Just. Breathe.

I've not been in a writing mood. Blog topics have swirled around in my head the last couple of weeks, but nothing has really settled as being something I really wanted to spend time actually writing. I think my brain is just tired. We had lightning damage from one of the nasty spring storms in Texas about three weeks ago. Getting new stuff is fun, right? Getting new stuff all at once because nothing is working is not so fun. My house has been a wreck for weeks, and there are boxes everywhere. I'm tired of paperwork, and for a while it seemed like every day something else was discovered that didn't work. Insurance. Glad to have it, really. Deductibles suck. Paying for a roof that we didn't even know was damaged by hail/wind (it's WAY up there! I can't see it!) when we'd much rather take a vacation sucks a lot. So I haven't wanted to do much writing or extra thinking. Throw in a business trip, and it's just much more conducive to sitting my but...

I just watched a driver go around railroad crossing arms or bars or whatever those things are called. Full Discolosure #1 : I live in a suburb where the railroad tracks are one of the, if not THE, biggest pains for the residents of this area. I've been regularly delayed by 10 minutes, with my maximum trip time extended by over an hour due to the layout and lack of alternate routes to certain places. Going around the barricades is a huge temptation, especially when they are obviously malfunctioning. Full Disclosure #2 : I have a huge fear of trains, or, more accurately, being hit by one. In my first couple of years as a licensed driver, I remember only one set of tracks in my home town and I didn't have to cross them often. But I was plagued by recurring nightmares about them, convinced that this would be how I'd meet my Maker. I hate when those flashing red lights go off because even crossing the tracks BEFORE the bars come down sends me into a panic. So today, I wa...