Occupation: Daydreamer

 Do you ever get overwhelmed thinking about how you will never be able to do all things you want to do in this lifetime? Maybe you won’t be able to travel to all the places you want to travel, or live in all the different places you want to live, or read all of the books you want to read (all of these haunt me, personally). 

Another one I think about often is how I will never be able to pursue all of the career paths that I’m interested in. 

Like what do you mean I won’t be able to experience performing brain surgery, flying a plane, or being a professional athlete?! 

Okay in all reality… 

Brain surgeon - Could never do it. Even talking about medical things makes me queasy. 

Pilot- I’ll skip on this one…have you ready any headlines lately? 

Professional athlete-I would crumble under the pressure of thousands of people in the stands counting on me to lead my team to victory. (Not to mention, have you ever even seen me try to play a sport? Hahaha)

But, there are plenty of careers that I am interested in that I wish I could experience or, at the very least, complete a little trial run.

Here are a few and why: 

• Librarian  

I love reading. 

I love talking to people about reading. 

I love bonding over books. 

I love seeing children get excited over books and stories. 

I love how reading can take you to different cities, to different time periods, to different universes. 

Books are cool! 

I know that being a librarian doesn’t consist of just sitting around reading books and talking to others about books, but I do feel that it would be fun and rewarding career for me.

P.S. I am always open to book recommendations :)  

• Teacher 

When I first applied and was accepted into college, my major was Education. By the time my freshman year began, I had already decided against pursuing teaching as a career. Although I didn’t follow this original dream, I still think I would like to experience being a teacher. If it was my choice, I would want to teach elementary school, maybe first or second grade. In high school I participated in an internship program where I left school at lunchtime to finish the day at a local elementary school. That year I helped out in the first grade classrooms under truly amazing and special teachers whose hearts were fully into teaching and creating a fun and safe space for their students. The children were absolutely adorable and watching them grow and become more confident in themselves and their abilities was priceless. Dont get me wrong, they were also exhausting and little terrors at times. But seeing a child learn or grasp a new concept is truly something magical. 

• Sign Language Interpreter

I think it’s fascinating that people can speak a language using their hands and body language without any spoken words. I spent my sophomore year of college at California State University Northridge. CSUN is known for having a notable amount of deaf and hard of hearing students. During my year there, I took mostly general education courses and it was common to have an interpreter in my classroom interpreting the lessons for deaf and/or hard of hearing students. I always found it pretty cool and in the beginning spent more time focusing on the interpreter than the professor, lol. 

• CEO of a Billion Dollar Company 

IDK I just feel like I could do it better than some of these current CEOs. 

Being able to own a home and a couple jet skis would also be a perk. Might even get a little crazy and rent out a suite to take my husband to a Coldplay concert or something.  

• Jane Goodall

No notes. 

What careers would you try, no holds barred? 

Xx. Kaila 

Allow Me to Reintroduce Myself…

 If I were to have to introduce myself to a stranger and share five facts about myself I would still struggle to come up with five things to say. I’m not sure that that will ever change, because the idea of having to come up with five unique things about myself automatically shuts down my brain altogether. 

I might tell you that I am a reader or that I grew up in the Midwest. Maybe I would mention that I have two siblings or share what my favorite colors are at the moment (plum, maroon, grey, sage). It’s hard to come up with five things, but also impossible to truly capture the complexities of a person in just five facts. 

One thing I do know is that I miss writing. I have always enjoyed the art of writing and then going back and rereading, restructuring, omitting, adding. Writing often brings me to tears. Whether it be tears of joy, of sadness, or tears of release, writing is my own little therapy. I started journaling this past year but now I think I am ready to share some of my words with others. 

My last post on this platform was made five and a half years ago (to the date!). More than half of a decade ago.

In that amount of time, many things have happened. Many things have come. Many things have left. Many things have been felt. Many things have been said. Many experiences have been lived. Many memories have been created.

I have changed in many ways that I have noticed and probably in even more ways that I have not. 

I look forward to returning to writing and sharing more of who I am through my words. 

