A long story

MoonPix (Lunar De Brie)
Originally uploaded by studiosound.

Well, I've been throught quite a bit this week.

My Nissan Maxima decided to stop pumping fuel correctly a week ago. So I had to borrow my Mom's car that has been just waiting for my dear mommy to get her license. I figured it would be good for the car to stay running from time to time, and so I did. Her car had been wobbling for a few months now, and my Brother Howard thought it was something with either the brakes or a wheel. Something or other!

I got to find out exactly what the problem was three days ago. I was leaving Jes' house sometime around 11:30 that night. I needed some cereal for the morning, so I went by Wal-Butt. By the time I got on the highway back home, it was close to midnight.

I was cruising between 60-66mph, just listening to some AM Coast-to-Coast, when my little blue car's wobble got a bit worse, and then it stopped wobbling, mostly because at this point I was sliding.

I played lots of Gran Tourismo growing up, so I actually can drive my way out of a blowout. I released the gas and just gently kept the car straight until it stopped somewhere between the hwy51 and I-44 exit.

I cursed.

I got out of the car and looked a the tire. A nice, golfball-sized hole stared at me in the cold night.

I love the fact that Tulsa tries to save money by turning off the lights in certain stretched of highway. Just brilliant.

I had no flashlight. I stumled around the trunk of my car, making careful work of my ginormous painting I stored in the trunk (I painted it at the film fest!). I found the jack kit and the jack. The kit consists of about five little wierd peices of wire. Complete bunk.

The jack had somehow been wedged into the metal of the car, so that took me a good ten minuted to pry that out.

I then got to the spare! I squeezed on the tire and it wasn't terribly filled with air, but I hoped it had enough.

I got the stinkin tire on. I was in surprisingly good spirits, things were going well.

Well. I desiced to go to QT to get some air for the tire as everytime I hit a wee bump I could hear the metal from the wheel hitting the rubber! QuickTrip has free air, so I made slow haste. When I got there, I went to the pump.

Some jackhole had ripped the nozzle from the air hose. ARG!

I got back into the car and made toward the only other air I could thing of in that area, the Shell station just off of I-44. Of course I took a wrong turn and went a mile out of my way just to add suspense.

When I arrived, I knew I had change for the pumps, it costs 50 cents there. So I took out my change and turned the pump on. When I attached the nozzle to my tire, someone had unscrewed the metal nozzle and all of the air in my tire whooshed out.

Whoosh!

I tried putting air in after, but the generator had timed up, and my spare tire was completely flat.

Did I mention that this particular Shell station was closed for the night?

I had fifty cents now. I decided to make the most of this and called up my Brother. It was about 2a.m. now...

*riiing*
*riiing*
*riiing*
*click* "Hello, please leave a message after the tone!"
*beep*

"hello, howard? are you there? please pick up I really need your help, come on, pick up! pick u--"
*click*

The answering machine ate the last of my change.

1800callatt and my credit card later, I tried again, this time my brother picked up. He was a very helpful person this late at night. He started out on his was with a portable air pump.

The problem was in the weight of the car. By the time all the air had gone out, there wasn't enough pressure to list the tire up as I filled it. So I got out my wee little jack kit which reminded me of tinker toys and hoisted her up.

My brother arrived and we pumped it up, I drove home a nice leisurely 45. I got to bed around 3 in the morning. A long night!

The next day I got a tire mounted on, and all is well. Except for my Maxima, of course. I'm putting that ride in the shop this week, hopefully tomorrow! I finally got paid enough to get it fixed!

In other fun car news, Jes got a car! A maroon Honda! I'm happy for her, now she doesn't have to wait and be annoyed with my complete lack of time awareness! I rode in it and it's worth it to her! Heck, she even got a job, so she's on her way...

Speaking of money, I'm working on a money-making venture, I'll clue you in sometime soon about that!

...Oh, the moon pic I took a few nights ago at Jes' house. Her dad, David was nice enough to let us use it and I took some incredible stuff.

I've gotta go. Adios!