happy halloween!
last week howard mentioned us meeting in charleston on friday night. ;) it sounded like a good plan to me. but my oldest brother was visiting the family, so i wasn't sure i'd be able to get out of town. but we really wanted to see each other...so i had friday night dinner with the family then i drove to charleston.
we met at the microtel in south charleston. he was afraid meeting at a hotel might feel cheap and sleezy. it didn't. we live far apart. by meeting in the middle it gave us more time together.
but he had to head back home early saturday. and i was meeting one of my best friends M3 in morgantown later that day. i had a lot of time after he left and before i had to be in morgantown. so i took the scenic route. i drove up route 119. i saw a video store named after me. and i stopped to eat on the north side of weston.
when i got to morgantown, i went to the mountaineer mall. :( so i decided to try out the morgantown mall. so it was 119 south to 68 west to 79 north to the mall. when i left there, it was 19 north through town to 119 north to M3's mom's house.
i went to M3's halloween party at her sister, mindy's house. mindy and i were the only straight ppl there. LOL well, M3's mom and dad and grand niece, paxton, came for a few minutes.
i stayed at her mom's house. i woke up having night terrors. apparently i didn't scream outloud though. they didn't mention anything about hearing me. i sat straight up and screamed 3 times. and i guess it was in my sleep cause my throat didn't hurt this morning. if i had really screamed like that, i would have hurt. so i cried for 2 hours, read a magazine, and finally fell asleep with the light on.
we had lunch there this afternoon. turkey!! yummm...oh and banana nut bread for dessert. i LOVE her mom!! :)
i left there and decided to take the scenic route home. i took 119 south to 50 east. yes, east. i stayed on 50 into maryland where i picked up 219 south. i stayed on that to 33 west to ripley.
the drives were really nice. i took a few pictures of the trees and the cheat river. i love that river! well, not as much as i love the ohio...but still...
so that was my wknd! hope you had a good one too. ;)
Sunday, October 31, 2004
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
life in milwaukee
here are a few things i've written over the past year and a half.
*****
June 2003
hey everyone!! i can't find the power cord to my computer (still all packed up somewhere, but NOT in the computer box!!) and my battery died. so i'm at the public library, where i have to pay a parking meter to leave my truck outside. and since they don't allow full-size trucks in the library, i didn't have a choice. i guess i could have walked here from home... anyhoodles, just want to let everyone know that i am safely in milwaukee. the move was fine and my apt is great. i'm right on the lake and have plenty of room for visitors!!! just a warning though, parking sucks!
i got my new driver's license. funny story there. i went in to get my license very early in the morning on the first full day i was in milwaukee. i had to do this right away because you need a permit to park on the street, you cannot get a permit until you have a local license. so at 8:30 a.m. on tuesday morning i was at the DMV. i was about the 3rd customer that morning. but already the staff was having a bad day. the first man, a middle-aged guy named john, said in a very flat tone,"can i help you?" i smiled and said, "i sure hope so! this is my first day here and i need to get my drivers license so i can get a parking sticker." he said flatly, "i need your current drivers license." so i handed it to him. without so much as a smile, the man put my license down on the counter, shoved it back towards me and says, "i mean a United States drivers license." well, i stuttered for a second, not knowing if he was really that stupid or was just trying to be funny. finally i said, very hesitantly, "uh, florida IS one of the United States." he replied, again without so much as a hint of a smile, no humor in his voice at all, "no it's not. it's part of the confederacy. the US govt may have invited you back, but I did not." i was totally speechless! he didn't smile, he didn't move, he didn't pick up the license. so finally i said, "can i get a license in wisconsin?" finally he pulled out an application for me to complete and wrote something on it. then he asked for another form of ID w/my signature. well i don't normally sign my credit cards, i just write, "see ID" on the back. but luckily i had my social security card with me. he wrote something else on the application then handed it to me and told me which parts to complete. he handed me a numbered ticket and said when it is called i can go to the other counter for my license.
