the road ahead

as i allowed the car in front of me to dictate the flow of traffic on route 70 east around 1 am, i noticed how bright the roads were lit. it was really neat to see everything illuminated. then, i glanced back in my rearview and saw complete darkness with a hint of red from my tail lights. there's truth in the saying, "when you want something done right, you have to do it yourself." who else would light the road that you travel for you if not for you? i've been better at reaching for what i want and stating my preferences. how else would anyone know what you like if you don't tell them?

around 7:20 pm, i drove my parents to philadelphia to meet up with dave and vi. it was a wonderful drive... straight west on 37 and 70. we met up in chinatown and had dinner at penang. yum, the roti kanai and chicken and noodles... all so yummy. then vi let me drive the pathfinder to their apt while dave drove our parents. i still have bad memories from when i was 17 and am kind of uncomfortable driving sometimes. i have to watch the road divider in my side view mirrors and rationalize that there is no way i can collide with cars if we both stay on our side of the road. peanut happily greeted us, and we checked out dave's finished basement. it looks awesome. dave and vi surprised me with a vanilla-chocolate-cookie crunch ice cream cake for my medical school acceptance. it was wonderful. i gave dave his early birthday present and vi a belated birthday present. it was a lovely time. on the drive back around midnight, my dad and i had a long conversation about bp, driving, changes from nj/ny to nh, cost vs worth, how to correctly say 510 in cantonese (mm bak yut sup, instead of the assumed mm bak sup), etc etc. i would also break into song every once in awhile, like the acoustic version of heaven, you belong with me, and omg. haha. good times.

beside all that, i felt agitated today over little things that couldn't be helped, like the late delivery man, unfamiliar parking in philadelphia and my mother's repetition. i need to learn to be more patient... because if i can't just go with the flow, it will certainly be a long and stressful road ahead.