect how are they going to be enforced? My source said they had no idea on how it was going to work at all, they don't have the technology or how it's going to be laid out yet. That's fantastic.

Anyways I had someone in my car this morning that smelled like ear wax.

Cheaters never win and winners never cheat.

How dumb are you to jump on HOV at 7am by yourself and to get caught right at that exit ramp? Dummy. At least pass the exit first then circle back to it. Gosh.

HIghlights from this weekk

Somone playing air keytar to Rod Stewart while driving. Yes, keytar, not air guitar.

And Hyndai cars are a big surprise. I'm sitting in one now. I actuallly like it better than the Jaguar xType.

I'm sitting in between two Ultraman window shades. And Tasmanian Devil floor mats.



Traffic looks to be a doozy with the Memorial Weekend starting just a day away. I've been borrrowing a friend's car and it has dog hair in the back seat, and the strong smell of cleaning solution from dog puke. I've been trying to gauge people's reactions on the two days I drove but they didn't really react. Well good luck with driving today and tomorrow.

Junk in the Trunk

I get into a car this morning and there is a huge baby seat on the other side, the armrest is down and then there is a 30 pack of water on the floor in the available seat. So do you want me to sit in the baby seat or put my dirty shoes on the water? I just lifted it up and there was no space for me to lift it up properly so I did a lazy kid move and just flipped it over on its back on the other side. And then I listened to Steve Harvey giving advice to dudes who have crappy girlfriends/wives on the radio.

I did see a Jag this morning (a nicer one, but it was going towards Rosslyn). Dang it.

Narcoleptics shouldn't drive

I noticed this morning that the PT Cruise I got into doesn't have the ability to roll down/up windows from the backseat. It's all controlled from the front. So if this car ever gets stuck in underwater, then I'm screwed.

Then I noticed the female driver's eyes in the rear view mirror half open as she was driving. I looked at different times and I couldn't tell if she naturally had lazy eyes or if she was tired. Then she grabbed her coffee to try to stay awake and even then they were slowwwwwly closing then opening up. I wondered how long before she would doze off and veer us off over the median and into incoming traffic.



The answer, approximately was at 8:10am.

Her head went kaput and she slammed on the brakes, caught herself and apologized. There was a bus next to us in the HOV lane, I should have gotten out and got in it.

And traffic was backed up again today. If they do allow HOT Lanes, the HOV on 95 will be forever screwed. It can barely handle the traffic right now, one little accident and dummies all rubberneck. They should build huge barriers so you can't see any other lane other than the HOV lane. Or a cheaper solution would be to buy horse blinders and require them for all drivers.

OH yeah.

What leg space?

I sat back in the Jaguar again yesterday (click on the link to see how small it was). Luxury cars should stay... Luxury cars. It looked so cheaply made and being the pricepoint "luxury" car just made it the equivalent of a Toyota Paseo with nicer interior, but it still looks like a matchbox car. I barely fit in the Jaguar by the way, and I sat in the front seat this time. A bigger fellow jumped in the back, and I'm sure he was cursing himself the whole way for choosing the backseat.

Sorry for the lack of updates recently...

I drove several times last week and usually when I drive, it's not very exciting.

The only cool thing this week was a driver playing Metallica for the first 10 minutes before feeling guilty and putting it on WTOP 103.5. That's what I usually do when I'm playing music that isn't pop, and the people in the car don't really seem to be into the genre of punk rock or hip hop.


One thing grossed me out this morning was when the passenger in front of me this morning sneezed, and five seconds later I got a whiff of the nasty sneeze spray smell. I instantly held my breath and exhaled so none of it would get in my system. It was so gross. And the smell. GROOOSSS. I've at least learned how to sneeze so all the stuff stops at the throat and nothing gets expelled that would make people ill. The driver was probably almost twice my age as well today, and called me sir twice. It was polite, and amusing to me at the same time.


I counted 42 people in line for the midtown Slug line this morning. There were 10 people in our line. If that was me, I'd be like, OH schnikeys, I'm going to drive and pick up some slugs. But they didn't. They just stood there and waited. That just boggled my mind. Cheap bastards. Spend the $5 in gas, give back and drive.