Xo - Kaila

Blue Bird

If you know me personally, you might know that I had a FaceTime session with a spirit medium, Brittany, back in May. It was my second time going to a medium; the first time I went was at least a decade ago. Both experiences were equally fascinating and moving.
I follow Brittany on Instagram (@BrittanyChannels) and last Wednesday she posted about "signs from your loved ones in spirit." In summary, she explained how you can communicate with your loved ones by asking them for a specific sign.
 I read her post Wednesday night shortly before falling asleep. When I woke up Thursday morning I decided that I wanted to ask my loved ones for a sign. As I got ready I contemplated what sign I wanted them to send me. I settled on a bird, but knew I had to be more specific than just 'bird' otherwise as soon as I walked outside I would spot a bird and be convinced it had worked. At first I thought about asking for a redbird. I went to Illinois State University, whose mascot happens to be Reggie the Redbird. I knew myself well enough to know that if I didn't come across a redbird throughout the day, I would just pull out one of my old ISU shirts by the end of the night to force it to happen. Therefore, I decided against a redbird and settled on asking for a bluebird. As I headed to work, driving alone in my car, I spoke it out loud, "show me a bluebird".  To be honest, I felt a little crazy saying it and it even sounded awkward to my own ears. But I wanted to make sure that if my loved ones in spirit were truly with me, that they would be able to hear me say it and wouldn't have to read my mind. I wanted to leave no room for error in this experiment.
 Halfway to work while sitting at a red light and I saw a flock of birds land on a telephone wire with the beautiful blue morning sky as their backdrop. I sat there and thought 'there it is! Not quite a bluebird, but birds and blue!' Deep down I knew that was stretching it. What can I say, I just really wanted it to happen! I wanted to believe that my loved ones do listen and pay attention to me. For the rest of the day I tried seeking out bluebirds everywhere. I looked for them in patterns on people's clothing and I scanned the sides of semi trucks while driving along the freeway, hoping that I'd see a bluebird on one of them. By the end of the day I still hadn't encountered any.
That evening I was hanging out with a friend and she told me how a loved one had visited her in her dream the night before. I immediately dive into my story about Brittany's Instagram post and my quest to find a bluebird. I was able to laugh at myself and the absurdity of my day's bluebird escapades. I went to bed a little disappointed but chalked it up to the fact that I was trying to force it rather then allowing it to happen naturally.
The next day (Friday) the idea of the bluebird only crossed my mind once or twice, fleetingly. I went about my day without trying to find a bluebird around every corner; my brain was back to normal. That evening I was on my way home from work and was exiting the freeway. When I took the left hand turn off of the freeway exit ramp and onto the street, I got behind a big yellow school bus. For a second I thought about switching lanes so I wouldn't be stuck behind the school bus, but it was as if something told me not to. Home was only about a mile or so away so I told myself to just stay behind the bus and be patient. When I pulled up behind the bus we were stopped at a red light, so after coming to a stop I looked down at my phone (I know, I know...at least we were at a red light!). A few seconds later I glance back up and the first thing my eyes see...

Can you believe it?!! I couldn't. My heart skipped a beat... I truly couldn't believe what I was seeing. Then tears sprang to my eyes. Happy, incredulous tears. I immediately snapped a picture and sent it to the friend I had shared my story with the evening before. Feelings of love and comfort enveloped me. To be honest, I'm still in awe. I shared my story with Brittany and she encouraged me to continue asking for signs from my loved ones. I haven't asked for another yet, I'm still soaking up the excitement and happiness that the bluebird brought me. But I do know that I am already looking forward to the next time my loved ones in spirit communicate with me, whenever that may be.

xoxox,
Kaila

Long Time, No Blog.

Happy July!

I haven't written in quite awhile, but I've been reading other blogs and my fingers were itching to start typing again. I get caught up in the idea that my blogs have to have some profound meaning or lesson found within the paragraphs, and if not then they must be comical and witty at the very least. I get anxiety worrying about all of that, that I psych myself out and I can't come up with anything "worthy" of writing about, therefore I don't write anything at all.
But then I'll read someone else's blog and they are literally just writing about what they did over the weekend, what new restaurant they went to and how late they slept in on Sunday and I find myself intrigued.
 Maybe no one will be interested in what I did yesterday or the day before, but then again someone else might be. So, to help me with entering back into the world of writing, I am going to be incorporating more basic storytelling. Feel free to read, or not. Up to you!

I believe my last blog was posted in September of 2016. Well, a lot has happened in the past 9 months, too much to type all the little details, but i'll try giving a brief overview.

