Week from hell ... and it's only Wednesday
Saturday: NiiceDuude and I are supposed to go to a birthday party at the brew pub for a friend of ours -- a small-f friend, not someone we're supertight with. I am stone broke, and I have a meltdown because I simply don't have the $20 or so it would cost to order a couple of beers and an entree (I'm assuming this is a let's all meet at the brewpub, order off the menu, Dutch treat, sing Happy Birthday kind of party). I don't want to ask ND to spot me -- he's done too much of that over the past few years. So I tell him to go without me if he wants. I go home, spend the whole day wallowing on the poverty pity pot. He did go to the pub and it turns out a buffet was provided an the drinks were covered. It wouldn't have cost me anything! D*mn!
Sunday: I'm feeling better, but Mother Nature isn't. The Mother of All Ice Storms arrives. I'm a wuss about winter driving, so even though the roads are reasonably passable, I worry about what they'll be like after dark, when, if I went to our monthly folk club meeting, I'd be coming home (about 40 miles). So I skip that. I'm starting to have flashbacks to the Toxic Jock Syndrome years, when I isolated myself from ND, friends and fun stuff. Different reasons now, but same outcome.
Monday: Is a holiday in the U.S. but I don't get the day off. I take the day off because the driving is still hinky. I have paid time, Mondays are a slow day at my job, no biggie.
Then my power goes out. Stays out for a couple of hours, comes back on for about three, goes out AGAIN. Out all night. I have electric heat. I'm chilly but not freezing.
Tuesday: Normal work day. I get home, still no power. I pack clothes and go to NiiceDuude's house. He's out playing with his band so I let myself in. Pleasant evening.
Today: I get up, shower, dress, leave ND's around 5:30 a.m. Temperature is in the single digits. My car is making a huge racket, but I figure it's just cold. Its previous owner was the Commonwealth of Virginia, this is the first really cold day of its life.
Nope, wasn't cold. I had a flat tire! By the time I figured this out, the tire was SHREDDED.
I'm not far from ND's house. I call him out of his nice warm bed and he comes to try to change the tire. It's dark, it's freezing, the tire isn't budging, the jack slips ... we call AAA and sit in his car and wait an hour for them to arrive.
AAA guy puts on the spare, I'm on my way. The ride is kind of loud and bumpy, but I figure that's par for the course with these "doughnut" spares that are smaller than the other wheels and only designed to get you to the nearest Tires R Us.
It gets worse. You guessed it, the spare is toast, too. Fortunately, I'm able to limp into the next town and find a garage. They fix me up with a new tire -- for $70 that I don't have. Fortunately I DO have a bank that is very forgiving about overdrafts.
There is some good news: My power is back on. While I was at ND's last night, I ran into his landlord and got him to deal with some nagging problems ND had been having with the place (LL's job has him keeping goofy hours so ND is reluctant to knock on his door when he's home for fear of waking him.)
But darn, I am exhausted. Is it Friday yet? Is it next Friday (payday) yet?
Sorry to go on and on ... anyone got some cheese to go with my whine?
Sunday: I'm feeling better, but Mother Nature isn't. The Mother of All Ice Storms arrives. I'm a wuss about winter driving, so even though the roads are reasonably passable, I worry about what they'll be like after dark, when, if I went to our monthly folk club meeting, I'd be coming home (about 40 miles). So I skip that. I'm starting to have flashbacks to the Toxic Jock Syndrome years, when I isolated myself from ND, friends and fun stuff. Different reasons now, but same outcome.
Monday: Is a holiday in the U.S. but I don't get the day off. I take the day off because the driving is still hinky. I have paid time, Mondays are a slow day at my job, no biggie.
Then my power goes out. Stays out for a couple of hours, comes back on for about three, goes out AGAIN. Out all night. I have electric heat. I'm chilly but not freezing.
Tuesday: Normal work day. I get home, still no power. I pack clothes and go to NiiceDuude's house. He's out playing with his band so I let myself in. Pleasant evening.
Today: I get up, shower, dress, leave ND's around 5:30 a.m. Temperature is in the single digits. My car is making a huge racket, but I figure it's just cold. Its previous owner was the Commonwealth of Virginia, this is the first really cold day of its life.
Nope, wasn't cold. I had a flat tire! By the time I figured this out, the tire was SHREDDED.
I'm not far from ND's house. I call him out of his nice warm bed and he comes to try to change the tire. It's dark, it's freezing, the tire isn't budging, the jack slips ... we call AAA and sit in his car and wait an hour for them to arrive.
AAA guy puts on the spare, I'm on my way. The ride is kind of loud and bumpy, but I figure that's par for the course with these "doughnut" spares that are smaller than the other wheels and only designed to get you to the nearest Tires R Us.
It gets worse. You guessed it, the spare is toast, too. Fortunately, I'm able to limp into the next town and find a garage. They fix me up with a new tire -- for $70 that I don't have. Fortunately I DO have a bank that is very forgiving about overdrafts.
There is some good news: My power is back on. While I was at ND's last night, I ran into his landlord and got him to deal with some nagging problems ND had been having with the place (LL's job has him keeping goofy hours so ND is reluctant to knock on his door when he's home for fear of waking him.)
But darn, I am exhausted. Is it Friday yet? Is it next Friday (payday) yet?
Sorry to go on and on ... anyone got some cheese to go with my whine?
posted by niicelaady @ 8:43 PM
1 Comments:
At 7:02 AM,
The Bean said…
Sorry your week wasn't so good. I was wondering about how you were faring when I heard Schuylerville was without electricity for the longest. At least you have heat now! :)
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