Linda Hunt drove me this afternoon. Well, a woman that looked like her. She rolled up with a pillow behind her back. Really polite woman. She asked if it got too warm to tell her and she put on the radio for thirty seconds before turning it off, to listen to traffic to be polite. But it was awfully quiet. She asked us again if we'd like A/C, and I didn't know what to say. Of course I wanted it but she was driving and if she didn't have it on, it meant she was just fine. I just said umm sure, because the air was getting stale in there and I was starting to cough.

I tried to fall asleep so I wouldn't cough anymore and woke up pretty close to our destination. I am driving tomorrow and I'm borrowing a friend's car since mine is in the shop. It smells like dog vomit so let's see if anyone has any reaction to it tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Zoooooooom!

Man.

The Civic this guy was driving seemed to barely hold all three of us let alone go up to 80 mph! It sounded like the wheels were gonna fall right on off. White knuckles and all.

Our driver actually was ducking when he sped up to 80mph, and he did it for no apparent reason; no one was around us. He just decided to speed up and tuck. This ranks under #2 for scary ride aside from our Kenny Bania drunk lookalike.

LIVE BLOGGING!

I'm in a honda civic and this guy crouches down when he goes faster than 70. super jerky turns. it feels like the wheels are gonna fall off this thing. pray for me.

Wow

The lot at Potomac Mills was half empty today. Do people slug less in the spring?

When it rains, it does pour

Literally and figuratively.

I woke up late this morning because 1) I wasn't feeling that great and 2) it was gloomy out, so the sun didn't shine on my face to wake me up, as my backup alarm clock.

People have not been slugging as much as of late. The parking lot this morning was 80% full at like 8am. Maybe they overslept a little like me.

Anyways I jump into the car and this old guy is wearing Chanel sunglasses, in the rain, with a trench coat on. I'm thinking this guy looks familiar...



The weird thing was that it was raining, and dark. And his wipers were on intermittent and he didn't have Rain-ex on his windshield. And top it all off, the radio was OFF. And it was just weird.

I've also noticed that he was driving a blue/greyish car with black interior. I don't know too many guys that have blue cars. They are either black, silver, red, etc. If it was blue, they had a wife that influenced them, which means they weren't going to drive it that much. But what kind of personality type buys a blue car with black interior (Toyota), with $300-$500 pair of Chanel sunglasses (and drives them when it's dark out)? He's rich enough to buy expensive sunglasses but not a luxury car. But he's also wearing sunglasses when it's dark out because maybe he spent so much money on them he wants to get his money's worth?

Nice guy but the whole thing was odd. Especially when the wipers were on intermittent and it was raining cats and dogs so I don't know how he could see at at all.

Maybe he had laser beam eyes. Either way, traffic was super bad today so I was glad that I didn't attempt to drive in. And if I did I wouldn't have had the old guy from Family Guy drive me to the metro station for work. Thank you Chanel Sunglasses, you saved this blog.







I get out at Ballston and look at all the lemmings on the other side. To the brim. Happy Monday.

Long Line Thursdays

Wow no one wants to drive on Thursdays eh? The lines were outlandish today... I drove in so it was easy for me to get two slugs. The 14th street line was at least 40 people long, while the Rosslyn/Crystal City line was about 12-15 people deep.

Crazy.

I'm sure I'm driving the slugs nuts with my music selection. Maybe they're writing about me somewhere. Which got me thinking? Should I make a mix for myself, or a slug-friendly one? Hmmm.

Between the weird brainwashing self-help cds, gospel music, I think I provide decent music selection... Who knows.

I got the lady that refused a ride in a Mercedes

because she wanted a personal ride down to Ballston, which is two exits down from Rosslyn. The Mercedes driver (and I've seen him twice this week already but I wasn't going to Rosslyn) just wasn't going to Ballston.

I drove today and that same lady got into my car. I recognized her instantly somehow even though I barely got a glimpse her that one morning last month.

She got in the car and didn't ask. I was like wow, she must be content with just going to the metro. Then five seconds pass and as I'm pulling out of the parking lot she asks. I just told her it was her lucky day since I'm driving towards Ballston. She sat like she wanted to have a conversation, leaning towards the driver side. Most people slouch or just sit straight.

