speed limit? what speed limit?

I drove up to central Phoenix today to meet my thyroid surgeon. He reminded me of my dad, which is a very good thing. The meeting was long and we discussed a million details of the surgery, but I still forgot to ask some questions. And I still don't know when my surgery will be, as it takes some time to schedule all the various people that will be involved. I will be happier when I know exactly when it is. Part of me is hoping it will be this week, I just want to get it over with -- but part of me also is thinking, no, put it off as long as possible...

I have no control, so I'm just trying to kick back until I hear from his office when they've penciled me in.

The drive up there was easy but, frankly, insane. We (me and DS2) left home about 9:30 so the morning rush had disspated, though traffic was still heavy. We cruised up I10 in the HOV lane at a steady 80-85MPH (speed limit: 65) and cars in the left (fast) lane of the regular lanes were routinely passing me... quickly. On the way home, traffic was even lighter so I didn't bother with the HOV lane, sticking mostly to the middle lane, going 80MPH and once again, being passed, frequently and quickly.

I did see 2 different cops pulled over with single cars for what I supposed could be speeding, but how do they choose who to pull over?

I have a tendency to speed, especially if I have some good music playing in the car. I like to go fast (who doesn't?), but at the same time, I often drive around with my kids, so I really -- really -- try not to speed more than 10MPH above the speed limit. Around here, that makes me the turtle. OTOH, it also pretty much innoculates me against speeding tickets, since there is always someone else around going a lot faster than I am. But out there on I10 this morning, if I had been driving the speed limit, I would've been a hazard. I did see one of those today, actually: Iowa plates, in the exit lane near 7th St; all the traffic coming up behind them was having to swerve around -- it was an accident in the making, and I was glad when I got by them.

So I just kept up with the flow of traffic, which meant I averaged 80. When you're on a five or ten mile trip, does the difference between 65 MPH and 80MPH really make that big a difference, especially when you spend way more time on on ramps, exits, and surface roads? Any gains you make are eaten up at the next 3 stop lights. It's pretty ridiculous.

And yet... Phoenix has been doing all this road work, and there are some truly fine stretches of asphalt out there. They're using this rubberized asphalt which cuts road noise down to next to nothing and gives a tremendously smooth ride -- who can resist cranking it up? Obviously, no one, which is just as well, because then I don't stand out. Hee!

Other than the big doctor trip, not much of a day -- a few phone calls, people checking in to see if my surgery had been scheduled, the usual pickups and dropoffs, feeding everyone, etc. I want to eat something delicious but I don't have the energy to bake. Clearly I need to bake double (or triple) batches of whatever next time I do bake, so I won't be in this position so often. Looks like more chocolate/pecans/apricots tonight, even though that's not really what I'm in the mood for (croissants!).

Oh, yes, DS1 finished his family tree project. It's definitely "him", and he even enjoyed doing it after a good night's sleep and day to think about it.