a few mins later, my number was called and i went up to another friendly milwaukee-an. she said, "i need your application." well, i had completed the parts he told me to, but was unsure about the signature box. WITHIN the signature box was the statement about the military draft, directed at males aged 18-??...so i thought the signature might be only for them to sign that they understood the draft, etc. but then too, i thought it odd that I didn't have to sign the application for driver's license. so as I handed the form to the woman, i explained why i didn't sign it, then asked if i should have. she said, in the MOST sarcastic tone i've ever heard, "NOOOOOOOOooooooOOOOOOOOOO, women don't have to sign an application for drivers license." well obviously, she was being sarcastic so i knew I WAS supposed to sign it, but since she said NOOOOOOOOoooooooooOOOOOOOOOO, i smiled, handed it to her, and said, "ok." wellllll, that ticked her off!! she slammed the form down on the counter and shoved it back at me and almost screamed, "OF COURSE you have to sign it!" so i picked up the pen and very calmly said, "i wish you'd make up your mind. first you said no, now you said yes. do you even know if i have to sign it?" through clenched teeth the helpful employee said, "SIGN THE FORM." so i signed it. THEN...she wouldn't accept my social security card as a form of ID because the signatures didn't match. i said, "well of course they don't; i got that card when i was about 12 yrs old, my signature has changed." she couldn't accept it and needed something else with my signature. now why didn't the helpful man i spoke to earlier tell me that?? so i found a credit card with my signature on it and we were on our way. i finally got out of there, but she took license pictures for 3 people who came in behind me before she'd take mine. i know their names are john and alicia, but i don't have last names yet. i AM writing a letter to complain.
WELCOME TO MILWAUKEE!!!!!!!!!
****
July 2003
BACKGROUND INFO: ok, i was "laid-off"...or as i like to say, "FIRED" due to the elimination of my position. by the way, they did not eliminate the work--just the position, therefore there are others who have to pick up the slack...funny how that works. anyhoodles...the man who came down from human resources to break the news to me in tampa (on april 23, 2003 at approximately 1 p.m.--not that it is burned into my brain or anything) is named david. his office is located at another one of our offices in another state. truly i have no hard feelings for this guy. he did not make the decision to eliminate my position; he was merely the messenger who had to follow protocol. he was a nice enough guy. he carried my belongings out of the office for me and walked me to my truck for security purposes. mind you, i was not fired for doing anything wrong—my position was eliminated. when we got to the truck he thanked me for being a professional about it. he explained that when he had to let people go, he never knew what the reaction would be. basically, i made his job easier. WHAT!? now again, i don't hate the guy, but i certainly didn't mean to make his job "easier"!! i wanted to vomit on his shoes at that point. i also wanted to explain that i am pretty perceptive and knew i was being let go before he broke the news. but i didn't go into all that. i shook his hand and told him good luck. afterall, he had fired 4 people that day—pretty big day for a guy who has only worked here for a few months! and i didn't know it at the time, but found out later that the following day he left florida to CLOSE a complete office in another state!! he had to let ALL of them go. fast forward several weeks: i think all of you also know that i was re-hired by this company at a different location and am working in a completely different dept. this job is in *UGH* the financial dept. (HAAAaaaa, me--who failed acct 101). i started my new job in milwaukee on 6/19. it was decided that i should actually visit the main financial processing depts at our home office for training. so plans were made and i'm here this week getting the scoop.