I invoked my right to slug etiquette and looked ahead and didn't say anything. People that think having an etiquette is weird; be thankful it's there. If I had wanted to talk I'm sure I could have had a full conversation. But I chose not to, and turned up the Ipod on the stereo.

As we hit traffic about four exits from my exit; I started thinking about HOT Lanes. How the hell are HOT lanes supposed to work if you have a hybrid car, and you have three people? I would say that 99.5% of the people that utilize the HOV lanes are carpoolers or hybrid owners.

So the congestion to get onto the HOT lanes would be ridiculous, since it has to be done manually. So would you pay extra money to skip those lines? It's already an express lane. So you'd need an express lane for the express lane, right?

And do you get a refund if it's congested? So if you go slower than 55mph for more than two minutes do you get a partial or full refund. People won't be happy if they pay $20 to go 20 miles, only to wait in line because it's all congested where people are exiting.

And who gets the money when a cop gives you a ticket for enforcing HOV? Basically contractors are hired to collect the money for building it since they paid the state for the rights to. But the weird thing also is that the police would also enforce it as well right? The HOT Lanes company doesn't OWN the highway they control and maintain the access to the lanes right? Who is going to regulate the dynamic fees based on traffic? Who would question if it costs $2/mile to ride HOV b/c it's "congested" and it's subjective whether there is a lot of traffic or not.

This is stupid. All I know is I'm moving out of here if the HOT Lanes every do take place on 95.

Jaguar xType 3.0 = Hatchback sized car with no leg space

Big seats (leather rear seats, fabric front seats?) but no room at all for our legs.


Only Kate Moss could sit behind the driver.


It's a Jag, but it sucks.

I've never sat still without shifting around like that in a car. I felt like I had restraints on. I literally had no room to move. I had a choice when I came into the car. Get in the backseat and sleep with no space or sit in the front and have less privacy to sleep. I choose the backseat reluctantly.

Don't get me wrong when I saw the Jag I was stoked, I've never been in one. When I opened the door to the backseat, all of that went out the window when I saw how much legroom I had. I studied the inside of the car and it looked like a Toyota interior with bigger front seats. And maybe slightly finer materials to make up the dashboard but that was about it.

My back hurts so I shift around a bunch to alleviate the discomfort and not doing so made me feel claustrophic. When you think Jaguar, you think luxury. There was nothing luxurious about this car at all. And the guy drove the speed limit so it was even more excruciating that it took an additional 5-10 minutes to get back to the commuter lot.

Ahhh Mondays I shake my fist at you.

41 degrees and the top is down?

When you have a convertible... and you have the top down... Please do us a favor and roll down your windows as well, and not have your heat cranked up, as you drive on a major interstate. Yes sir, it was 41 degrees this morning, and you drove with the top down.

Douchebag.

I noticed this guy driving in the non-HOV lanes. Seriously. 41 degrees, windows up, top down.

BOBBLEHEAD FRIDAY

I rode in a Bravada today. My head was bobbing the whole way. From start to finish; she drooooooooove soooooo slow. A lady with a walker passed us. I think that was by far the most uncomfortable ride ever, I tried to fall asleep; not so much.

With Easter on Sunday, there was NO traffic on 95. Half of the commuter lot was empty. Or half full, however you perceive it. I wonder if I can find a ride home, that's the big dilemma, with everyone skipping out on work today.

SPRING BREAK = LESS SLUGS

Wow, 7:30 and more than 100 spots left at Horner Road? Who woulda thunk? The last two days have been super boring. Maybe there is a discrepancy between the levels of how eclectic people are based on where they work? Maybe more from the Rosslyn area than Crystal City or Pentagon drop offs?

I think there is. I've been in Crystal City this whole week and it's been smooth sailing but then again, the number of riders and drivers seem to be a bit down too.

It's already interesting enough to get people slugging that work for the Government. Then add on top of that they live in Woodbridge. Have you ever been in the Wal Mart near Potomac Mills Mall? It's like walking into a Star Wars bar. I'm kidding, I'm kidding.

I'm just mad that I haven't had any crazy drivers yet this whole week. Spring break should happen more often. I get a place to park in the better lot, and there are less weird drivers.

Pimped out Mercedes

Today I sat in a pretty nice Mercedes.

I've sat in a really nice car, or a really dirty one. It's either one or the other.