• Late September I finished the training for my job and started at the district office in Compton. Yeah- Compton, California. I would be lying if I said I wasn't worried at first, but let me tell you... it's been fun. For starters, I have the funniest, most helpful coworkers in town. Really couldn't ask for better ones. I actually enjoy going to work, and I think it's safe to say I love my job. I know a huge component of that is the coworkers I interact with on  daily basis but I feel so lucky to work at a job that I love; I know most people can't say the same. My job also gives me endless stories that make you either laugh or make you say WHAT THE FUCK. Or both, simultaneously. 
• I spent Thanksgiving weekend in San Francisco with two of my best friends from back home. We did a bus tour of SF, went to the Golden Gate, saw the Painted Ladies, took a boat ride around Alcatraz, visited wineries in Napa, etc. It was tons of fun (minus the part were it took me 10 hours to get back to LA on Sunday.... lesson learned-never driving on a holiday weekend again). I'm glad I got to spend the holiday with friends (family!) from back home. 
• Then at Christmas I was able to take a week off of work and travel back to the Midwest to spend the holidays with my family. I spent most of my time lounging around my parents house and soaking up as much time with my nephews as possible. My parents house will probably forever be my favorite home to be in, maybe it's because that's where I grew up so it has such a homey feel, and I feel the most safe and loved there. 
• February I visited New Orleans for the first time. It was the quickest trip of my life, literally less than 48 hours but we tried making the most out of it that we could. My favorite part was when we left the city to go on a swamp boat tour. We only saw a few little gators in the swamp because most were in hibernation. BUT we did see wild pigs! They were so cute and our tour guide threw marshmallows into the water so that they would swim closer to the boat. Little Mama (yes they actually have names for all of them) got right up next to us. Out of the whole weekend my camera roll by far has the most pictures of her. We also visited a plantation, explored Bourbon Street, and got to see a Mardi Gras parade. I'm glad I went and got to see a new city, I had fun, but I probably would not go back to NOLA in the future. 
• In April I went to Vegas for Easter weekend with the family I live with. (Truly couldn't have created a better family to live with. They treat me so well and include me in EVERYTHING, which means so much to me considering my family is 2000+ miles away.) I flew into Vegas after work on Friday- such an easy, fast flight! Saturday I started off the day drinking mimosas and beer and then going to the mall in Caesars Palace (i think?) with even more beer stashed in our purses. It was such a fun afternoon full of lots of laughs. After the mall we went to a comedy/magic show and then decided to go to a buffet. During dinner the people at my end of the table were eating seafood, which isn't the best smelling food, amiright? Not sure if it was the smell of the seafood that set me off, but i had to get out of there. I went outside for fresh air thinking that would be the cure. NOPE. Guys, I learned the hard way that getting fresh air when you are nauseous is not the way to go. Alcohol doesn't mix well with me as is, so long story short I ended up getting sick in the bathroom for a good 30 minutes. I felt slightly better after that but had the opportunity of taking an taxi back to the hotel with two people from our group, and at that point all I wanted to do was brush my teeth and take a nap. All in all, I was back in the hotel room for the night by 6:30pm. Vegas won. 
• At the end of April I bought a fancy camera! I'm still in the early stages of learning how to use it. If anyone has any tips or pointers for a Sony a6000 holla atcha girl. I want to redo the look of my blog, so i'm planning on downloading some of my pictures to my computer and using them as my blog background, to give it more of a personal feel :) 
• At the end of June, which was this past weekend, my sister came to visit me for my birthday!! It was so much fun being able to spend time with her, I miss her. She came to California childless, and although I would have LOVED to see my nephews, I'm also glad I got to spend one-on-one time with her. We spent the majority of our time at the beaches- Santa Monica, Venice, Manhattan, Hermosa, Redondo, Huntington, and Laguna- while also seeing Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Skid Row (her request, lol), and Universal Studios. She was here for a full 4 days, which flew by! I wish she could have stayed longer, but I am so grateful for the time I got to spend with her. Hopefully we can make it a yearly trip. 

