| 2003-06-23 All Is Well, Except For That Pesky Car Problem. Everything went well today at work. I mean, there weren�t any problems. Some mighty interesting sights and all, but no trouble. Actually, everyone was sent home around noon except our Division and the Executive Division. We could have gone home, but we were getting several requests for things from MyOtherWorkPlace so we opted to stay, rather than, I don�t know, get fired or something. So we get to go home early on another day, when we�re not so busy. The one exception being Intern. Intern has trouble with allergies and it�s allergy season here. The poor guy was leaking like a sieve, so he opted to go home. At one point, he asked me if he looked like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. I assured him that he didn�t; he just looked like he�d been crying all morning. I don�t think he was amused by my comment. So, we walked back to my car � apparently the Shuttle wasn�t running � and I drove him to his place. Then I drove back to The Diner and got there when Mr. Chris was leaving. He volunteered to drive me back to MyWorkPlace as he wanted to see what was going on Downtown. I was walking up to the door at work when, suddenly, a dozen swat team vehicles came screaming down the street. There wasn�t any real need, that I could see, for such a maneuver but you know boys and their toys (no offense to any female, or non-boy-toy swat team members). However, they almost ran over the mounted police, which was a little traumatic for ME. (I think I actually said: �Oh no, not the horses! Don�t hit the horses!� out loud. Right before I closed my eyes.) They had a lot of fun ripping and roaring down the streets today. In fact, as Boss and I were leaving, we were walking across the street and suddenly realized there were three swat team vehicles racing right towards us. We, uh, ran across the street. If we got killed right in the middle of our busy season, we�d certainly be fired. We wouldn�t care, of course, but still. So much for our lock down status. Since we couldn�t look out the windows, we went outside to see what was happening. Often we were right in the thick of things. In fact, I haven�t done that much running around on the streets in a long time. In other news, I�m well on my way to being inducted into the �Automobile Maintenance Hall of Shame�. I finally called my repair shop (RS) today. This is that. (RP:) Repair Shop. (CI:) Hi, this is Cruel-Irony. I got my oil changed recently and those folks gave me dirty looks and told me that I have a serious brake problem that needs to be addressed immediately. Apparently, my brake fluid is low. (RS:) You probably have a leak. (CI:) Well, and the �brake� light on my dash has been on for a good 6 months or so. (Since time flies, it may have been on for a year or so. I don�t know because I just try not to look at it.) (RS:) Oh, you definitely need to bring your car in. How about Friday? (CI:) Okay. And, you�ll drive me to work right? (RS:) Yes. You�re Downtown, right? Wait, we usually drive people to work in their own cars, but in this case, I�m not sure your car is safe to drive. (CI:) Well, I�ve been riding in it and I�m fine. (RS:) Be that as it may, I�m not sure we want to risk our lives. We WILL get you to work though. Meanwhile, make sure you put brake fluid in your car, as needed, up until Friday. (CI:) Um�well. Uh, I�ve never held a can of brake fluid before much less put it in my car� (RS:) Okay. Just go to a car store, buy some and find someone to put it in your car. (CI:) What kind do I need? (RS:) (Says something in �car language� that I no longer remember.) Just go in the store and ask for regular brake fluid. Nothing fancy or anything. Just REGULAR brake fluid. (CI:) Okay, and I guess I�ll ask Mr. Neighbor to put in my car. He probably knows how. You know, I�m moving right now and I need a car problem about as much as I need a hole in my head. (RS:) Oh, I hear you. I just helped my son move this weekend. Ugh. We�ll see you Friday morning, okay? (CI:) Great, I�ll see you then. So, after collecting my car from The Diner, I drove directly to the car store. The whole way, I was plotting and planning to bat my baby blue eyes and flirt shamelessly in order to get the car store guy (CSG) to put the brake fluid in my car. Because I HATE CAR RELATED CRAP. And, well, I have no idea where brake fluid goes in my vehicle. I know where gas, water and oil go, but not brake fluid. Anyway, here�s that. (CSG:) What can I help you with today? (CI:) Uh, I need regular brake fluid. (CSG:) What kind of car do you drive? (I tell him.) You need (car talk). It�s on aisle five. (Noticing my blank stare.) Would you like me to show you where it is? (CI:) Yes please. And, actually, I�d be thrilled if you also put it in my car. He rolled his eyes, retrieved the brake fluid and affected a bored look while ringing up my purchase. I was in the process of paying for it when this happened. (CSG:) Louisiana. (CI:) (I froze because I wondered how the hell he knew I want to go to Louisiana someday. Then, I remembered that I�d set my keys on the counter and I have a Louisiana key chain � a gift from a dear friend � on my, well, key chain.) Yeah, I�ve always wanted to go to Louisiana. Have you been there? (CSG:) Yes. I mean, not really. Just passed through it. (CI:) Actually, I don�t really care about going to Louisiana, I just want to go to New Orleans. (CSG:) Oh, I�ve been to New Orleans (he even pronounced it �Nuorlins�) before and I love it! I forget it�s in Louisiana. Great place. And here, let me put this brake fluid in your car. (CI:) Great, thank you so much! I credit my dear friend for the power of her gifts to me. Without my Louisiana key chain, I can pretty much guarantee you, he wouldn�t have helped me out. And, guess what? As soon as I started up my car, I immediately noticed that my dashboard brake light is no longer on! Go figure. On top of that, I called my friend Scotty to ask him a question and, out of the blue, he asked me how old my computer was. I told him I didn�t remember but, in computer age, it must be old because I can�t hook up my new printer to it unless I spend about $100 in adapters. Then, he told me he�s updating the computers at work and offered to give me one of his �old� ones � which are much newer than my computer. I love my friends. And, nice people. All of them. Things are looking up, no? your thoughts? seed flower