Hallway Rage

I'm a pretty aggressive driver. I blame it on the fact that I learned to drive in a full-size van...when you're bigger than everyone else on the road, they tend to move out of your way. Then, of course, there's the fact that not too long after I got my own car, I moved from a very small town to a pretty big city. And the fact that I regularly make a 5-6 hour trip to visit my parents. Add those factors together and you get a driver that can tend to be rather...confident.

I've noticed a tendency of mine to always want to be ahead of everyone else. I'm not really sure why; I'm not trying to race or anything, but if I see a car in front of me I want to pass it. So if the roads are clear, and I'm not really watching my speed, I can get going pretty fast weaving back and forth around other cars. That probably accounts for the 5 times I've been stopped for speeding (no tickets yet!).

When I'm driving and I encounter a slow driver in the fast lane, or two cars going the same speed blocking both lanes, I tend to get rather upset. I have been known to honk the horn, tailgate, and otherwise attempt to intimidate people into moving out of my way. It usually works.

I've noticed recently that my walking habits are kind of similar to my driving habits. I'm currently helping my boss set up for faculty training sessions a few times a week, and for these sessions I have to set up laptops in a classroom down the hallway from my office. This hallway is used by many students, and they tend to congregate into groups and stand around or walk together slowly. I get to walk through these masses of students carrying 4 or 5 laptops (I don't like to make multiple trips).

Apparently I don't like being behind people walking any more than I like being behind people driving. I've noticed that whenever someone is walking in front of me, I automatically speed up so I can pass them. I don't even think about it; just a natural response. Maybe I should start carrying a horn...