Feelin’ Lucky

Found this inside my fortune cookie this past Thursday:

What if you’re on fire?

Thinking of Others

So, how’s your week going?

Blow-By-Blow

An account of my last days as owner of a working automobile:November 2003
(Driving to the post office:) That’s funny, I never noticed that rattling before. Car must need a tune-up. I’ll get to it one of these days when I have money.

December 2003
I wonder if that new clanging I hear when I change gears means it’s time for a new clutch. I sure wish I had an income, to be able to pay for these repairs!

January 2004
So I need a new clutch after all. $800! Who has that kind of money? And that rattling. I better at least get an oil change: that I can afford.

February 2004
Weird. Rattling won’t go away even after an oil change. Could be a dead spark plug, or the idle is off. Guess I better get that tune-up sooner rather than later. It’s ironic that now that I have something of an income I don’t have the time to take the car to the shop on weekdays, and I tend to oversleep on weekends.

February 17, 2004
7:30am
Damn. Rattle really sounds bad today. But it’s cold as beans out there. Probably just needs to be warmed-up a little more than usual today.

8:15am – I-275 (Howard Frankland Bridge – a 12mi. long causeway joining St. Petersburg and Tampa)
Car feels weird, but the gauges all read nominal. Okay, today’s the day: I’m going to find a repair shop near work and leave the car in for a thorough going-over.

8:17am
What is that I hear? Is that the engine knocking…? OMG… “Engine Check” warning lit. OMFG! Temperature gauge is off the scale! What’s going on!?

8:31am
Rattle-rattle-clank-grrrunk-clink-pssssssssssh—Dammit, I’m still mid-way through this bridge and no phone in hand with which to call for aid. I’ll have to drive the car in the danger-zone at least till I’m off the causeway.

8:49am
Smoke billows from the engine compartment as I pull into the very first service station off the freeway. They promise to look into it as soon as they’re able.

I catch a ride to work and await a call from the mechanic.

10:16am
Joe, the mechanic, calls. It’s bad news: exhaust leaked into the cooling system means there could be damage to the engine block. It’s bad enough that his shop won’t do the job. He refers me to a nearby engine specialist. I have to pay for the diagnosis and as I have the car towed to the engine specialist I realize I have to pay for the towing service as well. This is fast becoming a rather expensive day.

I scramble to find alternative transportation home. Afterwards I figure I’ll be without transportation for a day or two which is majorly inconvenient, but I figure I can just rent a car those days. More unanticipated expense but at least I won’t be at the mercy of mass transit.

3:43pm
I talk to John, the engine specialist. He confirms Joe’s prognosis, gives me a rough estimate of US$1200 for the repair. He’ll know more tomorrow, once he looks into it more deeply. I watch my first paycheck leech away just covering this one repair. I swallow my panic.

I figure I better rent a car today; I may be without car for a few days.

Too bad every single rental dealer in a 50-mile radius is sold out yet no one knows why.

Tuesday, February 18, 2004
7:30am
Drizzling, low-60s. I set off to the nearest bus stop. It turns out to be a half-hour walk. I later look back on my walk as the highlight of my commute. I catch my first bus in four years. It’s just as miserable an experience as I remember. I barely make my connection with an express bus across the Bay which, in its zeal to ‘express’ through to its destination, zips past my own destination. By the route’s design I am forced to take a third bus that will backtrack to a place near my destination. While orienting myself at the station I miss that bus. It is now 9:00am: I’m already half-hour late and I’m still nowhere near where I need to be. I remember that taxi cabs cluster around the lobby of the Hyatt hotel just a few blocks down, and make a dash for it. I catch a quick ride that ends up costing me $14. I arrive at work almost an hour late. Can’t wait to repeat this seven hours from now!

The return trip goes more smoothly — until I get on my last bus, but going in the wrong direction! I get off in some random place, walk over to the first bank I see, withdraw some cash for what is sure to be an expensive taxi home. $20 and half an hour later, I’m home… 8:15pm, two-and-a-half hours after leaving work. Can’t wait to do this over again tomorrow morning!

Wednesday, February 19, 2004
I decide to play it safe and get up in time to catch the very earliest bus, at 6am. That means, getting up at 5am. I shower and shave, pack a lunch, drink just a sip of coffee (that’s all I have time for) and hope to catch the beach trolley that should take me to my first bus stop, that will then take me to the express, bay-crossing bus, that will then connect me with my final bus, that will take me to work… two-and-a-half hours later.

No such luck. Trolleys don’t start circulating until after my first bus has left. So I have to sprint to make my first connection. Looking at the time I acknowledge my effort is futile: there’s no way I can make it in time. Providence dictates that for some bizarre reason a trolley is running earlier-than-scheduled (who ever heard of that?), enough to enable me to catch the outgoing first bus just in the nick of time!

7:00am
The sun still hasn’t risen, and already I’ve been on the road an hour and a half. I’m waiting for my connecting express bus, which should arrive in twenty minutes. It’s not raining today. Unfortunately, the temperature is in the 40s and there’s a brisk, steady 20-knot breeze blowing. A couple guys get off another bus, yelling angrily at each other.

7:20am
I look east for the sunrise. My bus doesn’t arrive. Well, maybe my clock is fast.

7:30am
Can’t be this fast. The yelling becomes more frenzied. I’m freezing here!

What’s that thump? I turn to see one of the guys laid out on the street, seemingly knocked out with a well-placed jab.

7:40am
Crap! There’s no way I’ll be able to make my last connection now. First paramedics, then the police arrive at the scene. Soon everyone is there… except my bus.

7:43am
The express bus arrives! Hurry, must get on board! No time to waste! Instead, the driver promptly gets out for a potty break which will delay departure another ten or so minutes. The next express bus is due to arrive any minute now. Why did I bother struggling to catch the first bus, after all?

The driver somewhat makes up for lost time, getting us to my final connection only ten minutes late. Still too late to catch my intended bus, but providence would smile upon me again by showing me a different route whose bus was just about to depart and take me to my destination via a more direct route. I arrive to work just in time, fifteen minutes earlier than I had anticipated. Hurray! Can’t wait to do this again in eight hours…!

11:30am
John, the engine specialist: “It seems my estimate yesterday was way off. [I sigh in relief.] You should expect to pay closer to US$2200 for this repair.” [*cough-cough*] I may be without wheels for a lot longer than I had thought before. Like, forever.

3:08pm
It’s decided: I’m putting the Miata out to pasture. Two thousand dollars is too much to pay for just about anything in this world, in my opinion. And with an eye at relocating to New York City it seems plain stupid to throw money at a car that I can expect to use for only a couple months. I steel my mind against the idea of having to rely on public transportation here for the remainder of my stay. The thought causes a shudder anyway.

8:07pm
Seems I might have finally caught the hang of this. No major traumas catching buses on the way home, and I am now within a 40-minute walk there. But I think I’ll wait to be let off a little bit closer. Can’t wait to do this again tomorrow morning!

Happy (Anti)Valentine’s!

Glamorous Life

There’s a new phenom in town: 80s glam-punk-wave originals Glitter Guns. They’ll make you think of Bowie, the Stones, the Smiths and the benefits of shiny makeup. I’ve been fortunate enough to shoot them not once, but twice. First (live) session. Photos from the second (live and pre-show) session will be up in a few… Update: photos are up! See?