Alright, I think I've hit all the major events that have taken place in the past 9 months. That's all I've got for today, it's already 10am and i'm still laying in bed so I guess it's time to get up and be a responsible adult or something like that. 😐

Thanks for reading!

xo.kaila

Uber Everywhere

Since moving to California I've had my fair share of new experiences. Some have been exciting, some have been lessons learned the hard way, and others have just been downright entertaining in their own unique ways.
After sharing details with a friend about my very first solo Uber ride last night I realized it would probably be a good story to document for when I need a laugh later on.
It all started when my housemate made plans for us to go out to Keegan's (local bar/lounge) last night. I had gotten up at 4:30am that morning to hit the gym before work and by the time it was time to get ready to go to Keegan's I was feeling pretty exhausted, but I dragged myself into the shower and forced myself to get ready despite the onset of dark circles under my eyes. By the time we arrived at Keegan's I was trying my hardest to hold back a continuous cycle of yawns, with the only thing keeping me awake was the... uhm... scenery. Just kidding. Kind of.
By about midnight the girls I was with made their way to the dance floor and I made my way to the outdoor bar were I could sit and chill and avoid all eye contact with other humans. By this time I was downright sleepy and trying my hardest to keep my eyelids open. I contemplated walking over to the outdoor couches on the patio and taking a nap next to the fireplace but feared I would:
1. Get kicked out for 'passing out'
2. Start drooling
OR
3. Experience a falling dream in front of everyone on the patio and have it be mistaken for a seizure and be whisked away in an ambulance against my own will

So instead by 12:30 I had decided to catch myself an Uber home to be reunited with my [rock hard, terribly uncomfortable] bed.
 It was my first time ever ordering my own Uber; I had downloaded the app years ago but could never get it to work. I decided to try my luck and I re-downloaded it, which is when I discovered I had entered my credit card number wrong all those years ago and that's why it had never worked for me -__-
Anyway, I ordered my Uber and made my way outside to wait for Leonardo in the White Honda Accord who was 5 minutes away.
 I had taken a few Uber rides before but never unaccompanied, so this was new territory. When he pulled up outside of Keegan's I hopped in the backseat (and then questioned whether I was supposed to sit in the front?? Not really sure how this all works). He asked me how my night was and was curious as to what Keegan's was like since he had never been before. We began talking and he asked me if I had taken shots to which I replied that no, I didn't, because I can't consume alcohol. He then inquired as to why not, and I told him that I am allergic--in reality I actually am alcohol intolerant but I tell strangers/people in passing that it's an allergy because it's easier for people to accept an allergy than an intolerance.
(PSA: Having a low tolerance and being intolerant are two completely different things, so please don't suggest that I 'just build up my tolerance')
Okay, back to the story... he was shocked and gave me his sincerest condolences regarding my condition and then proceeded to ask if I would like to smoke some cannabis on the ride home. I politely declined and the conversation shifted from drugs and alcohol to past Uber experiences. Unfortunately for me, he didn't have any horror stories, and unfortunately for him, I had very limited past experiences with none of them being very memorable. We discussed how he usually drives in DTLA and he asked me what my hobbies were [literally my most dreaded question... can we not discuss how bland of a life I lead, please?], I went with the easy cop-out of saying I had just recently relocated here so I am still doing a lot of exploring and how there's just so so so much to do/see around Los Angeles... not a complete lie but I also didn't *just* move here.
He also felt the need to mention he had to pass a background check to become an Uber driver. At the time I wasn't sure why he felt the need to add that part in, was that supposed to comfort me? because the fact he mentioned it made me feel a little uneasy if anything.
So here's where the story gets good... we are about 3 minutes from the house and he asks me what my zodiac sign is. I tell him i'm a Cancer and he informs me he's a Scorpio. After I stay quiet he goes 'does that mean anything to you?' I laugh and respond 'nothing at all. I read my horoscope on occasion but that's it' (... and it's for shits and gigs. I get excited when it happens to coincide with my current life predicaments but that's about the extent of philosophy that I place on the stars and planets aligning in [or not in] my favor). He continues to talk about it for a minute or two and by this time we are pulling up to my crib (his words, not mine). When he comes to a stop in front of the house he immediately unbuckles his seat belt. I instantly understand what this means... he's going to get out of the car and open the door for me. So I frantically try to open the car door before that can happen... but he has it locked. I try to play it off like
*haha* 'looks like i'm locked in!'
'Yeah, let me get that for you' and he's climbing out of the car before I can say anything else. He then opens  my door and goes to grab my hand to assist me out. The whole time i'm thinking- NO HOMIE, I GOT THIS- but instead I reluctantly give him my hand because really what else was I supposed to do?
So then... 
He continues to hold my hand for longer than necessary and tries to TWIRL ME AROUND IN A CIRCLE while saying 'So uh I actually wanted to uh see how you look...'
I awkwardly laugh and say 'no, no, no' and retract my hand from his and scurry off to the front gate as he is still trying to talk to me from the road.
The absolute best part is that he was over a foot shorter than me. Like honestly should have let him try to twirl me around because i'm pretty sure that wouldn't have logistically worked out in his favor.

