I have had family over from my country of origin this past week, and it has been a nightmare. Besides the fact that we are so 'out-of-touch' and I am certainly not free to 'entertain' people, I really dislike their prying questions. The one I faced this morning really while I was getting ready for work was: "You should learn to drive. Then next time we are here, you can take us around." WHAT? NEXT TIME you are here??? Did you just invite yourself over at my expense? I bit my tongue and just said hurriedly that I don't have the time. What I really meant was that 1. I don't have the time to learn how to drive and 2. even if I did, I would have no time to take anyone sight-seeing.

But the little insight into my morning shows the excuses we have to make in our daily life about minuscle things such as driving a car. And I am someone who identifies as an avid cyclist with too many horror stories of vehicles trying to drive me off the road so any mention of 'driving' makes me angry for not only the fact that I cannot drive or get a license. Having to depend on other family members or your girlfriends to drive you around is so tedious and being the independent type, I take my bicycle everywhere. Besides, it is good for the environment, inexpensive, good exercise and more flexible in traffic. And a car is expensive and requires much more maintenance and fees, not to mention the ever-increasing costs of gasoline.

Are those enough excuses? What excuses do you give?