FUNNY PART OF STORY: today, at the training site, as i was leaving for lunch, the elevator opened and who should step out but david the messenger!! i smiled (as i said, no ill feelings at all!!) and said, "DAVID! hey!" he looked at me kind of confused wondering if he even knew me. i stuck my hand out towards him to shake his hand and said, just as his hand grabbed mine, "it's kuke, formerly of the tampa office." OH MY GOSH i had NO idea what kind of an effect this would have on the poor soul. i watched as the blood drained from his face and he turned totally white as he recognized me. his hand dropped from mine and in a nervous voice he asked, "what are you doing here????!!!!" his eyes widening even more. wow, for about 10-15 seconds i put the fear of God in that man. i know his life flashed before his eyes. my only regret is that we were not ON the elevator with the door closed when i said it!! i truly had not thought of what kind of an effect seeing me would have on him. he completely calmed down after i explained that i was here for training. i shared the good news that i had been allowed to keep my seniority, etc. he asked about the move and what was i thinking moving from tampa to milwaukee!? i wanted to say, "i was thinking i have a job in milwaukee and not in tampa you goober!" but i didn't say it. he was very nice once he realized i was not here to take him out. i think it was an ironic situation. when he "fired" me, it was truly nothing personal. he didn't want to do it. he didn't even know me. but that feeling i got in the pit of my stomach upon having my suspicions confirmed will always and forever be associated with him personally. today i truly didn't mean to give him a fright. i was just saying hi to let him know all was well. but i bet that always and forever that feeling will be associated with "kuke, formerly of the tampa office!" it wasn't so much a feeling of revenge or anything that negative. but i felt somewhat vindicated. vindicated does not mean got revenge does it?? :) cheers!! it felt way better than it should have.
****
February 2004
i got out to my truck at 9:45 a.m. yesterday. that would have been enough time to get to work on time if i dind't have to let the truck warm up. but i'll warm it up anyway and be a few minutes late again. but the snow plow had gone by through the night and packed up the snow next to my truck. not deep, and not even frozen...just thick slush. my truck will not go through it. i tried for 20 mins to get out of that spot. i succeeded just enough to get the nose of my truck out into the street to cause havoc with traffic. don't you think that would make someone stop to help me? well, i'm not in the south anymore, i can assure you of that. i know this not only b/c of the snow problems, but also b/c of lack of neighborly help! i called work to tell them i'm going ot be later than usual and why. i thought, i'll just work my way back into the parking spot again and take the bus. 20 more mins of trying to back up and i still couldn't get anywhere. i was STUCK! i called work again to ask if someone would look up a roadside assistance phone number for me. my boss didn't want to do that. he didn't want me to have to pay for that. so he kept me on the phone for 10 mins just talking. i was getting madder and madder. finally i say, hey, i can't get out of here and the nose of my truck is out in the street. can you please look up a number for me so i don't get hit by oncoming traffic. then he said, don't you have anything you can put under your tires to get traction? i said, only a floor mat. he told me to try that then call him back. i tried that and it flew right out from under my tire about 3 car links down the street. well about this time, a guy who was walking down the street finally stopped to help me. he directed me to straighten up my wheels. (something i had forgotten after not driving in the snow for years!) that didn't work. we finally found a cardboard box in my truck. (for those of you who ever saw the inside of my car, it will not surprise you to learn that i carry almost that much stuff behind my seat in the truck! but jimmy hoffa doesn't fit. i don't know what they've done with his body now.) we put the flattened box under the floor mat to give it some heighth. and it worked! i drove about 3 more inches out into traffic then came to a screeching halt. so at this point i was really messing with traffic. people were swirving (swerving?) around me, blowing their horns at me. others were stopping to try to "help" by yelling directions from the comfort of their warm cars to the poor guy who is pushing my truck solo. but nobody would offer to stop and help this guy!! finally, we decided he should just push the truck back into my parking spot and leave it. that worked. i took the bus and finally got to work at about 12:15.but wait! as if that weren't enough!!
