I Should Have Taken Photos

I am writing another one of these "trouble comes in three" entries. This time, I can complain mostly about bad timing, though number three of my troubles is a complaint about the locals which I will try to demonstrate has geo-political implications for the world.

First, I was walking on the second level of my local shopping center towards a spot that overlooks an open area where there is a often a stage set up for performances and promotions.  I came upon the sight of four slim twenty-something girls wearing red costumes that went down to their upper thighs. They were dancing and thanks to the red, their legs stood out from a mile away and I immediately thought to pull out my phone to take a photo of them. It was just my luck that they finished their performance before the camera app became fully operational.

Secondly, I was at school in its second-floor office when I heard chanting coming from street level. I walked over to a classroom and looked down and saw about twenty delivery drivers, all in uniform, standing in formation (ranks as they said when I was in the militia) listening to some supervisor.  I decided to take a photo. Only problem was my phone was in the office. By the time I came back, the group had broken up and all the drivers were getting on their special delivery e-bikes to embark on a day of restaurant food deliveries.

Finally, I was driving Tony to school and was stopped at a traffic light along the way.  I was in the right-most car lane, a barrier separating my vehicle from the bike lane, when I saw a white Kia Sportage in the bike lane stopped behind a bunch of e-bikers and cyclists. I had become familiar with this particular SUV and its driver because it was the third time in a week that I had seen the vehicle blatantly being driven in a bike lane that was barriered-off from cars. Its driver was male, probably in his thirties, and he wore aviator sun glasses. His hair was short, his face was square, and his mouth was wide with a very visible smirk. His countenance, his getup, and his driving habits indicated to me that he was a thug accustomed to getting away with things. This third time to watch him, I was close enough to get a good look at him as his SUV was stopped just a little in front of me. I had the perfect photo to put on my AKIC photo blog, but alas because of my fumbling and the camera app of my Apple Hitler Phone not setting up in time, I was again just a little late.  Just as the camera was ready to take photos, the light turned green and the SUV quickly sped off.   It went straight ahead, merging into the car lane.  What the driver had done was to get into the bike lane so he could get around all the other cars that were lined up in the proper lanes for the red light. [A fucking prick maneuver! Pardon my French!] Proceeding through the intersection myself, I was not far behind the SUV as I witnessed it turn into the barriered-off bike lane again so the driver could again get around cars stopped at the next traffic light. He continued on the route I was taking to school, where it turned out he was dropping off his son as well.  Just the previous week, it was at that service opening in the boulevard between the bike and car lanes that the driver had first entered my consciousness because then and there, I had almost rear-ended him because he had unexpectedly and recklessly slowed down his SUV quite suddenly to make the illegal and immoral turn. I only pray that I will have another opportunity to record with a camera his maneuvers. Of course, it would be much better if he stopped doing this, but being an adult male it might be too late to for him to change his ways.

As I was continually encountering this driver, I was following news of Trump's putting tariffs on Chinese products. Now, many places on the Internet say that Trump is starting the trade war. They have got it backwards. The Chinese started it years ago by having been cheating on trade and Trump is the first US president with the balls to do something about it.  How do the Chinese cheat?  In many ways.  A large portion of them arrogantly proceed through their days, like the SUV driver I witnessed above, as if the rules don't apply to them. The SUV driver's particular maneuvers mentioned above are not an anomaly.  I have been tiresome in this blog about the lack of consideration Chinese have for others as they go about in public. I have related many an anecdote of Chinese drivers selfishness and trickery in traffic.  One can only imagine the lack of consideration that goes on in their business dealings, especially with foreign devils. So.  Go get them Trump!