Before last night, I have no idea Uber provided more than just a ride from Point A to Point B. But after my first solo experience I've learned about some of the other services it provides, including:
-drugs at your convenience
-a quick rundown on zodiac signs/compatibility
-a late night dance session in the middle of the street
and
-unsolicited compliments

So if you guys haven't yet experienced the greatness that Uber is, you should probably download it and use my code (kailak5)!

Stay Safe,

xo. Kaila

Growth.

April. I've never really liked the month honestly. Cloudy. Rainy. But April showers are supposed to bring May flowers, right?

April, April, April.
This April I experienced a surge of problems all at once. I felt that life wasn't just picking a battle with me; it had started a full-fledged war with me. The cards just simply weren't being dealt in my favor. Relationship gone wrong, unemployment depression, second guessing if my decision to move across the country was the right one...

When things started getting tough I decided to add some fuel to the already blazing fire. I revisited a piece of my past that I had kept safely tucked away for over two and a half years. A boy, of course. I figured what the heck no better time than now to face the past. I had always had this hunch that he would be married and have a child by now. I thought the news would devastate me, which is part of the reason why I steered clear for so long. Long story short, he does have a child and although he's not married yet, he may as well be. I remember thinking that once this feeling in my gut was confirmed it would shatter me.
But guess what? It didn't.

Don't get my wrong, I cried. I cried from the combination of everything going on and the different emotions I was having to work through. I can't deny that. But I had always been worried that once I truly realized what his news meant it would feel like I was run over by a bus or hit by a train.
 But what it actually did was show me how much I have grown and healed over the years. I didn't give myself enough credit. I'm not trying to boast, but let me tell you I am damn proud of how far I have come.

Don't get me wrong, I miss the connection we used to have. All those years ago, if I could have put the romantic feelings aside we would have been an unstoppable team, when it came to friendship we were the perfect pairing. But life had other plans for us... other lessons to teach us.

The past 2.5 years weren't spent sulking around, waiting for him to show up (although maybe this was always in the back of my mind). No, I had finally decided that I needed to get on with my life and give up that unrealistic love story I had played over and over in my head for so long (damn you, first love). I moved on, was okay with being single, and when I least expected it (so cliche, but so true) someone else came into my life. Spoiler alert: It was only temporarily. Anyway, I guess without realizing it at the time, time and people were healing me.

I'm not resentful. I could never hate him even if I wanted to. I'm proud of his accomplishments and I can honestly say that I am happy for him. I am happy that he has built a life that he enjoys and can be proud of, and that he is at a good place in his life. No hard feelings... ever. First loves are just tricky little things. I will continue to care about him and hope that he is doing okay, I just have to care from a distance. At the end of the day, it is me that I have to continue to protect and care about first and foremost.

I have been blessed with so many wonderful people in my life that have shown me love and support through every bad day and heartache; of course they were there again for me this time around.
In April I faced situations that I never knew I had the strength of getting through. Situations I never knew I had already gotten through.
I am thankful for the new relationships and the old relationships, for the things I have learned by being unemployed, for new living environments and for all the lessons that life continues to teach me through these different situations. I'm thankful for the strength and ability to face both the past and the present, knowing that I will make it out ever stronger and more knowledgeable.

But I would be lying if I said I wasn't glad that April is over. & let me tell you... May was full of those figurative flowers! After all, it can only rain for so long :)


xo. Kaila


[[Edit: I ran across this article on Thought Catalog (<--click me) and connected with it so deeply. I felt this way consistently for so long. I still have these thoughts/emotions every now and again and it's comforting to know that I am not alone, and have never been, in experiencing these feelings.]]

