Things That Suck About ABQ

It can't all be roses and wine, now, can it? Of course not. In fact, I foresee me discovering new things that bother me about my new city in the future, so I think I shall make this a regular topic. Without further ado, let's get down and dirty.

Aside from the previously mentioned frontage road system and slow drivers in ABQ, one other aspect of driving around town has come to bother me greatly. It is the selection of radio stations out here. It stinks. Bad. I can spend a half hour surfing through all the channels and not find one good song to listen to. I suppose if I was into Country or Christian Rock I would be good, since there are, oh, a dozen or so of EACH to pick from on the dial. Even the public radio is awful, with very little news or reporting and mostly soft jazz and muzak all day. It makes for a very frustrating time running kids to and from school.

Lumped in with my general automobile issues is the selection of license plates we have to choose from. I am in the process of registering the van and, having decided that I don't like the two standard options of plates, seen here, and here, I figured I would get a custom plate. Most of them are boring, ugly, or for things I am not involved in. I am leaning towards getting a Children's Trust Fund plate, because it is cute, for a good cause, and NOT yellow.

Next up is something that isn't specific to ABQ, but since I would not be dealing with this problem if it weren't for moving here I will include it on my list. It is Bank of the West. Never before have I dealt with a bank so full of incompetent individuals! We opened our new accounts with them before leaving California, and at that time they misspelled our last name. We went in and corrected it. Got the ATM card, and it was wrong again. Went in and corrected it yet again. Then today I get a box of checks from them (finally) and there is Nathan's last name spelled wrong. AGAIN. I called and supposedly got it fixed but I have my doubts.

And last but not least, the chiles are driving me crazy. I love Mexican food, but I do not love spicy Mexican food. What can I say- I'm a wimp. I like a touch of heat but not so much that I can no longer taste my food. Unfortunately, everything here is so darn spicy! I have started to shy away from anything southwestern simply because I know it will be too spicy. And avoiding food with chiles in it is virtually impossible in this state. Even things that are so-called mild in heat are way too spicy for me. Locals say that I need to build up my tolerance yet I can't bring myself to light my tongue, throat, and stomach on fire every time I sit down to a meal. I'm tough, but not that tough.