here's another installment of "my first wisconsin winter." my first wisconsin winter, chapter 2/day 2 of stuck truck
i was up and out of bed before 8 a.m.! :) i left the apt before 9 and thought, i just might make it to work on time today. i walked to jewel/osco to see if i could buy a bag of salt or something to help me get my truck out. i bought a 25 lb bag of salt. that was quite a load for me to carry--three blocks! i got to my truck and my mouth fell open. i dropped the bag of ice and slowly started walking towards the truck. the driver-side window was gone. completely. there was no glass hanging from it at all. no glass on the ground either. i walked closer and there was no glass on the inside either. nothing in my truck had been touched. my phone charger was on the seat, a couple of heavy sweatshirts/sweaters, cassette tapes, etc. nothing bothered. then i remembered, when the guy was helping me yesterday, i had rolled down the window so he could talk to me rather than relying on hand signals. i didn't roll up the window. the bus was coming, so i locked the door and ran for the bus. it was down all day yesterday and all night last night. can you believe that?? i rolled it up, but the truck was not going to get out of that spot again this morning. people parked very close to me on both ends! and the piled up slush from yesterday was now mountains of ice and was molded around my tires. so i left it and took the bus again today. on the upside though, i didn't get a parking ticket. :) yet. lol
the bus thing isn't so bad. i only have to walk one block to the bus stop from my apt. well, actually, there is one right outside my apt building. but it's going in the wrong direction. if i get up early enough though, i can catch it and right it to the end of the line in the wrong direction, then back towards downtown to my stop. which, by the way, is 5 blocks from work. yes, i've been walking 5 blocks twice a day in this weather. brrrrrri'm not kidding when i say that today i wore:hose, wool socks, boots up to my knees, a pair of pants (not heavy ones or anything though, so maybe that was my problem), a long underwear shirt, a turtle neck, a red wool blazer, my long wool coat, 2 pairs of gloves (one pair of isotoners and a pair of fur lined leather ones), a scarf, and ear muffs. the weather did not care that i was bundled up. noooo, it laughed at me. it made an annoying buzzer sound and yelled, try again!the weather man says tomorrow's windchill will make the air feel like -30. but no snow..sorry kids, looks like you'll have to bundle up and go to school anyway.
****
June 2004
i hesitate to write this story because it means admitting something that i don't want to admit. but it's too funny not to tell. i hope it doesn't ruin your perfect image of me. ;)
without going into a long explanation...or rather a bunch of excuses why...let me just start this story by saying i let the sticker on my truck tags run out, not intentionally! i have mailed in the form with the money, just haven't gotten it back yet to put on my truck. so i've been driving very carefully!! stopping at yellow lights, not speeding, and with that exception of driving to illinois recently, haven't driven anywhere except to work and back.
well, today a friend of mine from work wanted to borrow my truck to pick up a dryer. (and i don't mean a hair dryer.) anyway, i saw this as an opportunity to rope her into helping me load the u-haul truck next month, so of course, i agreed. i met them at the store, the dryer was loaded, and i drove it to their house. i decided while i was out i would go to KFC. i haven't been there in forever and was really craving it. i was feeling lucky (about driving illegally i mean) so i chanced it.
i got to KFC...which is near a cinema...and 3 guys with protest signs ligned up along the street in front of KFC. it took me a while to be able to read the signs. but i finally managed. they were saying things about the movie Fareinheit 9/11 (i think i misspelled that word). they thought michael moore (the man behind the documentary) should be arrested for treason. they called him the american taliban. i can't remember the other things.
anyway, these guys (all pretty young, i'd say 17-20) got into a verbal altercation with someone driving by in a car. they were shouting at each other and making gestures towards one another. someone called the cops. so the cops showed up and pulled into KFC's parking lot. they talked to the young men for a few minutes, but didn't make them leave. all of the cops finally left except one. and he pulled up right behind my truck. well, i was busy writing something (the show "last comic standing" has inspired me to try to write comedy again cause i think i'm funnier than they are) so i just took my time and wrote my routine on a napkin.
an hour passed with me avoiding the cop. i was a nervous wreck. he was just sitting there blocking me in. there were a couple of times during this hour that i was the only non-employee in the restaurant. i kept waiting for him to come in and get me. my heart was pounding--you could see my shirt moving!! i thought about calling someone to come pick me up. i thought about making a fake call to the cops saying there was a car stalled just down the street from KFC...close enough that he'd probably get the call, but in the opposite direction of my escape route. then i realized i didn't want to get into any more trouble than i was already in.
