Counting the Seconds

I really don't like waiting. If there is even a single car ahead of me at the gas station, I will go on to the next station. I may end up using more time to do that than if I just sat and waited, but at least I am in motion, not sitting there dying. Besides, if you are sitting there waiting, Murphy's law says that the car in front of you is going to have a problem and they are going to be stuck there for the rest of the day. You will get blocked in and be unable to move, and then terrorists will attack and blow up the gas station and you will die a horrible death in a blazing inferno. So, no, I'm not gonna sit and wait on mis-dis-efficient.
    I don't like traffic lights. They are so sloooooowwwwww. I have learned to cope by counting the seconds I have to wait. I find that most of the lights at big intersections run on a one minute cycle. These are the ones where you have dedicated left turn lanes and signals, so you have four groups taking turns. Occasionally you will run into a big intersection, like one with five or six points that runs closer to two minutes. Counting the seconds gives me something to do until light turns green. I will have a bill for the traffic gods when I die.
    Traffic jams are another unpleasant fact of life on the freeway. I try and notice the time when I am forced to a crawl, and then try and imitate a zombie until things clear up. Suprisingly, most of these messes clear up within five minutes. Yes, rush hour is an exception. Just stay at work. Or walk. Funny how there is no place close by to work that is really inviting.