What was I thinking?

Yesterday I drove into Boston. What was I thinking? My Boston driving skills are completely out of practice. I had an interview in town that I needed to get to. At first, I was going to walk to the bus and then take the subway but I was dressed up and it was hot so I decided to drive to the subway and park in the parking garage. I left home in plenty of time to allow me to arrive 15 minutes early for my interview (always arrive 15 minutes early). I also took a few minutes to look for the cat who some how escaped again! (Yes, as you read, the cat escaped again yesterday afternoon. He was all mad when I got home. Then I made him wait until his supper time before I fed him. (Why should he get fed early after escaping?) This morning he is all needy again. He thinks he can suck up to me and I will be extra nice to him... Hah!) Anyhow, after driving around the garage for 15 minutes, I couldn't find a space so I left and gave up. That blew my 15 minute cushion. I no longer had the time to drive anywhere and take the subway. I decided to drive into Boston.

I actually arrived 40 minutes early for my interview so I could drive around and look for a parking space. It was street cleaning time in the neighborhood I was in so there were lots of empty resident parking spaces I could sit in to kill some time. Then I found a real live parking space with a meter. I got quarters at Starbucks and went to my interview. I even left before the meter expired so I didn't get a ticket!

Unfortunately I discovered that my Boston driving skills are horribly out of practice. I think I drove into the Seaport District in March on a Sunday and have driven to the airport a couple of times. But it really has been a long time - years in fact - since I drove into downtown. I grew up here. I learned to drive in Boston. I know how to drive in Boston. I am happy to drive in Boston. I wish all the people from out of town who can't drive in Boston would take the subway. (Why is the speed limit 35 on Storrow Drive? It is best driven at about 50.) When I found my parking space yesterday, I only had to back up about 20' on Tremont St to get to it (but I put my hazards on so I was sort of legal and the guy who was leaving the space made a U-turn out of it so I was probably more legal than he was). The only contact I made yesterday was into the car behind me when parking.

But when I left, I was in the right lane waiting at a light and the car next to me in the left lane decided to take a right turn and I almost hit them. My Boston driving skills are so out of date that I took me a second and I didn't have a chance to beep my horn or 'politely' gesture my true thoughts to him. Also, I got stuck behind a tourist from Ohio in a 4x4 on Fresh Pond's s-turns so I actually had to drive at something resembling the speed limit. But I did cut off a few tourists at the rotaries...

I don't know what I was thinking? Perhaps chemo brain struck again and allowed me to be delusional. I really hope I didn't drive like a tourist.

My brain was so scrambled that I really burned the crap out of dinner. I turned on the left burner on high to boil Brussels sprouts and decided to put them on the right burner instead. Then I put the salmon on the left burner and went up stairs to talk on the phone. I came down and the ENTIRE downstairs was full of smoke as I never turned down the left burner. I think the smoke alarm didn't go off because of open windows. The salmon was completely blackened (no, probably it was really charred, it was definitely beyond blackened) on the side with skin so I managed to pull most of it off. My pan may never be the same. It is still soaking...

Today I am off for my walk and then to work. Perhaps I will get some weeding done today. The weeds are growing with leaps and bounds. Otherwise, I am back to my boring life!