It isn't uncommon to see a car accident along Culebra Road. Usually, someone is Zigging when he should have been Zagging, or there is some idiot on a cell phone trying to change CD's not paying attention to the fact that the light has turned red or that their car is drifting into my lane.
Just last night on my way home from the airport at nearly midnight, I have the entire road along Loop 410 almost to myself, but some lady in a white Cadillac was so engrossed in her cell phone conversation that she had no idea that she had drifted into my lane causing me to quickly jerk into the empty lane next to me. What the hell? She probably was not aware that she had changed three lanes between San Pedro and Vance-Jackson.
It gets even worse if you add lots of traffic and a little but of rain onto the roads. Just this afternoon on my way home from work, I happened upon this accident on Culebra, and naturally, traffic was really backed up behind it and somewhat in my direction only for the rubberneckers and people like me with camera's always ready to take a picture of some other guy's misfortune. I trust there were no injuries.
And then, not even to the next stop light, another crash, no doubt caused by someone not having situational awareness.
The more I hear about this public transportation scheme where people simply sit in a bus or a train and not have to do the hard work of paying attention while they drive, the more I like it.
As long as I don't have to sit in the bus or train with them.
My wife and I took a short drive up the new and improved Loop 410 over to San Pedro to do a quick in and out at North Star Mall so we could visit the See's Candies kiosk which opens each year for the holidays.
First, I have always avoided NSM simply because for someone like me who tends to dress down on the weekends, I always feel a little self-conscious, almost as if I have driven into a gated community without belonging there. I know that sounds silly - there is no income requirement to shop at North Star and certainly no written dress code requiring a jacket and tie, or at minimum, something fashionable, but seriously, Valet Parking at the mall?
Grandma looks for the valet ticket so she can go do some Muddin'
On the other hand, I can certainly see how it might be convenient for older folks who just want to get inside to spend their grand-children's inheritance without having to circle the lot for a space to park.
Anyway, I do like the big letters spelling out the mall name and of course, those boots are classic. If I could get over my socialite-phobia, I would probably visit more - and maybe even give The Shoppes at La Cantera a shot. (Nope - I still haven't been there).
On the bright side, I find great joy in seeing ugly people, fat people and astonishingly terribly dressed people walking through North Star Mall because it gives me a feeling that the mall is being integrated with normal people, and of course, it makes me feel like I'm not the object of all the pretty people's ridicule. I know, I probably could use some counseling.
But to the point of the story. My wife and her mom are huge fans of See's Candies and for some reason, the don't have a store her in SA. Anytime I travel through LAX or Las Vegas, I have to buy a shopping cart full of candy to keep in good graces. Luckily, See's opens a kiosk in North Star in November and December to save everyone a trip out west, and to save on the price of shipping (the Internet has everything for sale).
So, the first thing you should know is that they have free samples. That alone is worth the trip. When my wife showed the slightest interest in a candy she had not tasted before, the clerk busted out a sample lickity-split and it was like lunch time at HEB Plus!
Anyway, we aren't into sweets that much, but it did cost $75.00 just to get out of there. Maybe it is a good idea they only open shop two months a year.
It gets even worse if you add lots of traffic and a little but of rain onto the roads. Just this afternoon on my way home from work, I happened upon this accident on Culebra, and naturally, traffic was really backed up behind it and somewhat in my direction only for the rubberneckers and people like me with camera's always ready to take a picture of some other guy's misfortune. I trust there were no injuries.
And then, not even to the next stop light, another crash, no doubt caused by someone not having situational awareness.