DIRTAY THURSDAY

A cupcake wrapper, gum packaging, amongst the yuck.

I swear. It comes in waves. I got in two dirty ass cars yesterday. The drivers were super nice, but geez louise.


This was my passenger to my right. Oops. I meant my other right.

The second car back to my commuter lot had all sorts of stains and crumbs on the backseat. I cringed getting in.

Friday, I got into a nicer car that didn't smell of air freshener, but incense. Quite odd.

And when I got stuck in the front seat; I felt rude to put on my headphones. So I got stuck listening to the radio. The lady in the backseat was mixing some concoction into her water bottle, who knows. I was gone on Monday (travel), and Tuesday/Wednesday I drove in (one day, picking up slugs, the second day, none - because I was late).

It's been pretty mild as late. But I'm sure if I missed the first car this morning, I would have had plenty of stories in the old white hoopty behind it.

White People don't like Music.

Or are scared of offending people in the car as a driver.

I've noticed more Caucasians with their radios off or super low that you can barely hear it; its more background noise. Turn up the music, whiteys! I listened to a Rock Opera this week for Jimminy Crickets.... it's better than dead silence!

I also discovered the overflow lot yesterday. No more attempting to drive in if I'm late. Booyaa

Grumpy Old Man

I picked up Gramps today. He had a cane and didn't look happy to get into my car.

I turned up WTOP 103.5 for him louder than usual since I was dropping of a friend at the airport so I only picked up one slug.

Huge traffic jam today, 395 was a parking lot. Yay for slugging.

Rock Opera

This morning I came in late to the lot and actually drove myself to the overflow lot instead of trying to drive around town and being super late. Had a friendly car this morning, actually driving all the way to Ballston with all the passengers in the car. I've never had anyone play a Rock Opera on the stereo in the morning before but it was pretty interesting.

Also I'm glad I didn't try to drive in; there was a huge accident/back up at the Glebe Road exit. 395 was a parking lot. Slugging has saved me lots of gas money and mileage on my car. Not to mention, aggravation.



The lady that got dropped off first thought the sandwiches at Booeymongers tasted like crap too.

I've had a lot of normal cars for the past week or so. Both driving and as a passenger. Is this normal? Stay tuned.

Ford Taurus' are tiny.

My head was literally in the windshield and the headrest didn't exist or it was super tiny. I thought front seats were supposed to have space.

Nothing exciting to report today.

Great drivers both on the way there, and back.

No update today.

Alive and well. I drove in,I missed the pick up times, after 8am.

"I'd do anything to get home on a Friday..."

"and that means getting in a car with me."

Ok. Awkward answer by the driver. And creeepy. The first passenger made the comment after passing three other cars that weren't going her way. I was behind her and so I got to sit in the front seat.

The car smelled like cigarettes but not of someone that smoked in the car. But the smell was stronger than of someone that smoked but not in their car. It smelled like bar, and someone that's been in it for a while.

And it sort of made sense because the guy was swerving... He almost ran off the road three times. I thought he was going to pull off the exit ramp at all of them when it wasn't ours because he was swerving so much. We were going straight, and he was having a hard time keeping it straight. And on top of that he had the radio off, probably so he could focus.


A police car gets on the road and this guy slows down for no reason. We had three people in the car, we were going the speed limit, in the right lane, and this was a couple hundred yards before the exit. And the guy slowed down, and was making way too much effort to look behind him.

I usually block out faces when I post them but you can tell how glassy his eyes look when you zoom up on it. All I know is that I wanted to get out of the car ASAP.

This guy drives a tan 90's style Toyota. So what the hell do we do in this situation? Pray?

He looked like an extra creepy Kenny Bania from Seinfeld.

So this is what it's like...

Today must be smooth ride week, because I've ridden in some comfy cars this week; Lexus, Acura, Mercedes... After riding in a Chevy Pinto the other day, the Mercedes I rode in today was pretty money. You can see how much space I had, and on top of that, the rear of the front seats are contoured for your legs (by at least 1.5-2 inches) unlike the Chevy pinto car, that was bulky and made of plastic.



It was a pimp ride and then on top of that the Soul music was on point too. I was a little scared when the classic "Hello" by Lionel Ritchie started, but he changed it quickly. It snowed a bit this morning, and the Potomac lot was half empty/half full; however you see it. I got to the lot around 7:35ish, and the lots are usually full by then. Free ride for me!

