who only takes checks and money orders?! this is the 21st century, there's an app for debit card transactions!

I am really loving living here, and Aaron and I have done a lot of fun things, but the traffic/driving in general is just not fun. And after a particularly horrendous afternoon at the DMV (we had to find a place to get a money order, the money order wasn't for the right amount, a fight broke out in the parking lot and everyone started freaking out, we left without Pennsylvania drivers licenses), I have to vent.

There is a Target 1 mile away from our house. Guess how long it takes us to get there? Back in Utah, it'd be 3 minutes. Here, it takes us TWENTY. Basically, the lights aren't timed at all, so you stop at every single light at every single block. Because there isn't any street parking available, if people want to stop at a little shop or make a delivery, they just park their car with their flashers on in the right lane. This makes things even worse because everyone driving in the right lane all of a sudden has to get over to get around the dang car parked in the middle of the road! How is this legal, people?!

This is more odd than it is irritating, but because parking is so limited people park in the middle of the street, like in the median lane where people normally turn left. It was really weird seeing that for the first time. I expected to see drivers in all of these supposedly left turning cars, but nope, they were parked and driver-free.

Another thing that's sort of funny is that on really, really narrow streets all of the parked cars will have the rearview mirror on the street side pushed all the way in toward the car body so that cars that drive past don't smack it off. The cars that have the mirrors still sticking out have scratch marks and nicks all over.

That's all for now, folks. My mom is flying in tomorrow night, and we are going to go to the Rodin Museum! I am recreating my French experience here in Philadelphia, people. I can't help it.