Driveway Brake Work

LOLZ on the Road

Driveway Oil Change

This Conversation Happened Today

This phone call took place as I was leaving the referenced parking lot to look for parking elsewhere.

Parking Office Employee: Auraria Parking Office, how can I help you?

Me: I was wondering if you are aware that the lift gate in the Maple Lot is not working? I've tried three times in twenty minutes to get in.

POE: Yes, there's someone headed over there now to lift the gate. We can't do it electronically right now. 

Me: Great, do you know when that person will be there?

POE: Let me check ... :puts the phone down:

POE: Ma'am, he's there right now. 

Me: Is he wearing a uniform of some sort? Or in a staff vehicle or something? Because I'm telling you I was there for twenty minutes and no one is there. 

POE: Yes, he's there because we lift the gates at 4:30 for evening parking without a pass. 

Me: But it's 5:30 right now. 

POE: Yes. 

Me: So the gate goes up for the night at 4:30 but right now it's 5:30 and no one has opened it?

POE: Yes. 

Me: :head explodes:

Cleaning Up My Camera Roll

This is a collection of photos that I have had sitting in my phone for months. I am keeping them because I like them for whatever reason. But right now they're just taking up space and I'm afraid I might lose them some how (read: accidentally delete them). So here they are. 

This was taken from the window next to my desk at work. There are three coyotes running through the snowstorm. 

This is a poster from inside The Ogden. I saw it on the wall while waiting to use the bathroom before seeing Trombone Shorty. I had to take a picture -- blurry as it is -- because I am 90% sure I was at one of those two shows a few years ago. 

This is confetti in my plastic cup of champagne on New Year's Eve at Star Bar. Boo. 

Frozen fountain splash outside Levi, Ashley, and Lance's apartment. 

A snail that Miriam sculpted out of glittery silly putty. 

Suzy hit 83,000 miles. This was a few months ago. I think she's gone another 3,000 since then. Love that car. 

A restaurant name that makes me giggle.  Two different cities? In two different countries? Why?

A guy on the train platform. His shirt says, "4:30 Better late than never."

Wind + Dirt + Traffic = Bad

Samuel and I are stuck on I-25. We were making great time after I picked him up from the ex-husband. Until we hit this. We have been sitting here for almost an hour. I have lost track of how many emergency vehicles have passed us in the median and on the shoulder. There was even a helicopter. I have mapped a couple of other routes to get us home but they would take at least 4 hours.

I have a hunch that we came upon this immediately after it happened. As soon as we were stopped I did a traffic check and the back up was only a mile. I am so glad we stopped to use the bathroom when we did. I hate to think of what would have happened if we'd been a mile closer.

A License Plate

Tee hee.

I Will Never Understand

I've seen this truck two mornings in a row on my way to work. Isn't it obnoxious? The driver cannot manage to stay in his or her own lane. That's even more obnoxious. Why drive a truck that you can't even drive safely?

Day 5, A Song That Reminds Me of Someone

Paul has introduced me to a lot of new music.  This is one of the first songs he played that I had never before heard.  We were in his old car (old as in he no longer owns it, not old as in actually old) on our second date and he put in a CD to listen to while we drove to Spudnik/High Dive.

Cost is Disproportionate to Value

This sticker cost me $285.51.

Photos About Town

I especially love "Drill here. Drill Now. Pay Less."  I don't think people understand that the companies that drill the oil still own the oil and still set the prices and are still trying to make a profit.  Geography has less to do with it than most people think.

Can you see that?  I know it's fuzzy and far away.  Sorry about that.  My biggest priority at the moment was making a left turn without needing to involve the police and my insurance company.  Anyway, it says

"Ladie's Night."

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

What the heck is a 'ladie'?  And what does the ladie possess that is such a big deal on Thursdays?

I just love this sign.

Flu shot gift cards.  'Cause there's really not a better way to show that you care.

It's difficult to see but the black and red sticker to the lower left side says, "Couldn't we have democracy without the bombs and torture?"

The red and yellow one says, "Be nice to nerds.  Chances are you'll end up working for one."

Bumper Sticker Shopping Again

So my car -- her name is Susie, by the way -- isn't quite so bright, shiny and new any more.  She's still fabulous, of course; that will never change.  But I'm ready to adorn her with bumper stickers and such now.  I'm getting another Coexist sticker because I love that sticker so much.  I'll be getting a couple more that reflect my views and stuff but in the mean time, here are a couple that I considered for a time:

Subarus are Freakin' Awesome

 I warmed up the car this morning for about 7 minutes, scraped off some of the snow and then went back inside for my coffee.  When I came back out all the snow was melted off all the windows.  Plus it has seat warmers, sideview mirror defrosters and a heated windshield to keep the wipers from freezing.  Amazing.  I love it.

