driving on the [other side of the] road

Recently I was in Australia, and decided to rent a car for a one day side trip.  I love renting cars in foreign countries because there's a good chance the car will be a stick.  And that's always fun :)  This time, not only was the rental car a stick (fun), but the steering wheel was on the right side of the car.  A few observations about driving on the other side of the road (fun squared):

turn signal: you know how in the States, when you want to use the turn signal, you deftly lift the stalk up or down with the fingers on your left hand?  yeah... not so much in Australia.  The turn signal stalk sticks out on the right side of the steering column.  Many intended turn signals turned into the activation of windshield wipers instead. 

hugging the lane: when you are driving a "regular" car, you are generally used to centering the car by situating your view of the road towards the left side of the lane.  DO NOT do that if you are in Australia.  Or else your car will be halfway into the lane next to you.  If you don't know what I'm talking about, draw it out on paper.

Currently Wild at Heart: Discovering the Secret of a Man's Soul By John Eldredge see related

if only I lived a couple of stops further down the line

On the way home today I witnessed something you don't normally see on a subway.  This guy was about to propose to his girl while sitting on one of the 2-person seat portions of the subway car.  But he took so long in the prep that I got to my subway stop before he actually popped the question.

Currently Slumdog Millionaire By Original Soundtrack see related

modern day vending machines

I'm at the new T5 terminal at JFK waiting for my flight to take off, and I noticed the coolest vending machine I've ever seen.  No, this isn't stocked with candy or soda.  It's stocked with things like GPS units, fancy headphones and digital cameras.  I know right?

Currently The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith By Timothy Keller see related

it's like it's four thirty

At around 10:30am this morning, I have to go downstairs to run an errand so I get into the elevator.  When I get in, there is already another man in the elevator.  At the next floor the elevator stops again, a woman walks in, and the man turns to me and says,

man: "man, it's like it's four thirty"
me: "I'm sorry?"
man: "it's like it's four thirty"

As we continue down the elevator, I replay what the man says over and over in my head.  "it's like it's four thirty".  What in the world is he talking about??    We finally get down to the ground level after stopping on a few more floors and everyone exits the elevator. 

Then it hits me.  "It's like it's 4:30"!  He's talking about the mad elevator rush when people get off work.  I guess around these parts, people head home at 4:30pm.  Where am I?  Oh yeah, I'm in Texas.

Currently Gaming Gran Turismo 5 Prologue By Sony Computer Entertainment see related

Jamba Juice

A few days ago, a friend and I went to go grab smoothies.

cashier: Hi, welcome to Jamba Juice, what would you like?
me: berry fulfilling, original, fiber boost
cashier: and your name?
me: Victor

Next up, my friend Jay goes to order.

cashier: Hi, welcome to Jamba Juice, what would you like?
Jay: original matcha green tea blast with energy

Those of you familiar with Jamba know what happens next.  You wait for them to make your smoothie and then they call out your name.  A few minutes later, they called out "Victor!" and I went to go grab my smoothie. 

Jay: hey, I just realized that I don't think they asked me for my name
me: what do you mean? they must have. otherwise, how would they know who the smoothie is for?
Jay: I don't know, but I'm pretty sure they didn't ask.
Jamba worker: Inigo! *pause* matcha green tea blast for Inigo?!
Jay: Oh! that's mine.

And then it all made sense.  the picture below is a closeup of the t-shirt Jay was wearing that day. 

Currently Reading The Shack By William P. Young see related