How to amuse yourself while commuting ... A Thursday Thirteen on Monday

Well folks, it's that time again. Yes ... I just had one of my quarterly commutes into and out of hell (L.A. traffic for those who don't know what I'm referring to). So of course I've got to unload by blogging about it. Since I try to turn anything unpleasant into something at least tolerable, I thought of ways to "play" while driving. What follows is a brief list of things you can do to amuse yourself while commuting in bumper-to-bumper traffic:

1. Listen to Old Time Radio shows on XM Radio.
2. Bring favorite coffee drink to enjoy in the car.
3. Pretend that you're just sitting around enjoying your coffee (since all you are doing during most of the commute is "sitting around"; this delusion is helped greatly if you have comfy car seats).
4. Compose blog posts by talking into a hand held tape recorder during the "not moving" times.
5. Work on other writing projects like novels/poems/short stories using that hand held tape recorder.
6. Scare the person in the car next to you by smiling when they look over at you.
7. Further scare the person in the car next to you by "toasting" them with your coffee cup.
8. Leave room for the 18-wheeler trying to merge over to one of the right 2 lanes where all big trucks belong (many of the freeways have left lane merges from other freeways leaving big trucks to work their way over to the right hand lanes).
9. Flash your headlights for the big truck so the driver knows he has room to move over in front of you (especially cool if the driver blinks his running lights to say "thank you").
10. Get in your ab exercises by doing abdominal squeezes (just think what a flat tummy you could have if you commute regularly!).
11. File your nails during the traffic stand stills (I can usually get at least one nail filed for each stand still).
12. Dust the car dashboard during "not moving" times (this should really be limited to the driver's side).
13. See if you can find the traffic report on AM radio when you see the traffic news helicopter fly overhead (just think ... you're part of the news!).

Feel free to add to this list in the comments section and happy commuting!