i wanted to go out and talk to him. but by this time i was so nervous, i didn't know if he'd ticket me or arrest me. i wanted to call someone to find out, but didn't know whom to ask. so i tried to focus on writing. i refilled my pepsi. for the third time. i went to the bathroom. for the third time. i sat and watched the cop parked behind my truck. for an hour.
then it happened. A WRECKER PULLED INTO THE LOT!! A TOW TRUCK!! oh my gosh. my heart DID beat now. my head pounded. my palms got sweaty. what to do? i watched them. the cop got out of his vehicle and pointed towards my truck. well, i got up and started towards the door. that was when i noticed there was another car parked beside me and 2 ppl standing beside it. i had not seen them this whole time. the wrecker man walked right straight to their car and used a tool to unlock it for them so they could get their keys.
yes, i sat at KFC for an hour on the verge of a heart attack because some couple locked their keys in their car. the cop left. the wrecker left. the couple left. i left. but not after nearly breaking down once i got into my truck.
i drove home. i'm debating taking the bus this week.
*****
June 2003
hey everyone!! i can't find the power cord to my computer (still all packed up somewhere, but NOT in the computer box!!) and my battery died. so i'm at the public library, where i have to pay a parking meter to leave my truck outside. and since they don't allow full-size trucks in the library, i didn't have a choice. i guess i could have walked here from home... anyhoodles, just want to let everyone know that i am safely in milwaukee. the move was fine and my apt is great. i'm right on the lake and have plenty of room for visitors!!! just a warning though, parking sucks!
i got my new driver's license. funny story there. i went in to get my license very early in the morning on the first full day i was in milwaukee. i had to do this right away because you need a permit to park on the street, you cannot get a permit until you have a local license. so at 8:30 a.m. on tuesday morning i was at the DMV. i was about the 3rd customer that morning. but already the staff was having a bad day. the first man, a middle-aged guy named john, said in a very flat tone,"can i help you?" i smiled and said, "i sure hope so! this is my first day here and i need to get my drivers license so i can get a parking sticker." he said flatly, "i need your current drivers license." so i handed it to him. without so much as a smile, the man put my license down on the counter, shoved it back towards me and says, "i mean a United States drivers license." well, i stuttered for a second, not knowing if he was really that stupid or was just trying to be funny. finally i said, very hesitantly, "uh, florida IS one of the United States." he replied, again without so much as a hint of a smile, no humor in his voice at all, "no it's not. it's part of the confederacy. the US govt may have invited you back, but I did not." i was totally speechless! he didn't smile, he didn't move, he didn't pick up the license. so finally i said, "can i get a license in wisconsin?" finally he pulled out an application for me to complete and wrote something on it. then he asked for another form of ID w/my signature. well i don't normally sign my credit cards, i just write, "see ID" on the back. but luckily i had my social security card with me. he wrote something else on the application then handed it to me and told me which parts to complete. he handed me a numbered ticket and said when it is called i can go to the other counter for my license.
a few mins later, my number was called and i went up to another friendly milwaukee-an. she said, "i need your application." well, i had completed the parts he told me to, but was unsure about the signature box. WITHIN the signature box was the statement about the military draft, directed at males aged 18-??...so i thought the signature might be only for them to sign that they understood the draft, etc. but then too, i thought it odd that I didn't have to sign the application for driver's license. so as I handed the form to the woman, i explained why i didn't sign it, then asked if i should have. she said, in the MOST sarcastic tone i've ever heard, "NOOOOOOOOooooooOOOOOOOOOO, women don't have to sign an application for drivers license." well obviously, she was being sarcastic so i knew I WAS supposed to sign it, but since she said NOOOOOOOOoooooooooOOOOOOOOOO, i smiled, handed it to her, and said, "ok." wellllll, that ticked her off!! she slammed the form down on the counter and shoved it back at me and almost screamed, "OF COURSE you have to sign it!" so i picked up the pen and very calmly said, "i wish you'd make up your mind. first you said no, now you said yes. do you even know if i have to sign it?" through clenched teeth the helpful employee said, "SIGN THE FORM." so i signed it. THEN...she wouldn't accept my social security card as a form of ID because the signatures didn't match. i said, "well of course they don't; i got that card when i was about 12 yrs old, my signature has changed." she couldn't accept it and needed something else with my signature. now why didn't the helpful man i spoke to earlier tell me that?? so i found a credit card with my signature on it and we were on our way. i finally got out of there, but she took license pictures for 3 people who came in behind me before she'd take mine. i know their names are john and alicia, but i don't have last names yet. i AM writing a letter to complain.
