Monday, February 1, 2010

ice

I'd like to think that I'm a pretty good driver, but I hate driving in the snow. Especially freshly fallen snow. This past weekend was the first time I've had to drive in a "big" snow and I'm not gonna lieI was terrified.

For starters, before I even got out on the road I was hearing things like, "People are swerving all over the place," and "He almost ran into a pole." Of course, hearing how badly other people are failing at driving didn't give me much confidence. I think I'm a good driver, but how am I supposed to protect myself from all the really terrible drivers out there? (Also, my car, D.W., isn't the best-suited car for driving in icy conditions.)

Well, after I heard that people were having trouble staying in control of their cars I figured, "Okay, no problem; I'll just drive slow and be cautious. How bad could it possibly be?" Leaving rehearsal, I pull out of the shelter of Reynolds parking deck onto the untouched powder.

Press my brake.
Didn't really stop.
So I pressed it more.
Which really didn't make sense, because I was already pressing it all the way down.
Okay, I really stopped.
Whew.

I'm okay, I'll be fine. Everything's cool. No problem.

Driving on campus was really eerie. There weren't very many cars out at all and I didn't see anyone walking either, which was surprising considering the fact that it was dumping snow in Raleigh, and that just doesn't happen very often. I would have expected more snow-frolickers. Anyways, I made it to the next stop sign without hitting anything and stepped on the break again.

I pressed it, right?
Why am I still moving forward?
Oh my. Why am I not stopping?
Stop, D.W., stop.
STOP, PLEASE.
SERIOUSLY.

Thanks.

And now I'm three feet past the stop-sign.

At this point in my 20-some mile journey home, I started to wonder if I could even make it off campus without running into anything.

I then attempted to make a left turn, which resulted in me feeling quite dumb again because D.W. just kept drifting towards the ditch and the trees even though her wheels were pointing her towards safer things to drive on. Like the road. It was an unnecessarily wide left turn, but I made it to the stoplight at Pullen and Cates, turned right, and ventured out onto Western Boulevard. I couldn't see any road markings, it was snowing pretty hard, and my ability to control the direction D.W. went was definitely in question. Needless to say, I drove with extreme caution the whole way home.

35 miles per hour on US 1? I was that girl.

It's funny; sometimes it takes a scary situation to remind me of the little things I should be doing every day. I've never driven more cautiously or been more aware of my surroundings than I was Friday night, but shouldn't I be driving like that all the time? (Aha! Here's the segue.) Sure, there are times when I'm going to be more aware of temptation and sin, but that doesn't mean that when I don't see it it's not there.

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.
1 Peter 5:8-9

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