Driving the heat!

I have to get back home looking at galle face was the decision made last week. Oh how lovely to be able to see the Sea although it was looking very hot. Pass the roundabout and am happily stuck in traffic in front of Indian High Commission when there is loud tooting of horns.

looking at the mirror i see its some top important person going for something very important (like a UN meeting/ or a drink at breeze bar?) Now the tooting is getting louder and they are with their arms waving at me to move over. Hello there, I am stuck in a traffic block, cannot move an inch unless my Toyota puts out its wings and i fly out from there.

Seriously if this was eight months back i would panic since they are very polite and sometimes have the habit of getting off the vehicle and knocking on the windows to move. The knocking is not slight knock its more like boom boom i ll break the windows. My heart usually goes thud thud. But now i just looked back and stare menacingly ( i think) at them.

look to the side an auto driver is gesturing something with his finger. I was quite curious what he is saying i mean there could be only two things one he is trying to help me or two he is saying something obscene. Put the shutters down this with the tooting and brandishing of big guns behind. Auto drivers profound statement we should not have voted miss did u vote? .. wow what a moment for him to pick to have a mini discussion with me about the country. I shake my head this way that way and pretend i dont understand sinhala. I know English he screams.

now the tooting has doubled I am sure they are going to come and scream in filth or shoot me. Please shoot me i think saves my ear going deaf and everyone turning to look at me as if i am having a circus going on. Seriously where am i suppose to move the car onto? the merc in front of me or the auto beside me? or why not try indian action movie skill and try to ram onto the iron rods separating the sides of the road.

A kind jeep gives way and i kind of move the car with a little dignity. Did u know that Colombo has some kind hearted souls who actually give way. So about five vehicles moved forward stared at me and talk amongthemselves, i stared back! seriously i was still thinking shoot me! its the heat getting to my head.. ...

Various......

The past two days this week i have been chased by two buses overtaking each other and making my life miserable. (my car was in between these two buses) . I cant seem to get rid of them until we reach some sort of junction.

So when today a bus gave way to turn i did a double take and was looking around to make sure it was me that he was giving way for... Then the bus driver winks.. (yes its u i have bestowed the honour of not running over today.)

Speaking to M the college friend
M : My life is a treadmill
Me: U mean u have been working out nonstop
M : I have been walking all the time, its like walking and walking and more walking. Though i would ride a bike for a change and tried to run over an eighty year old woman.

(M just moved to australia to do her masters.)

I was laughing so much after talkign to her..
only excitement i had in return to tell her was how i got home from work , cooked dinner and fell asleep on the couch. Pathetic..

Hurray that we got the long weekend..

Rain, Traffic and Colombo

So late to drop S in school today, I mean what with the rains who can wake up early in the morning. Driving in duplication road I was getting stressed that it was eight and we were going to miss one whole lesson but then he is five years so that wont really harm is intellect so decided to distract myself ( I would not even try to attempt the nursery rhymes with actions). Driving in Colombo you don’t need to do anything to distract yourself since the fellow drivers give us enough entertainment to last a life time.

Hear a non stop hooting behind turn around and a pissed off looking girl stares at me. Arch my eye brows asking her what she gives me annoyed look. Now I am really confused do I know her? S who is always double bent in the car pops up and the girl looks at him in shock and turns her face. WTF was that about… women ok we are complicated. At least she stopped her sound pollution bit.

Look out of the window at a moving bus feel like someone’s waving I look a guy shows his finger. This is like the fifth time this is happened. Some weirdo sticking his finger up. I know I should have done something equally rude but then I don’t want the five year old picking up rude gestures.

Look at the car in front of me with this sign which said “honk if you are horny” ………
Big bus comes and breaks right next to me then decides that he will cross over in the middle of thurstan road to the other side…….. the pleasures of driving in Colombo are endless…………..

Stuck in Traffic

This has happened again like for how many times. Today the road was blocked so much and was in the same road for one hour. In the midst of this the busses decide they will do a u turn on to the middle pavement running the road and go the other way. I was considering doing the same but was scared if the car would get damaged and stayed listening to some crappy music in the car.

Still no clue why the roads in and around Fort were so chock a block. Was looking forward to the weekend so much but was tired by the time I reached office a good one half hours later. Hope its clearer when I am getting back.

Nursery rhymes with actions!

Was stuck at a killer traffic when five year old S asks me to do nursery rhymes with the actions. So started off with incy wincy with the actions was getting really into it and just turned, saw a guy in his car with a shocked expression in his face. Turned back with pat a cake and out of the corner of my eye noticed s has slided right into the seat and it looked like I was driving alone with all this funny hand actions? The guy in the car must have thought I am bonkers. I decided shall entertain him some more and went on to do another rhyme. Oh god he took his phone out and was taking a picture. Arghhh trust the road to open up then everyone tooting and had to move. I was so annoyed ok it was definitely my mistake to do weirdo gestures in the car but he had no business to take a picture (I don’t know video it).
Isn’t that banned here like u cant take pics of strangers? I know that I should not have been continuing my nursery recital knowing someone was looking. I found it a joke so continued it……..

A Tree, Car and a Sunny day

Was driving down one of our tree filled neighborhoods last weekend. Suddenly, whoosh I heard something fall on my car and braked and closed my eyes. Immediate assumption was I have knocked something. Heard people screaming in the road looked up and huge branch of a tree has fallen on the car. What are the likelihoods of a big branch of tree falling on a sunny day? I just noticed that the side mirror was broken and hanging. All these people came running and took the branches. Was too scared to get out and check the damages just kept driving (idiotic I know).
Anyways drive quite a bit and get off to look at the damages. I get a mixed feeling of desperation where I am crying and wishing the blooming tree had fallen on me instead. Since I have been in a fairly depressive mood I think just broke down. This is the first sort of accident with the car and that too with a tree dropping its branches out of the blue. Insurance is apparently covered for this sort of thing now I am going to be without a car for a good ten days. Tired of answering people who keep pointing at the dents and asking how did you do that? (feel like answering no I just drove up a tree I mean how would the hood get dented and the sides unless I just did that!)

Spitting

The drivers in this town never cease to amaze me with all their new tactics of blocking the road. Going down duplication road the jeep in front brakes and I managed to brake as well or would have hit his posh jeep with a big bang. Was wondering whether he was letting some invisible person cross the middle of the road or something. He opens his door and spits on the middle of the road!!!

I was thinking that was so gross. The jeep moves and we would have passed a few buildings and he stops and does the same thing again. This was all in the middle of a slight traffic situation. I mean yeah the motorists stop and have chats and do their own thing but this guy kept spitting every few paces. I wonder what he would do if our usual sets of convoys pass by.