WELCOME TO MILWAUKEE!!!!!!!!!
****
July 2003
BACKGROUND INFO: ok, i was "laid-off"...or as i like to say, "FIRED" due to the elimination of my position. by the way, they did not eliminate the work--just the position, therefore there are others who have to pick up the slack...funny how that works. anyhoodles...the man who came down from human resources to break the news to me in tampa (on april 23, 2003 at approximately 1 p.m.--not that it is burned into my brain or anything) is named david. his office is located at another one of our offices in another state. truly i have no hard feelings for this guy. he did not make the decision to eliminate my position; he was merely the messenger who had to follow protocol. he was a nice enough guy. he carried my belongings out of the office for me and walked me to my truck for security purposes. mind you, i was not fired for doing anything wrong—my position was eliminated. when we got to the truck he thanked me for being a professional about it. he explained that when he had to let people go, he never knew what the reaction would be. basically, i made his job easier. WHAT!? now again, i don't hate the guy, but i certainly didn't mean to make his job "easier"!! i wanted to vomit on his shoes at that point. i also wanted to explain that i am pretty perceptive and knew i was being let go before he broke the news. but i didn't go into all that. i shook his hand and told him good luck. afterall, he had fired 4 people that day—pretty big day for a guy who has only worked here for a few months! and i didn't know it at the time, but found out later that the following day he left florida to CLOSE a complete office in another state!! he had to let ALL of them go. fast forward several weeks: i think all of you also know that i was re-hired by this company at a different location and am working in a completely different dept. this job is in *UGH* the financial dept. (HAAAaaaa, me--who failed acct 101). i started my new job in milwaukee on 6/19. it was decided that i should actually visit the main financial processing depts at our home office for training. so plans were made and i'm here this week getting the scoop.
FUNNY PART OF STORY: today, at the training site, as i was leaving for lunch, the elevator opened and who should step out but david the messenger!! i smiled (as i said, no ill feelings at all!!) and said, "DAVID! hey!" he looked at me kind of confused wondering if he even knew me. i stuck my hand out towards him to shake his hand and said, just as his hand grabbed mine, "it's kuke, formerly of the tampa office." OH MY GOSH i had NO idea what kind of an effect this would have on the poor soul. i watched as the blood drained from his face and he turned totally white as he recognized me. his hand dropped from mine and in a nervous voice he asked, "what are you doing here????!!!!" his eyes widening even more. wow, for about 10-15 seconds i put the fear of God in that man. i know his life flashed before his eyes. my only regret is that we were not ON the elevator with the door closed when i said it!! i truly had not thought of what kind of an effect seeing me would have on him. he completely calmed down after i explained that i was here for training. i shared the good news that i had been allowed to keep my seniority, etc. he asked about the move and what was i thinking moving from tampa to milwaukee!? i wanted to say, "i was thinking i have a job in milwaukee and not in tampa you goober!" but i didn't say it. he was very nice once he realized i was not here to take him out. i think it was an ironic situation. when he "fired" me, it was truly nothing personal. he didn't want to do it. he didn't even know me. but that feeling i got in the pit of my stomach upon having my suspicions confirmed will always and forever be associated with him personally. today i truly didn't mean to give him a fright. i was just saying hi to let him know all was well. but i bet that always and forever that feeling will be associated with "kuke, formerly of the tampa office!" it wasn't so much a feeling of revenge or anything that negative. but i felt somewhat vindicated. vindicated does not mean got revenge does it?? :) cheers!! it felt way better than it should have.
