Cass, I do the same thing when I have a passenger. My problem is when I'm driving by myself, I don't instantly click in. Sometimes I get a couple of block from home before I remember. I'm trying to be more aware.

And how did it get to be almost 8:30 already?!?!?

Yikes, Andi. I used to tell Nephlet that my car would not start without him being buckled in. For years he thought I had a magic car. But he did it. Still does. Just now he knows it's one of my rules and not that the car literally won't start. I do it to my Mom too. I just wait. I don't really notice it. It's funny if she does though. But of muscle memory habits, it's a damn good one.

Oh, it is very effective as a strategy for getting people to buckle up before moving the vehicle. I have even my most resistent bucklers trained to that. The worst ones now nag themselves. "I know, I know, I have to put my seat belt on. blah blah blah... I'm doing it...." I find it quite hilarious. But I can hardly pretend that the vehicle's engine magically dies the moment someone unbuckles randomly in the middle of the highway. The ones who have the imagination to project cause and effect in that much abstraction keep themselves buckled in admirably. The one who was testing me in this fashion today was working from a visceral desire to see what happens when my buttons get pushed.

My problem is when I'm driving by myself, I don't instantly click in.

I will turn my car on but I don't get into gear without my seatbelt. It takes self-training but I feel really weird driving without one now. If I have to pull out of the driveway, I just habitually put it on. I drive stick so there's no just casually cruising when I start out though. It's something I think about.

The one who was testing me in this fashion today was working from a visceral desire to see what happens when my buttons get pushed.

Yeah, I don't know how to deal with that. I'd certainly have used a strong voice in that situation. They don't mean to do something so dangerous but their lack of intent doesn't change the danger.

I find myself buckling up at the end of the block. Which is a very short block, but oddly when I'm a passenger I buckle up right away.

Will and I saw Fast and Furious 6 today which was fun. It would have been more fun if a bunch of boys (2 of whom didn't look 13) hadn't 1) come in late, 2) stepped on my toes while getting into the seats and 3) had a cell phone on and sharing it back and forth and flashing it where it would catch my eye. The two kids were about 5 seats away from me but I did finally lean over and tell them to turn it off. Rather meanly.

THey did for while and then turned it back on. If you aren't going to watch the movie don't watch it! I wish I had found a manager.

Will laughed though because as soon as the credits rolled they jumped up and exited the other side of the aisle, and down - it would have been closer to walk by us to get to the exit (only 1 exit in the theater).

Then we had dinner and our waitress was a geek. She loved the new Star Trek movie, but has never seen any of the series so we told her to watch them, especially DS9 and she's a fan of Stargate and had seen SErenity but not Firefly.

She doesn't like it when people die so I didn't suggest Farscape or Buffy. But she seemed really exited and said she liked when she had geeky customers.

I like the quiet so I always buckle up before I turn the key. Don't want to hear the seat belt warning chime.

I have zero sense of perspective right now, because I want to thwack my Dad in the back of the head because he's insisting that he needs to know what Tim is wearing in the wedding so that he (Dad) can wear the same thing. I was appalled, and said that we aren't having a wedding party ON PURPOSE, so he doesn't need to match, and frankly, that's going to look a little creepy. To which he said, "I want to look like I'm in the wedding party." I think at that point I was actually yelling "WE DON'T HAVE A WEDDING PARTY WE DON'T WANT PEOPLE TO MATCH!" And he said, "I'm wearing what I want anyway."

Part of my brain gets it, he wants to feel included, this is a big day for him too. And a black suit is so common as to be unremarkable. But this is where the absolute lack of perspective comes in, because I still want to whack him him the back of the head.

I know. It's stupid and petty and small and doesn't even qualify as a problem. Everything else is shitty, though, so if I can stress about my dad's need to be my husband's twin, then I won't lose it about every other thing going to complete shit.

At least my mother has the sense to not wear a blue dress.

Can you ask if your dad can wear something complementary but not the same so it will look cohesive to him?

Well, a black suit is a black suit. Seriously, I know they're commonplace and unremarkable, and if Dad had just showed up in a black suit in September without telling me he wanted to match Tim, I wouldn't have even noticed. In the big scheme of things, it shouldn't even be a blip on the radar. Hell, he could be trying to wear paint-stained overalls and a Hank Williams t-shirt, you know? And here I am bitching that he wants to wear a suit. A SUIT, to a WEDDING? The horror!

Yeah, I get that I'm being irrational. He's just picked a bad time to be overtly weird and get all up in my shit about it.

(For the record -- wearing a suit to your daughter's wedding: lovely. Wearing a suit to your daughter's wedding because you specifically want to match your future son-in-law and look like you're a part of a nonexistant wedding party: CREEPY AND WEIRD.)

Ahahaha. I called my brother to vent ("Yeah, Dad is kind of creepy"), and he suggested that I tell Dad that Tim is wearing a red crushed-velvet tuxedo.

I love my bro.