July 30, 2006

• Hmmmmm

  
  

  I worked my last day at the lending company yesterday.  I still don't have a start date or an exact salary or any idea how this new job is going to work out, but I've been telling myself that I could deal with that, there's an amount of uncertainty everywhere, and well, I just needed to be a little more flexible.  It would build my character.

  
  

  Last night, I stopped off at the store and when I came out my car wouldn't start.  It turns over but hte engine doesn't "catch".  And I know it has at least one gallon of gas in it ... SO I checked the fuses, none were blown.  There was strangeness happening in the dash, my "theft lock" light wasn't blinking, the "check engine" light came on, the instrument panel didn't respond when I turned my key, but the odometer light (not supposed to be on unless the key is in the ignition) was on all the time.

  
  

  I know mechanical things happen in vehicles, but I'm thinking for things to be that weird a computer must be involved. 

  
  

  I opened my glove compartment to get the number for roasside assistance and discovered that someone else has opened my glove compartment.  My little folder with owner's manual, insurance card, and registration was missing.  There are a lot of other things that ride around unprotected in my car, why would someone steal these things?!?  (I also had a Rod Stewart cd in there that's missing now, and a couple other cd's but I can't remember which ones.  They left the Abba cd ...go figure.)

  
  

  So ... I called the Verizon wireless roadside assist.  And I can report that the most reliable network was having network problems.  It took me 30 minutes before I was able to get someone to pick up the phone.  I kept getting this recording that said, "Please make your selection within the time allowed" well, I was making my selection and it wasn't recognizing that I was doing anything. 

  
  

  Once I was finally connected, they ordered a tow truck and told me that it would be there "within the hour" - I think it was the 59th minute of that hour.  But he did show up.  And that wait gave me time to call a couple friends and get advice on where to have the car towed.  So that was that ... almost.

  
  

  By the time it was all done, I'd been away from home almost three hours.  I was hungry, tired, in desperate need of a potty break, and thinking I was going to walk home.  (I only live the equivalent of a block or two from the store because my condo is immediately behind the shopping center.  The longest part of the walk would have been around the buildings.)

  
  

  A woman I know from the UPS store was driving by and saw me with the tow truck, so she stopped to see what the deal was.  And the upshot of that was that she gave me a ride home.  That's the ... third? time this particular woman has done me a favor.  So I'm thinking it's time for me to acknowledge her kindness with a gift certificate to her favorite restaurant or something.  I'll have to think about that because she also told me that she's on a diet ... but I'm sure I'll figure something out. 

  
  

  ANYWAY, it's a GOOD thing that I don't have to leave this morning to drive to Arkansas, eh?  And it's looking like my quiet week at home is going to be even quieter and more at home than I'd imagined! 

  
  

  Well, I have plans for my time here.  November is coming, I know it's hot outside now, but I can smell it in the air, crisp leaves (of paper), the smell of smoke (from the kids trying to cook), and the mounting excitement, anticipation, and "what if I don't get everything done in time" of the approaching day (Nov. 30) because of course I'm talking about NaNoWriMo. 

  
  

  I've done it now for five? of it's seven years ... wow, I'm kind of getting to be one of the old ones ... but I've never taken my work to the level of completion I have wanted.  As the month rolls on I become more and more bogged down in "what are they going to do next" and the writing drags down from my blistering pace of several thousand words a day to maybe like a hundred and then I limp across the finish line with a book that looks like I ran out of steam and wrote, "then God fixed it all" ...

  
  

  SO I am starting early.  Oh not on the writing of the book (exactly) that would be cheating.  But I am going to outline and figure out what they're "doing next" before I start the writing.  I even have a book to help me with that

  
  

     

  • 9:01 am
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