You'd Better Run!

Have you ever wondered why it's so difficult to get across the street before the "WALK" signal changes to "DON'T WALK"? Well, check out this excerpt from a nationally-recognized traffic manual:

"An average walking speed of 40-ft/s is appropriate for typical groups of pedestrians. . . .At signalized intersections pedestrian crossings must be assigned an amount of effective green time based on average walking speed."

Now, a speed of 40 feet per second is approximately equivalent to 27.3 miles per hour. Do you run across the street at 27 mph? I didn't think so!

OK, OK, it's an error. It's supposed to say 4 feet per second, and the error has been noted by the publisher. But next time I see a fast signal, I'm going to wonder. . .

Already?

I had no idea we were this close to Christmas already!  Back in October I saw some Christmas-themed items on sale.  I started thinking about which items I would buy for the Twelve Days of Christmas (where you leave treats/items on a neighbor's doorstep for 12 days), but I didn't get anything because it was way too early.  Then yesterday, all of a sudden, it was the day to start!  We had to go to the grocery store to get pears :-) 

 

I'm not used to buying a lot of Christmas presents.  Ever since we've been married, money has always been tight around Christmas, even if it was plentiful in July, so other than a few presents for the kids, we haven't really bought much (the kids get PLENTY of presents from the grandparents, so they are not deprived by any stretch of the imagination).  This year we actually have more than $0 in our checking account, so I thought I'd get some presents for the immediate family.  I hadn't even started thinking about what I'd buy, and then yesterday I realized I was almost out of time!  So I drug the kids all over the place and got a few things last night.  I think I'm pretty much done. 

 

After I got home from our shopping marathon (2 hours is a marathon to me), I realized that last night was the Young Women's babysitting service project.  Free babysitting was offered at the church from 6:30 to 8:30.  So instead of dragging the poor starving kids everywhere, they could've been having the time of their lives with all their friends at church.  Oh well - maybe I'll learn to keep an appointment calendar!

Crazy!

Hmm, the second NaBloPoMo was over, I quit posting. It appears that I am motivated by external forces. Anyway.

So I was reading through some old journals last night. I have come to the conclusion that I was insane when I was a teenager, although I suppose that is a common characteristic of all teenagers. Maybe I'll post some interesting excerpts later, although maybe I won't, because it's fine to embarrass myself in front of strangers, but some of my family & real-life friends read this!

One highlight was some of the quotes from my mom in regards to my relationships. When I was 15 - "your reputation is shot" because 3 guy friends drove me around after a piano recital (taking equipment home, picking up stuff, taking people home). "You're throwing all your standards away" - because I went on more than 2 dates in a row with my boyfriend. The horror! Although, I guess my mom was right - my self-imposed standard (also a strong guideline from my church) was no steady dating before the boy goes on his mission. So by going on many dates in a row, and not dating others, I was in fact breaking my standards. But it still sounds so much more dramatic coming from your mom during an hours-long lecture!