We're getting ready to make our bimonthly trip to Washington. Normally, this preparation includes begging a friend to take care of the cats on a daily basis and bring our mail in. I always feel guilty about asking someone to do that.

Not this time.

Have I mentioned that my now-college-aged son has his own car?

So Mark will be house-sitting as well as cat-sitting while we're gone. I'm sure he's thrilled at the prospect of having some time and space to himself for the first time in his life. It's a little extra prep for us, because it means making sure there are fool-proof and microwave-safe meals available for a hungry on-the-go 18-year-old, but I felt absolutely no guilt asking, and no begging was involved. The cats will be thrilled cuz they know him so well. And okay, I'll have to give him some cash for it, since it's a little further from school and he'll go through a little more gas. And we'll have to make a To-Do list for him so nothing gets forgotten. But I am still very much relieved.

As my wife says, "Children are wonderful labor-saving devices, if used properly."

High School Meme

1. Who were your best friends?
Suzanne Campbell, Susanne Lamka

2. What sports did you play?
That's funny...I played kickball like Charlie Brown.

3. What kind of car did you drive?
The Orange County Transit Authority provided limosine service from a nearby corner to Cal State Fullerton, and I hoofed the last mile.

4. It's Friday night, where were you at?
Sometimes roller skating to disco tunes (!!!!) or working.

5. Were you a party animal?
Nobody wanted me at the parties.

6. Were you considered a flirt?
Nope.

7. Ever skip school?
No. But we did get passes to go off campus for much longer times than we actually needed them for meetings, etc.

8. Were you a nerd?
Definitely. They called me "goody two shoes".

9. Did you ever get suspended/expelled?
No way. I would have died of shame.

10. Can you sing the Alma mater?
"The Red and Gold are blazing our pathway to the sun.
Honor, truth and spirit, as we live and love as one.
Cuz we're wonderful 1 times 1
Here to learn yet just begun.
As we care and share and live with pride
At Rosary High, we've got joy inside."

11. Who was your favorite teacher?
Mrs. Hall

12. Favorite class?
US History, Spanish

13. What was your school's full name?
Rosary High School

14. School mascot?
The Royalette. Don't ask me.

15. Did you go to Prom?
Not mine, no. I did go to another school's prom though.

16. If you could go back and do it over, would you?
Are you kidding? I couldn't wait to get out of high school!!!!!

17. What do you remember most about graduation?
Butterflies and shock when I received the General Excellence Medal.
Not getting invited to any parties, so Susanne and I popped popcorn and watched movies.

18. Favorite memory of your Senior Year?
Grad Night at Disneyland.

19. What were you voted in your yearbook?
Most likely to return to Rosary to teach. And I did. The first one from my class. Taught history there for 2 years.

20. Did you have a job your senior year?
Yep, I worked at McDonald's and by the time I graduated I was a shift lead.

22. Where did you go most often for lunch?
The quad or Carl's Jr on our off-campus days.

23. Have you gained weight since then?
Thank Goddess, yes.

24. What did you do after graduation?
Quit my job and chilled for the summer, getting ready for college. Cal State Fullerton.

25. Who was your crush?
Don't remember having one.

26. When did you graduate?
1982

Snagged from Elfkat

Beware this Repair Shop

Now that I've had a few days to calm down, I think it's time to write about my car repair shop drama of the past week.

Last Friday night while driving home, the Kia started to act up. At first, it would shake when I had my foot on the brake at a stop, then after a while in Friday-night-rush-hour-traffic, it began to do this shaking business in first and second gear as well, and then it started doing it even in neutral. Just before I pulled into my driveway, it backfired. Grrrrrr. Since one of the reasons for getting the Kia was to relieve my stress of always having something go wrong with the Jeep, I wasn't happy about this. When I got home, Mary and Jo tinkered around a bit and discovered that there was raw gas coming out of the tailpipe in addition to the odd shaking. We decided to call AAA first thing Saturday morning and have it towed in for repairs.

About a month earlier, we had taken the Kia for a smog check, finally finding a place that could do it the same day (we were down to the wire for the transfer of title and plate renewal) only to find that it failed the smog, so we had to take it back the following day for repairs. After several calls to them (they never did call me) the diagnosis was to replace the spark plugs and flush the hydrocarbons out of the emissions system. They said they'd call me when it was done in a couple of hours. About three and half hours later, a half hour before they closed for the day, I called them -- "Yes, it's done." Frustrated with their lack of phone calls, but happy that it was done and had passed the smog, we went and picked up the car.

Needless to say, when a problem pops up with emissions (raw gas) less than a month later, I'm taking it back to the same shop. If they screwed something up, they're fixing it! So, AAA tows the Kia into the shop for us about 9:00 am. I tell the friendly guy at the counter what's going on, ask him to attach the work order from the previous month, and ask when they'll get a chance to take a look at it. "Geez, I hope by this afternoon." At around 2:00 pm I get a phone call. They aren't going to be finished with it today, they'll need to keep it until Monday cuz they're closed on Sunday. Guess I'll drive the Jeep to work. I said, "You will lock it up overnight, right? Inside?" Oh yes, absolutely.