The all-wheel drive isn't too shabby, either.  I scoff at snow.

I Bought a Car

The Suburban served me well for almost 7 years. I blew out the transmission, busted the emergency brake, ruined the rear brakes, neglected the windshield and covered it in opinionated bumper stickers. I put 110,000 miles on it after it had already been driven 70,000. It's a wonder the poor truck didn't decide to trade me in for a new driver a long time ago.

Lately, the Suburban's radiator has started leaking at an alarming rate, the air conditioner went out and it needed a new set of tires. I couldn't justify pouring that much money into a 12 year old vehicle. Plus, even if the truck was in top condition, it's not all-wheel drive, which I desperately need for the winter coming up. Off to the Subaru dealership I went.

I test drove the Forester and the Outback. I realized immediately that I liked the Outback far better; it feels like a car and I'm tired of driving an SUV. I considered taking advantage of the 'Cash for Clunkers' deal. I could have received $4500 toward the purchase of a new Subaru but even with that credit, I'd end up with a larger loan than I'd like. So I decided to get a slightly older car with a smaller price tag and trade in the Suburban. I only got $1500 for the Suburban but my loan is more reasonable.

I briefly considered test-driving other makes of cars. I decided not to, though. I've been dreaming of Subarus for a year and a half. I like that the Subaru plant is environmentally friendly. I like that Subarus last forever, that they're one of the safest cars on the road and that they're fuel-efficient. There isn't another car maker that can claim all of those things. Why go some where else?

So on Monday night, I signed my name approximately 28 times, initialed another dozen items and drove away (finally!) at 10:45 pm with my 2008 Subaru Outback. I actually bought a car by myself and it's exactly what I want. I did it. I still can't believe it.

People Watching

My vehicle is having extensive work done on both the brakes (Yes, again. In December they just made it functional with a minimum of time and money.) and the engine. This means I am without a car today and hanging out near the mechanic shop. They have a courtesy service that would take me home but I told them I'm going to hang out in the area for a while.

I'm doing this for a few reasons. One, my living room is collapsing under piles of unfolded laundry and I don't want to look at them any more. Two, the library is near here and I will walk over there in a bit to return some CDs. Three, I have a ton of household management stuff to do: grocery listing, to do listing, schedule organization, bill organization, etc. and if I hang out at home, I'll get distracted by the laundry avalanche. (The plan is to get that stuff done while I sit here but so far, it's not getting done. Go figure.) Finally, and ultimately, I think I deserve a nice morning out to drink a caramel macchiato, listen to music and people watch.

So here I sit in the coffee and bagel shop. It's rather interesting to be here for an extended period of time, rather than running in quickly for a latte and running out again. This is a great place to people watch.

I've seen multiple business schmoozing sessions. It's easy to spot them; business casual, some glossy brochures and artificially broad smiles. The longer they sit, the wider the smiles, the harder the sell. It's interesting to listen to a salesperson on a commission wrap it up and get the powers-that-be to sign on the dotted line. I'm terrible at that kind of thing. I'm so grateful that the only thing I have to sell is a flu vaccine.

A coffee klatch sat down across from me just now. It appears to be a family: a woman, her daughters and one of her daughter's daughters. They are the sort that looks like they worked hard at looking like they worked out this morning. The baby is cute. She's having a bottle while the women have something that is not coffee. I guess that would make them a soda klatch or maybe a fruit smoothie klatch.

Before they sat down, a couple was sitting there and discussing their mutual misunderstanding of an emotionally charged subject. They both had that frustrated, tight-lipped expression that says, "Why can't you just see this the way I do?" I think she was upset at the way he handled a phone coversation with an ex. I'm glad I don't have those conversations any more.

Out the window beside me has to be the most entertaining thing I've seen all morning. It's a group of three people, two women and a man. One woman is dressed normally. The other is wearing short shorts, a button down shirt and a puffy ski vest. On her head is a massive faux fur hat with ear flaps tied up on top. The man is wearing pajama pants covered with what looks like a stenciled design of confetti. He has no shirt and his skin looks as if he hasn't worn a shirt for the better part of the last decade. He is wearing a hat that looks like it belonged to Gilligan before it washed ashore and someone sponged it with neon paints. They are all carrying 10-ft long dried reeds. I assume they are sitting outside because the man is not wearing a shirt and because the reeds probably wouldn't be welcome inside, although I'm not completely sure of that.

