There are times I quite despise Provo

Maybe despise is too harsh a word... perhaps dislike will suffice.

And while it's true that I had a lot of great times down there during my collegiate experience, and it was the place where I finally figured out who I was and am, I still get irked by aspects of its general makeup.

Case in point: last night, I decided to sojourn down to the Happy Valley to dine and exchange gifts with a dear friend of mine. Typically, even in traffic, I can make it down there in about 45 minutes. Last night, it took me 45 minutes to get to 7000 South. And I work on 400 South. There was no snow, no accidents, nothing that would support such a parking lot.

Except I always underestimate the idiocy of Utah drivers. Or Idaho/California drivers in Utah. Maybe it's some mystical force that comes upon people once they enter the state boundaries or something. Shrug. Like the guy with the Idaho license plate who was on his phone and was going 15 in the fast lane. COME ON. 30 was totally doable, and when you get brighted, it means get the heck out of the lane. Then there was the mini-van that kept braking when braking was not necessary. Do people not realize this action can be the very cause of an accident? Apparently not. The icing on the cake was the car with the BYUCUGAR (seriously) vanity license plate that was going so slow I tired to get around him, and then he sped up (of course) so I couldn't pass him. Lovely. [There was also another vanity plate I saw that I initially misread... it said COWGAL, but for some reason I thought it was an attempt to abbreviate "conjugal," which I know makes me sound like I have a dirty mind, but I don't. Most of the time anyway. And we were in the UC, so I have NO idea what I was thinking. Plus that "w" was pretty squished... it totally could have been an "n."]

In all, it took me about an hour and 25 minutes to get there, but it was worth it to have a delightful dinner/gift exchange with my friend.

But I still don't heart the Provo.