We made several calls to them on Monday trying to get an answer, including one call when the service manager slammed the phone down after talking to Mary. The problem is elusive, they say. Finally they decide it's the ignition coils, which they'll have to get from the dealer, and maybe the gap on the spark plugs is off. They'll pull the plugs and check the gap, for a fee of $40. Oh no, you don't! YOU put the spark plugs in a month ago, so you'll check them free of charge. The service manager wasn't aware of this. I told him the previous paperwork was attached to the current work order. Oh. The phone rings at 4:30 pm, and they just got the parts from the dealer. It'll be ready tomorrow - Tuesday. At this point you can see the steam coming out of our ears.

Tuesday afternoon, 4:30 pm -- it's ready. We walk up to the counter, and there is the oh-so-unfriendly service manager that we've been dealing with on the phone, all smiles. I tell him I want to see the parts and the diagnostic. It takes him a while to find the parts, after first bringing us ignition coils with the trade name Motorcraft (even I know that's Ford). As I take the keys and the paperwork to go to the next counter and pay, he opens the door wide for me: "It worked out pretty well," he says. "For you," is my flat response. I explained that I hadn't been satisfied with the customer service I received the previous month, that no one had returned my calls, and that I wouldn't have returned to their shop except that it appeared to be a related problem. I said that I was even more disatisfied after this experience, and that I would never be back again unless I drove around the corner and the car was still shaking, then he would see me in 5 minutes. "I'm sorry you feel that way," was his inane response. I walked over and paid for the services, then went out to the Kia. All the windows were rolled down, all the doors unlocked, and it had obviously been parked outside overnight - dew had collected and then dried all over the car.

They did manage to correct the shaking. I will never go back again, even if the problem seems to be related. The service manager was an ass, rude and condescending, and their technicians seem to work about 2 hours out of an 8 hour day. There is no excuse for a repair shop with 12-15 bays to take FOUR DAYS to find and repair a problem like that. By the way - the name of the shop? Advanced Computer Automotive

A Night Out

About a month ago, we made dinner plans with Jeni and Tee, because our calendars are all so full that it took us a month to find a night when we could all get together!

After a flurry of emails confirming the time and location of this dinner engagement, they drove up in Tee's new toy . Mary and I climbed into the back seat of the convertible and off we went. It was only a block or two before I realized that I should have put my hair up for the ride. What a mop! Luckily, the restaurant is less than a mile away. Tee snagged one of the closest parking spaces, so we didn't have far to walk in an area notorious for its shortage of available parking spaces.

Star of Siam has been around for a long time. I've been eating there for nearly 10 years, although I call for delivery more often than I actually walk in and sit down at a table. They have the best Thai food I've ever found, and lots of vegetarian/vegan options. The restaurant is cozy, the service friendly, the food fantastic, and the patio garden makes for a cool and more secluded dining experience. The restaurant is very popular with the local BGLT community.

Last night, after protracted negotiations surrounding various dietary restrictions, we settled on Tofu Pad Thai, Stir-Fried Vegetables, Garlic Chicken, Garlic Squid, Ga-pao Mint Leaves with Chicken, and Brown Rice. I skipped the chicken dishes, of course. But, Yummmmmeeeee!

It was nice to spend some time talking to Tee and Jeni. We ended up talking a lot about Seattle, since they'll be going up next month, and Mary has promised to send them an itinerary of "must-sees". I had a great time, and I hope everyone else did too! Where shall we eat next time, girls?

Surreality

I was driving down the 405 listening to a CD. It was still dark, and I was on my way to an interpreting job. My cell phone rang; it was the other interpreter I was working with that day. I greeted her cheerily. "I'm not going to be there," she said. "What's wrong?" I asked. A plane had crashed into the World Trade Center in New York. Stunned and disbelieving, I hung up the phone and switched over to the AM news station. A part of my mind was saying, "It sounds just like George Orwell's War of the Worlds must have," but my gut knew it was reality. A very surreal reality. The second plane hit. The towers came down. I thought of the thousands and thousands of people who worked there. I thought of my frequent-flyer friends from Boston who might have been on one of those planes. I called home, sobbing, somehow still driving down the 405. I woke up my then-girlfriend and told her to turn on the TV.

I was nearly at my jobsite, where I would be all day. Having lived through a few international crises, I decided to fill up my gas tank before the job started. Who knew what would happen to gas prices while I was working for those 8 hours? I pulled into a gas station across the street. It was quiet. People were very subdued. I filled up my tank, got back in the car and turned the ignition. A loud BANG! came from under the hood. Other customers in the gas station were ducking behind concrete or lying on the ground. Shaking, I popped the hood and got out of the car. I made my hands clearly visible and walked to the hood, opening it to take a look. There was a crack running from the top of the battery all the way to the base. I wasn't going anywhere. I asked one of the attendants where the nearest auto parts store was - 10 miles?????? No, I didn't have AAA.

