So there's a station from a local community college that doesn't reach all the way to work, they talk the least and they play the best music. There are a couple of stations that are quite powerful that reach from home to work and into Toronto (seeing as one is based in Toronto, that's no stretch), and there's one station that's based in the city where I work. They all play similar music, except the others have much talking that's usually stupid stuff that I can't stand, so I am constantly pushing buttons and turning the radio up when I hear a good song.
On the way to work, I can count on hearing songs from three bands: The Hip, Billy Talent and Nickelback. In 45 minutes, sometimes I hear these bands more than once. (The guys--sorry, people--who run the radio stations are pretty predictable all around.) I like the Hip because they've been around a long time and they were the only good music going in the 90's.....no matter how you slice it, there were a lot of useless bands and concomitantly useless music in the 90's (Pearl Jam and Oasis notwithstanding, and I'm not a U2 fan. Shoot me.) Billy Talent takes some getting used to but once you get over the inital grating, they're quite good. I take comfort that my 4.5 year old son can sing and scream along with the entire second album. (and I don't know why I take comfort in this, although last night at dinner both Big One and Little One confirmed that they wanted to be rock 'n roll stars. Big One also said that being a vet would be good too.) As for Nickelback, my only fondness for them is that they sound like a small town bar band, which is in fact what they were before they turned into a small-town megaband, and I happen to be from a small town originally. So there you go.
Besides this, the current favourite among all the radio stations is a song called Paralyzer by Finger 11, and I can guarantee hearing that thing at least twice in 45 minutes. It is a song that makes me want to drive into oncoming traffic, although thus far instead of veering into the grill of an 18-wheeler I've just punched the radio buttons in a (sometimes) vain search for another song.
So the morning music leaves much to be desired, if you're looking for variety or entertainment.
On the drive, I can look out the window. I take some backroads through an area where there are gravel pits, so there's a lot of up and down hills and the like, past farms and farmhouses. There are a few spots where people or animals have been killed, and there are memorials to them, sometimes just wreaths, although the one huge bush covered with red ribbons is a bit distracting. A lot distracting actually, since in the winter it really stood out and scared the bejesus out of me a few times with its waving, erratic action.
Once on the highway I try to avoid the trucks, and mostly just drive along at about 20kph above the speed limit, same as everybody else. I pass the independent gas station with the aromatherapy spa above it...I'm not sure if the aromatherapy is real or not, or if the gas fumes are an asset. There are a couple of massage places too, so I'm pretty sure most of it is a cover for something other than a quick shiatsu. Otherwise, it's rural Ontario, there are lots of farms and farmhouses. On the highway I also pass a few shed places...yeah, people who make sheds, and there's one huge place that also has yard art, statues and the like. I suppose that if you want a 40-foot brontosaurus in the front yard, or a mastadon, this would be the place to go, because they also carry these items. I like the triceritops the best ("Threehorn" if you've ever watched the Land Before Time, which I have. Lots.). Sheds and antiques and massages and farms. Oh my.
When I turn onto one of the last roads before I get to work, the road sign that greets me says
London 78km
Paris 112km
Paris 112km
(numbers may or may not be correct, I can't really remember)
and man, every morning that thing cracks me right up.
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