![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Content warning: disparaging automotive commentary ahead.
Going straight from work to the airport was fine. I finally got to try out the new bike path along Albany Shaker Road. For some reason, the beg button to actually cross Albany Shaker was covered over with a plastic bag, but it seemed to work.
I wound up with a blue Nissan Versa. Out of all the rental cars I've driven, the Versa is fine. What was not so fine was what I experienced the second I opened one of the car doors: as best as my delicate sinuses can tell, a previous user smoked in the vehicle and then attempted to cover up the smell with a horrible cologne bomb. BLECH. I probably should have asked for a different vehicle then and there, but I didn't. I really hate how artificial fragrances cloy onto everything around them.
Take this as your periodic reminder that if you use and wear any kind of fragrance, you should only apply the barest hint so the fragrance draws people in instead of repelling them completely out of the room and building. In essence, I should not be able to tell you are wearing fragrance because all of your fragrances disgust me. Fact of life.
There's nothing interesting to report from the drive out, which is a good thing. The drive back from Providence to Acton was the most interesting. There was a light dusting of snow on the interstate, but the state maintenance vehicles were on top of it. What they couldn't do so much about was the random shrapnel strewn across the road because someone must have had some sort of tire blowout. I managed to dodge the chunk of tire and a random bucket, but wasn't quite so lucky when shortly thereafter I came upon a muffler (or something of equivalent size and shape). I managed to get the muffler headed under the driver's side, but then it got stuck, so I had the joy of quick hazard lights on and a trip over to the narrow shoulder. Thankfully when I went into reverse the stuck muffler dislodged and I was able to carry on my way. When I checked the next morning, it also looks like the muffler just got stuck on the plastic undercarriage guard and didn't actually do any damage. WHEW.
The snow squall that followed shortly thereafter was also interesting. I honestly love it when the conditions deteriorate and all the vehicles slow down to a crawl. I love the excuse to drive slowly. If it means arriving safely, I'll make sure I have time. It is just so much more relaxing than trying to drive fast. I'm taking current gas prices as justification to drive at a comfortable and more fuel-efficient speed, but from everything I observed, while other people might grumble about high gas prices, they haven't changed their behavior accordingly just yet. This might also reflect just how well the American auto industry brainwashes people. Give me life in the slow lane anyday.
The return drive to Albany on Sunday afternoon was also uneventful. Roads were all totally clear by then. I got the car back right on time, then saddled up Froinlavin to head back to campus to check on insects. Although someone had thoughtfully plowed the Albany Shaker path, they did not do anything to clear the crosswalk leading to it. It is a constant annoyance to live in a society that makes it clear that people on bicycles or foot are second-class citizens. It is extremely obvious this is the case whenever it snows. And I say this as an able-bodied person who can stubbornly push a fully loaded bike through those crests of snow.
Interestingly, the worst driving behavior I observed on the entire trip all occurred as I got close to Albany. All the Massachusetts drivers were predictable with their occasional nonsense moves. Some of the driving I saw in New York was just straight up reckless.
I can understand how people who have circumstances and lifestyles that cause them to drive everywhere lose touch with how obnoxious, inconvenient, and dangerous it is to drive, but it's really noticeable when one only drives occasionally.
On that note, time to bike in to work.
Going straight from work to the airport was fine. I finally got to try out the new bike path along Albany Shaker Road. For some reason, the beg button to actually cross Albany Shaker was covered over with a plastic bag, but it seemed to work.
I wound up with a blue Nissan Versa. Out of all the rental cars I've driven, the Versa is fine. What was not so fine was what I experienced the second I opened one of the car doors: as best as my delicate sinuses can tell, a previous user smoked in the vehicle and then attempted to cover up the smell with a horrible cologne bomb. BLECH. I probably should have asked for a different vehicle then and there, but I didn't. I really hate how artificial fragrances cloy onto everything around them.
Take this as your periodic reminder that if you use and wear any kind of fragrance, you should only apply the barest hint so the fragrance draws people in instead of repelling them completely out of the room and building. In essence, I should not be able to tell you are wearing fragrance because all of your fragrances disgust me. Fact of life.
There's nothing interesting to report from the drive out, which is a good thing. The drive back from Providence to Acton was the most interesting. There was a light dusting of snow on the interstate, but the state maintenance vehicles were on top of it. What they couldn't do so much about was the random shrapnel strewn across the road because someone must have had some sort of tire blowout. I managed to dodge the chunk of tire and a random bucket, but wasn't quite so lucky when shortly thereafter I came upon a muffler (or something of equivalent size and shape). I managed to get the muffler headed under the driver's side, but then it got stuck, so I had the joy of quick hazard lights on and a trip over to the narrow shoulder. Thankfully when I went into reverse the stuck muffler dislodged and I was able to carry on my way. When I checked the next morning, it also looks like the muffler just got stuck on the plastic undercarriage guard and didn't actually do any damage. WHEW.
The snow squall that followed shortly thereafter was also interesting. I honestly love it when the conditions deteriorate and all the vehicles slow down to a crawl. I love the excuse to drive slowly. If it means arriving safely, I'll make sure I have time. It is just so much more relaxing than trying to drive fast. I'm taking current gas prices as justification to drive at a comfortable and more fuel-efficient speed, but from everything I observed, while other people might grumble about high gas prices, they haven't changed their behavior accordingly just yet. This might also reflect just how well the American auto industry brainwashes people. Give me life in the slow lane anyday.
The return drive to Albany on Sunday afternoon was also uneventful. Roads were all totally clear by then. I got the car back right on time, then saddled up Froinlavin to head back to campus to check on insects. Although someone had thoughtfully plowed the Albany Shaker path, they did not do anything to clear the crosswalk leading to it. It is a constant annoyance to live in a society that makes it clear that people on bicycles or foot are second-class citizens. It is extremely obvious this is the case whenever it snows. And I say this as an able-bodied person who can stubbornly push a fully loaded bike through those crests of snow.
Interestingly, the worst driving behavior I observed on the entire trip all occurred as I got close to Albany. All the Massachusetts drivers were predictable with their occasional nonsense moves. Some of the driving I saw in New York was just straight up reckless.
I can understand how people who have circumstances and lifestyles that cause them to drive everywhere lose touch with how obnoxious, inconvenient, and dangerous it is to drive, but it's really noticeable when one only drives occasionally.
On that note, time to bike in to work.