Nothing out of the ordinary except for the awesome car and the stupid lady that didn't get in because she wanted a personal ride farther from the drop off point. Happy Friday everyone.

It's sad when crap gets more space than you.

All this baby crap, got more space than I did. This little old lady with brown hair had her seat all the way back, in this tiny little Chevy. My phone was about to die, so the only shot I got was this.

My claustrophobia sets in and my back is killing me. Because my knees are on my chest. And stupid plastic seat backs are for what? Kids puking?

Driving Gloves or Murder Gloves?

It was 50 degrees out and this guy had on driving gloves that you'd wear in the middle of winter. My thoughts quickly went to OJ Simpson and his gloves. Then my thoughts raced to whether I was going to get hacked up or not. He could be some doctor that hacked you up like Jack the Ripper.

Then I looked at the door locks and they weren't hacked off, and they were unlocked the whole time. So I felt safe taking a 10 minute nap.

He was a nice man and his car was probably the most comfortable car I've ridden in so far. I sat in a pimp BMW this morning, but I still think the 90's Lexus and Man with Driving Gloves trumped it from yesterday afternoon.

Counting Crows and Selling Polos at Flea Markets

I knew once I stepped into my morning car yesterday that it would be interesting. Two big guys in a Honda Civic, with an old school car stereo with the flashing dash on it. With Counting Crows playing on the CD player. I got a quick flashback to 1995.

They asked for advice on the best way to get to Rossyln since they usually didn't take that way and I got scared for like a brief second.

I thought they had Canadian accents before I realized they were most likely from the Midwest. Super friendly car. Every time the driver thought something was cool he'd say, "Awwwwriiiiiight!"


If any of you have seen American Movie (the documentary), I highly suggest it, and the guys reminded me of these two guys.

So anyways the conversation turn towards going to Richmond for the guy in the backseat to sell shirts, since he has a shirt business. I found out that these guys buy polo shirts bulk from Asia and sell them at flea markets. The driver suggested the backseat passenger go to the Nascar race in Richmond, VA to sell the shirts. "Awwwrighhht!" They said they would put numbers on them and put fake signatures on them to sell. Haha.

This was probably my most entertaining ride. I swore they were Canadian for like five minutes, but they never said EH. Apparently one of their friends got stuck with seven containers of bulk polo shirts that were worth $1M. So I'm guessing he spent between $300k to $500k to buy these items from Asia. These guys seriously took out loans to buy these shirts in bulk to sell at flea markets. The one guy commented how he'd rather not sell the shirts at cost to get rid of them, he'd rather "slow sell" them because he'd be more patient and would make more money that way. I admired their entrepreneurship drive and wondered how many boxes were piled up in their garage/basement.

Then the conversation turned towards buying and selling cds at record stores. Again, flashback to 1995. The driver buys cds on Craigslist for a buck, burns them on his computer and resells them to the recordstore for $2 or $3.

Now that is a smart guy. Anyways I get off at my stop, and say goodbye to the most entertaining ride thus far.

HOT LANES

Today's simple question: Who's going to enforce/regulate how much is charged on the HOT LANES? This threatens Slugging's very existence; because there is no way for them to enforce the three or more rule. If I had 3 or more people AND EZPASS, they'd charge me? They say they won't but they'll most likely take it away from what I've seen. Won't they bottleneck if they have someone manually checking?

This is stupid.



"High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes are tolled lanes that operate alongside existing highway lanes to provide users with a faster and more reliable travel option. Buses, carpools (HOV-3), motorcycles and emergency vehicles will have free access to HOT lanes. Drivers with fewer than three occupants can choose to pay to access the lanes.

Tolls for the HOT lanes will change according to traffic conditions to regulate demand for the lanes and keep them congestion free - even during peak hours. When traffic increases, tolls will go up. When traffic decreases, tolls will go down.

Fully electronic tolling on the HOT lanes will allow customers to pay tolls with E-ZPass - eliminating the need for toll booths. Electronic signs will display toll rates to help drivers decide whether to use HOT lanes. Drivers will lock in their toll rate when they enter the HOT lanes."