I called the agency and explained what happened, saying I would be late for my job. They were just happy I was going - about 75% of the interpreters booked that day had called in and cancelled after hearing the news. We pushed my car away from the pumps and jumped into the attendant's van. Somehow, I trusted him. He drove me to the auto parts store, where I bought a new battery, then drove me back and put it in for me. While he was installing the battery, he asked me, "Who is draining the energy out of YOUR life?" Where was the crack in my battery? I thought of Dan Millman's gas station attendant, Socrates. Metaphysics from a gas station attendant? But he was right, and I spent days considering the answer to his question.

I finally made it to my job, which was literally across the street from the gas station, several hours late. By the time I left at around 4pm, the streets and freeways were nearly empty. Rush hour, and nobody was on the road. It wasn't until I got home that I saw any of the video of what had happened. I watched in stunned silence, crying. Amazingly, the casualty numbers weren't nearly as high as they should have been at 9am on a weekday.

The next couple of days were bizarre - nobody on the freeways of LA, no planes or helicopters in the air only 3 miles from an airport, only the sound of military jets flying overhead once in a while.

For me, that day was one of absolute surrealism. The tragedy and horror of the vengeful acts of terror juxtaposed with the generosity and goodwill that human beings are capable of. In the midst of tragedy, I experienced gratitude: gratitude that my car, with a full tank of gas, did not ignite and blow up an entire gas station when the battery split; gratitude that my friends were not on any of those planes (although it would be awhile before I learned the fate of other friends who worked in the Towers and in the Pentagon); gratitude that by some fluke of divine intervention, thousands of people who should have been in the WTC for some reason called in sick or were running late.

Five years later, do we really know what happened? Have you read the 9/11 Commission Report? My life changed in many ways that day - did yours? My heart goes out to all the families of the victims of this tragedy, many of whom have been further victimized by our government. To the victims, may you find peace and rest and healing.

Sleep wanted

Yesterday was my little brother's birthday.... Happy Birthday, Andy!

As for my week.....

Just as I was pretty much rehydrated from last week's day of hell, this week started. I worked on Labor Day (how can you turn down time-and-a-half?), which wasn't too bad, but then I picked up extra hours for Wednesday. I ended up at work from 8am-10pm on Wednesday, with several hours in between my split shift, but not enough to go home and back. It was long enough to run into Target for a few things, and then check out The Great Indoors. Yikes! A $5000 oven?????? I just wanted a pot rack...! Grabbed some Starbucks, of course. Stopped by Subway to pick up a sandwich for later, and headed back to the office, where I sat outside in the shaded courtyard for a couple of hours before heading back in to work.

Needless to say, the next day was a looooong one. I haven't been sleeping well to begin with, and going to bed so late on Wednesday night didn't help. Luckily, today is a shorter day for me - I don't have a job until 10am and it's a short one, so I should be back home for lunch. Yeah!

A day from hell

What a week. Last weekend I spent two days helping my friend Bev with her booth at a couple of fairs. It was fun, but hard work loading and unloading the car and setting up and then doing it all again at the end of the day. It was also very hot the second day. Fortunately, I had Monday off to recover :-) followed by three days at my usual job, which was the same old, same old. Then came Friday.

I took a last-minute freelance job that was booked for 5 hours at a site about a half hour from home. It sounded like an easy enough job for the day. I checked to make sure there was fast food nearby that I could eat (food sensitivities) so I wouldn't have to pack a lunch. I put on some nice clothes that would be warm enough in an air conditioned building but still look professional. I drove to the site. I arrived and my contact said, "The buses will be here soon."

Buses?!?!?!?

I ran to the car and grabbed my sunglasses.

So began a day from hell. Buses. Drive an hour and pick up a group of people. Drive 45 minutes and arrive at a very large, very loud, very hot event, where I am to accompany these people for the next 5 hours. No shade. No lunch. One small water bottle. Dark clothes. Ankle boots with a 1 inch heel. Needless to say, by the time we got back to the buses I was sunburned, dehydrated, on the edge of heat exhaustion, with swollen feet. Then came the one hour ride back to the original site. The 5 hour job had become 8.5 hours of torture. Yes, I called the people who gave me the job and complained. They didn't know about all this either. And yes, I did speak to my contact at the site and explained that had I known what the plan was, I would have dressed more appropriately, brought a backpack with more water and my lunch (no I can't eat chicken, so don't bother offering to run and get me some), tennis shoes, sunscreen and a hat.

Mary was pissed. I was frustrated. These people didn't have a clue that they should have provided all this additional information. I spent Friday night and most of the day yesterday on the couch, pounding gatorade and slathering myself with aloe vera. My arms aren't nearly as badly burned as I thought they might be. My face is the part that hurts off and on. The worst burn is my chest, which will now have a V-shaped tan line after the red peels off in a couple of days.