****
February 2004
i got out to my truck at 9:45 a.m. yesterday. that would have been enough time to get to work on time if i dind't have to let the truck warm up. but i'll warm it up anyway and be a few minutes late again. but the snow plow had gone by through the night and packed up the snow next to my truck. not deep, and not even frozen...just thick slush. my truck will not go through it. i tried for 20 mins to get out of that spot. i succeeded just enough to get the nose of my truck out into the street to cause havoc with traffic. don't you think that would make someone stop to help me? well, i'm not in the south anymore, i can assure you of that. i know this not only b/c of the snow problems, but also b/c of lack of neighborly help! i called work to tell them i'm going ot be later than usual and why. i thought, i'll just work my way back into the parking spot again and take the bus. 20 more mins of trying to back up and i still couldn't get anywhere. i was STUCK! i called work again to ask if someone would look up a roadside assistance phone number for me. my boss didn't want to do that. he didn't want me to have to pay for that. so he kept me on the phone for 10 mins just talking. i was getting madder and madder. finally i say, hey, i can't get out of here and the nose of my truck is out in the street. can you please look up a number for me so i don't get hit by oncoming traffic. then he said, don't you have anything you can put under your tires to get traction? i said, only a floor mat. he told me to try that then call him back. i tried that and it flew right out from under my tire about 3 car links down the street. well about this time, a guy who was walking down the street finally stopped to help me. he directed me to straighten up my wheels. (something i had forgotten after not driving in the snow for years!) that didn't work. we finally found a cardboard box in my truck. (for those of you who ever saw the inside of my car, it will not surprise you to learn that i carry almost that much stuff behind my seat in the truck! but jimmy hoffa doesn't fit. i don't know what they've done with his body now.) we put the flattened box under the floor mat to give it some heighth. and it worked! i drove about 3 more inches out into traffic then came to a screeching halt. so at this point i was really messing with traffic. people were swirving (swerving?) around me, blowing their horns at me. others were stopping to try to "help" by yelling directions from the comfort of their warm cars to the poor guy who is pushing my truck solo. but nobody would offer to stop and help this guy!! finally, we decided he should just push the truck back into my parking spot and leave it. that worked. i took the bus and finally got to work at about 12:15.but wait! as if that weren't enough!!
here's another installment of "my first wisconsin winter." my first wisconsin winter, chapter 2/day 2 of stuck truck
i was up and out of bed before 8 a.m.! :) i left the apt before 9 and thought, i just might make it to work on time today. i walked to jewel/osco to see if i could buy a bag of salt or something to help me get my truck out. i bought a 25 lb bag of salt. that was quite a load for me to carry--three blocks! i got to my truck and my mouth fell open. i dropped the bag of ice and slowly started walking towards the truck. the driver-side window was gone. completely. there was no glass hanging from it at all. no glass on the ground either. i walked closer and there was no glass on the inside either. nothing in my truck had been touched. my phone charger was on the seat, a couple of heavy sweatshirts/sweaters, cassette tapes, etc. nothing bothered. then i remembered, when the guy was helping me yesterday, i had rolled down the window so he could talk to me rather than relying on hand signals. i didn't roll up the window. the bus was coming, so i locked the door and ran for the bus. it was down all day yesterday and all night last night. can you believe that?? i rolled it up, but the truck was not going to get out of that spot again this morning. people parked very close to me on both ends! and the piled up slush from yesterday was now mountains of ice and was molded around my tires. so i left it and took the bus again today. on the upside though, i didn't get a parking ticket. :) yet. lol
the bus thing isn't so bad. i only have to walk one block to the bus stop from my apt. well, actually, there is one right outside my apt building. but it's going in the wrong direction. if i get up early enough though, i can catch it and right it to the end of the line in the wrong direction, then back towards downtown to my stop. which, by the way, is 5 blocks from work. yes, i've been walking 5 blocks twice a day in this weather. brrrrrri'm not kidding when i say that today i wore:hose, wool socks, boots up to my knees, a pair of pants (not heavy ones or anything though, so maybe that was my problem), a long underwear shirt, a turtle neck, a red wool blazer, my long wool coat, 2 pairs of gloves (one pair of isotoners and a pair of fur lined leather ones), a scarf, and ear muffs. the weather did not care that i was bundled up. noooo, it laughed at me. it made an annoying buzzer sound and yelled, try again!the weather man says tomorrow's windchill will make the air feel like -30. but no snow..sorry kids, looks like you'll have to bundle up and go to school anyway.