Driving for Dummies: L.A. Edition

Before coming to California I was pretty nervous about driving in/around LA. As I was driving through California with my dad at the beginning of last month I got so excited when we hit a more congested part of the freeway. I was like 'yes!! I can totally do this whole LA driving thing, it's not too bad!'... what I soon learned was that I was out near Riverside- still quite a ways away from LA. As we got closer and closer more cars (and lanes and freeways and exits) started to appear. I was still pretty impressed with my driving for it being my first time in that environment, but I knew I still had a lot to experience.

First off, can I just tell you about how grateful I am for GPS on my phone... I would never be able to survive without it. I have no idea how people navigated around SoCal before GPS (especially if you weren't born and raised here). There are a trillion freeways and they are constantly joining and separating from each other. Oh, & they're referred to as freeways, not highways, interstates, expressways, tollways (thank god there's no tolls). To name a few freeways there's the 405, the 5, the 605, the 105, the 101, the 10, the 110, the 710 and about 358 other ones (always, always, always put 'the' in front of the #). Then there's the streets that no matter whether you go North, South, East, or West they somehow run through every single city in the area- Sepulveda, Figueroa, Crenshaw, Artesia, Western, Rosecrans, Imperial, Slauson. Okay these all most run either East/West or North/South, but I still haven't figured it all out.

I know the Chicagoland area also has many highways but I rarely had to take any and when I did it was either 55 or 88 and 9 times out of 10 when I traveled into the city I took the train, so living amidst them all is making for quite the driving experience. One thing I can definitely appreciate is that LA calls its freeways by their # and not by multiple names- I could never keep The Dan Ryan, The Kennedy, and The Edens Expressways straight.

So anyway, I was beginning to feel pretty confident in my driving abilities. Last weekend I drove into LA to see my little cousin from Seattle perform in a gymnastics meet at the LA Convention Center. Traffic was super light- I was driving in at 7am on a Saturday...  and luckily enough my exit dropped me off smack dab in front of the Convention Center. When I was heading home around 1:30pm I plugged in my destination on my phone and was feeling super good about life. You know that overwhelming feeling of happiness when you feel like you've got your life under control? That's how I was feeling. I was sitting at a red light with the freeway entrance ramp off to the left just past the intersection. I was in the lane I was supposed to be, had my J.Cole CD playing and was thinking to myself 'I can do this! I am truly getting a hang of LA driving, and I'm not too shabby at it either!' (I kid you not, this is literally what I was thinking as I sat at that red light) Then the light turned green... and for some reason the car in the lane next to me was in no hurry to start moving forward but I was like alright whatever, I'm going. When I was about halfway through the intersection I caught sight of the undercover cop car coming up the adjacent street with its lights flashing... Oops. Thank god he was going super slow so I was able to get through the intersection without creating too big of a commotion. I honestly have no idea how the other cars knew he was coming... the streetlight didn't have that special flashing light like they do back home & my music wasn't even loud because I was too busy concentrating on the directions. Anyway, thankfully wherever the police officer was going was much more important then the fact that I went through the intersection. So then, I take the ramp onto the freeway and i'm in the FasTrak lane! (Friends from the Midwest- the FasTrak lane is a lane you can pay to use- you have a console on your windshield much like the iPass and you can pay to use this special lane to get from one place to the next faster) I couldn't merge into the regular traffic lanes because I would have had to cross double solid lines and all the cars coming up behind me wanted to go fast... so there I am in the FasTrak without a FasTrak console... Oops. Then all the sudden the FasTrak lanes split completely from the rest of the lanes and we are on our own two-lane freeway!...Eek. A minute or two later we meet back up with the rest of the lanes of traffic and fiiiinally the white lines are now broken & I can merge with all the cars taking the SlowTrak...lol.
So, to summarize: My confidence went from 100 to 0 real quick.
Thankfully, I made it home in one piece, no tickets... yet (anyone know what happens when you use the FasTrak on accident?).

When these types of things happen I just hope that people see my Illinois license plate and forgive me because after all, i'm probably only used to driving down dirt roads alongside cornfields, right?? ;)

All in all, I've learned a few things:
1. When you need to merge, sometimes you just gotta close your eyes and do it (jk, don't close your eyes)
2. There's a direct correlation between expensive cars and asshole drivers
3. I'll forever envy the motorcyclists that get to move more than 10 mph at any given time
4. PCH provides you with some fantastic views
& 5. People like to give you an estimate on how long it takes to get from Point A to Point B "without traffic" (it baffles me that they even know how long it takes without traffic because there's always traffic..??)

xxoo,
Kaila