Eye Boogers

I think I'm going to break up with my carpoolers. It's *not* a time saver and I knew that, but with gas at $4.75 a gallon, I was willing to deal with it. Now that gas is $1.75 a gallon, I'm far less motivated to carpool. The roads are congested because everyone else is thinking the same thing, but I don't care. I am one of the most irritable people on the planet and if I thought I'd magically find carpoolers who didn't bug the shit out of me, I was crazy.

And to be fair, it's really only #2 who bugs me. #1 has his moments too (they're both entirelly too hyper-focused on finding the absolute best possible route that might possssibly shave four minutes off our drive time), but he's fine. Unfortunately, he's also going on vacation for three weeks and I already told him that I'd KILL KILL KILL #2 if I had to be alone with him for three weeks, but #1 was oblivious to the high irritation factor that #2 introduces into the equation.

But yesterday, driving alone with #2, I reached my nitpicky limit. I noticed that he's always cleaning the sleep out of the corners of his eyes. Okay, not ALWAYS, but once or twice per drive. He'll take his glasses off, stick his finger in his eye, inspect what comes out, brush it off his finger and put his glasses back on. In my opinion, this is not something you do around people who are not your intimates, but I know, I know...I'm picky. I should say that it's not something *I* would do around people who are not my intimates and even then, I'd probably go warsh my hands just out of courtesy to others.

So it's gross and all but the thing that pushed me over the edge?

I made myself some tea for the drive home so I wouldn't be all grunty and annoying with my scratchy throat and it was in the cup holder between our two seats.

HE BRUSHED HIS EYE BOOGERS OFF HIS FINGERS RIGHT OVER MY TEA.

G-R-O-S-S.

So I couldn't have my tea and I was mad and grossed out and resolved to antibacterial wipe everything in my car that he might have touched and then never drive with his ass again.

And God help the junkie at my gas station who always offers to squeegee my windows and who I always refuse, because when I stopped to get gas I was preoccupied with entering my PIN and I turned around and he was pushing dirty water all over my otherwise perfectly clean windshield. If I wasn't so pissy about eye boogers in my tea I might have been nicer about it but my instant reaction was to shout NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO to him.

But seriously, that's annoying. He didn't ask, he just did. Not asseptable.

And yes, if you're keeping track, I am nitpicky, irritable and bitchy to people who are possibly homeless.

Miscellaneous Update

1. My carpool posse (I think I forgot to report here that we've been joined by a third person) and I were driving home last night and a Tori Amos song came on and we were discussing which album it was from (and I'm horrified that I actually have any knowledge in this category) and I remembered that OMG! One of the magical things my phone can do that I don't even bother trying to understand is that it will tell me what song is playing! So I busted it out and proved myself wrong -- it was not from Tori's Little Earthquakes album.

The boys were FASCINATED with the magic of it all and they spent like 30 minutes discussing how it worked and asking me to tag new songs. It must be listening to lyrics. No, because the sample it took from that last song was before the words started. It must be picking up a radio feed from the radio station. No, because it worked when I tagged a song I heard on Jon Stewart last night.

They just couldn't accept that it was MAGIC.

Those of you on Danielle's latest CD exchange can thank the magic for helping me identify two songs that I'm listening to on HEAVY rotation and that will also be included on my contribution.

2. I'm wearing white pants today and I'm really unsure as to whether or not I am seasonally appropriate. I'm wearing them with a brown v-neck sweater, animal print heels and gold accessories, but I'm concerned I look like I don't know that it's autumn. What Would Clinton Kelly Say? WWCKS? I wouldn't dare wear them except that I bought them in late September and they weren't even a clearance item. FASHUNS ARE TRICKY BUSINESS!

3. If I still worked at PG&E today would be a holiday. Bah. On the upside, traffic, or the lack of traffic I guess, was fantastic this morning.

4. Tiger needs your good thoughts:



Carrie's checkbook does too. Yikes.

5. My parents ILLEGALLY smuggled apples from Sarah's dad's farm in Iowa back to California and now my dad is going to try to grow the seeds out here. I think it's kind of awesome for reasons I can't really define, but here's a blurry picture of the ILLEGAL apples:



And for the record, my mom said that the agricultural checkpoint guy didn't even ask them if they had any fruit with them, so she didn't LIE, but I'm sure that if I think hard enough, I can come up with an example of how I got in trouble as a kid for non-disclosure. HOW CONVENIENT FOR YOU NOW, MOM! Heh.

6. My friend Carey said that her #1 favorite sandwich of all time was peanut butter, mayonnaise and Lawry's seasoned salt. This isn't the first time I've heard freaky reports of the deliciousness of peanut butter and mayo, but SEASONED SALT? So I waited until I had some bread and then I busted out all the ingredients and gave it a shot:



I only made a small piece and I probably should have used two sides of bread because the salt on my teeth was kinda ick, but all in all, it wasn't half bad:



She said I should try it with a tomato too, but I think the above research was sufficient. I get why, if you grew up with it, someone might love it, but I don't think I'll be getting into the habit.

7. I cooked something! Pancetta, French Lentil & Spinach Risotto, specifically. It was pretty good, but it was better as leftovers (and after I added more salt).

Cooking the pancetta:



The onions, shallots, garlic & leeks:



It smelled fantastic:



I love risotto but all the standing around and being patient and stirring KILLS me:



But in the end it was delicious and Weight Watcher friendly:

I didn't die on the way to work this morning.

My new carpool buddy is more desirable than I would have guessed. Not "desirable" in the sexy sexy baby baby way, but "desirable" meaning "completely acceptable carpool buddy."

His name is Nir, he's 20-something and he's attractive and he doesn't smell and he covers his mouth when he yawns and he lives 5 minutes from me and his office is 5 minutes from my office. All lovely qualities to have when I will spend more time with him each week than I will any other single person.

And the thing about carpooling is that I guess the etiquette is to listen to news or something completely non-offensive but I don't even know what those stations are. I'd have to look them up. But the gay dance mix station? That one I know.

So he said that he usually listens to NPR and SERIOUSLY, what is up with all the young people listening to NPR these days? I tried listening to NPR back when I had sattelite radio and I only lasted like 10 minutes because they were talking about war in a country I'd never even heard of. And really, the only reason I even gave it a shot was because I felt peer pressure. Peer pressure to be nerdy, I guess.

We discussed that we were totally fine with the rider sleeping or putting in his or her headphones or whatever (because seriously, do YOU want to have to make small talk for two hours a day? NO) and after having a polite "What do you do, where'd you grow up, how long have you lived in the city" conversation, he busted out his headphones and listened to EVANESCENCE and I listened to the local morning radio show. I never would have pegged him for an Evanescence fan, but there was no mistaking the lady power ballad coming from his earphones.

So now my perfectly lovely and not at all murderer-looking carpool buddy who I found on the internet is at work, I'm safe and sound and I'll pick him up at 5:30 for the ride home.