****
June 2004
i hesitate to write this story because it means admitting something that i don't want to admit. but it's too funny not to tell. i hope it doesn't ruin your perfect image of me. ;)
without going into a long explanation...or rather a bunch of excuses why...let me just start this story by saying i let the sticker on my truck tags run out, not intentionally! i have mailed in the form with the money, just haven't gotten it back yet to put on my truck. so i've been driving very carefully!! stopping at yellow lights, not speeding, and with that exception of driving to illinois recently, haven't driven anywhere except to work and back.
well, today a friend of mine from work wanted to borrow my truck to pick up a dryer. (and i don't mean a hair dryer.) anyway, i saw this as an opportunity to rope her into helping me load the u-haul truck next month, so of course, i agreed. i met them at the store, the dryer was loaded, and i drove it to their house. i decided while i was out i would go to KFC. i haven't been there in forever and was really craving it. i was feeling lucky (about driving illegally i mean) so i chanced it.
i got to KFC...which is near a cinema...and 3 guys with protest signs ligned up along the street in front of KFC. it took me a while to be able to read the signs. but i finally managed. they were saying things about the movie Fareinheit 9/11 (i think i misspelled that word). they thought michael moore (the man behind the documentary) should be arrested for treason. they called him the american taliban. i can't remember the other things.
anyway, these guys (all pretty young, i'd say 17-20) got into a verbal altercation with someone driving by in a car. they were shouting at each other and making gestures towards one another. someone called the cops. so the cops showed up and pulled into KFC's parking lot. they talked to the young men for a few minutes, but didn't make them leave. all of the cops finally left except one. and he pulled up right behind my truck. well, i was busy writing something (the show "last comic standing" has inspired me to try to write comedy again cause i think i'm funnier than they are) so i just took my time and wrote my routine on a napkin.
an hour passed with me avoiding the cop. i was a nervous wreck. he was just sitting there blocking me in. there were a couple of times during this hour that i was the only non-employee in the restaurant. i kept waiting for him to come in and get me. my heart was pounding--you could see my shirt moving!! i thought about calling someone to come pick me up. i thought about making a fake call to the cops saying there was a car stalled just down the street from KFC...close enough that he'd probably get the call, but in the opposite direction of my escape route. then i realized i didn't want to get into any more trouble than i was already in.
i wanted to go out and talk to him. but by this time i was so nervous, i didn't know if he'd ticket me or arrest me. i wanted to call someone to find out, but didn't know whom to ask. so i tried to focus on writing. i refilled my pepsi. for the third time. i went to the bathroom. for the third time. i sat and watched the cop parked behind my truck. for an hour.
then it happened. A WRECKER PULLED INTO THE LOT!! A TOW TRUCK!! oh my gosh. my heart DID beat now. my head pounded. my palms got sweaty. what to do? i watched them. the cop got out of his vehicle and pointed towards my truck. well, i got up and started towards the door. that was when i noticed there was another car parked beside me and 2 ppl standing beside it. i had not seen them this whole time. the wrecker man walked right straight to their car and used a tool to unlock it for them so they could get their keys.
yes, i sat at KFC for an hour on the verge of a heart attack because some couple locked their keys in their car. the cop left. the wrecker left. the couple left. i left. but not after nearly breaking down once i got into my truck.
i drove home. i'm debating taking the bus this week.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)