Well. I'm not sure anything else here could top that so I should quit while I'm ahead. I should also quit this because I have a long list of stuff to do and no one is going to do it for me.

Random Observation

The last three characters of my license plate are RSY. For some reason I started paying attention to other license plates around here and I see quite a few others with RSY as the last three characters. They all expire in March like mine.

Family

I consider myself a very fortunate person when it comes to family. I really enjoy my family. Really, though most of my family is biological and choice in the matter is limited; not a bad thing at all, I'm just sayin'. Obviously, we all make the choice to spend time together but it's an easy choice. I got lucky.

One of my family members is a family member by choice, though. He became part of our family when he married my sister. He's extremely intelligent, funny and just plain fun to be around. I see those qualities a lot. He's also generous and he demonstrated that exceptionally this week.

As I mentioned on Sunday, my parking brake froze on Saturday night. My brother-in-law made it his mission on Sunday to get my vehicle drivable again. It was cold, the weather was nasty and I'm pretty sure he'd have preferred to watch football. Then, when my car again didn't run on Monday morning, he came over to pick up the kids and me. He dropped us off at school and work, making himself late for work. Finally, he came over yesterday evening when it was dark and 0 F to work on my car again. He fought with it all the way down a very busy street to drop it off at a brake shop.

Caleb. Thank you, thank you, thank you. A million times, thank you.

And while I'm at it, let me brag on my sister, too. She doesn't think so, but she possesses enormous patience and self-control. She never hesitates to open her home and volunteer herself for watching my children when I have to work. She goes out of her way to do fun things with all the kids. She's constantly feeding us and doing various other things that make my life easier. While my vehicle was out of commission she drove across town 6 separate times to pick us up or drop us off. She's like another mother to my children. And she's my best friend.

I am so very fortunate to have these two people in my life. They're wonderful individuals and a great team. I can't think of two people better suited to each other. (Unless you count my parents, or maybe my grandparents. I told you I was fortunate.) They are raising two cool little boys and I know one day those boys will realize how fortunate they are to have these parents.

I love you guys.

I know it sounds awfully convenient to be saying all of this after the couple of days I've had. But you know, when things like this happen it makes me so grateful for the family I have.

Today Didn't Go As Planned

When this happens, do not leave your emergency brake set. If you do, you might spend 3 hours of your day trying to buy snow chains, contemplating new tires and finally discovering that the emergency brake was simply frozen. In conclusion, do not leave your emergency brake set all night. Lesson learned.

Seen on a Bumper Sticker

Unless You're a Hemorrhoid,
Stay off My ASS!

Let's ignore, for a moment, the disgusting image this phrase brings to mind and focus on its message. Obviously, the point is that the guy doesn't want someone riding his bumper on the freeway. But does he really want hemorrhoids? Yuck.

As far as the mental image goes, it should go without saying that no one wants to think about a fellow driver's southern end and its status regarding that unfortunate condition. This bumper sticker never should have been printed, much less purchased and placed on a vehicle.

Bumper Stickers

My vehicle is now 10 years old and has collected enough bumps, dents, scratches and dings that I no longer care a great deal what it looks like. I only fixed the cracked windshield because I was afraid it might cave in on me whilst speeding down the interstate. That would be inconvenient, to say the least.

Because I don't care about the appearance of my car I decided to go all the way and add some colorful stickers. As with most things, I am picky about what I will put on it. (This is a perfect example of how conflicted I am; I don't mind driving a tacky vehicle, but it has to be tacky in the way I want it to be.) I have scoured the internet for the specific stickers I want and I have found almost all of them. My only fear now is that the stickers will long outlast my car.

While looking for my stickers, I came across several interesting ones. Most of these will never be considered seriously for my collection but I like them just the same, either because they are funny or because they are true or because they are both funny and true. A few of the best:

My child doesn't need validation from a bumper sticker.

If trees screamed would we still cut them down? Probably, if they screamed all the time.

I'm a PBS mind in an MTV world.

People would rather be wrong than different.

It is neither possible nor necessary to educate people who never question anything. John Heller

Manifest plainness, embrace simplicity, reduce selfishness, have few desires. Lao-Tzu

When the rapture comes, can I have your car?

Your possessions own you.

Democrats make better lovers. (Whoever heard of a great piece of elephant?)