Book of 2016
- Page 5 -
The Tire Incident
I was around Fremont when the conflict in my head began. Was it so much as conflict in my head or was it my pea sized bladder, telling it didn't think it could make it the 10 miles to the office. It had to be the later first, which started the conflict in my head that was do I stop in the Sunol Valley to piss or do I take it all the way to Dublin and run into the office and go there. Two bottles of water and a cup and half coffee combined with my pea sized bladder bring this debate up more and more than you would imagine.
So there I was cresting the Sunol Grade, and the battle in my head was going full tilt. Stop? Don't Stop? Stop? Don't Stop? The battle rages like this over and over and over again. By the time I was descending the grade and heading into the Sunol Valley, my mind was made up I was stopping and I pulled all the way over into the right lane.
I heard something. I am not sure what it was but it almost sounded like a whump/thump/whump/thump and it was at this time car darted to the left and shot across three lanes of traffic. Lucky for me my brother is a race car driver and I knew just what to do. I didn't stamp on the brake. Any fool knows that. Stamping on the break when one enters into a slide is bad for business. No, I didn't pump the breaks, what I did instead was look for open road and I accelerated. That is right I accelerated just enough to gain control of the car and get it heading back in right direction. Only one from a racing family like the Andretti's, Unser's, or the Burkle's can truly understand this the composure one must have to pull this off. And let's thank god none of the above actually happened.
Well except for the flat tire and the having to pee. I did get over in the far right lane, and I did for split second hear a whump/thump/whump/thumb but my car didn't jerk, I was just trying to write a good and interesting blog entry. When I realize the entire store took a paragraph I realized that perhaps I am not in the tale spinning mood tonight.
I didn't even realize that I had a flat until I got off the exit on Andrade and suddenly my warning light popped on and the diagram of the care and the four tires popped up.
I found a spot to stop and park at the Sunol Super Stop and I got out to look at my back left tire and it was full. I got back in the car and looked at the computer and it said back left tire. So I got out again and looked and that tire was full. It was at this point, I heard a long slow whistling. You know the sound a fart makes when you are trying to pass it off as a silent but deadly crop dusting, but it decides it is going announce to the world that you are letting one loose. You know that WWWWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE whistling sound. Don't lie, you know what I am talking about it is the long slow fart sound, like a kid letting air out of a balloon. I walked to the front left tire. No long slow fart coming from there. Then I walked to the front right tire. No long slow fart from there either. Then I went to the back right and I will be damned if it was not flatter than my senior prom date. I thought well at least the computer got the part of the car right.
I panicked for a minute b/c I didn't have my AAA card on me. Look, I know what you are thinking Billy b are you really so lazy that you won't change your own tire? Well here is the issue the Volt was built to be light so it doesn't use much gas, or electricity, so.... basically they built the car not to carry a spare or a donut tire b/c it would make the car less efficient. So, I didn't call AAA to get my tire changed, I called AAA to get my car towed to someplace that actually had tires or could plug a tire. This was around 9:38. I called AAA and they found me in the system. I was relived b/c I was scared for a minute I didn't have a card b/c I was no longer a dues paying member. It turns out that wasn't the case the fact was they were still sending stuff to my old address in Campbell. So another issue I have to get straight. However, I call and they told me the tow truck would be there in an hour.
Around noon the tow truck finally arrived.
And we got Snowflake loaded up on her and taken off to Big O Tires apparently the closes tire place to where I was at. Although we passed a goodyear on the way there. Oh well... Look at me riding shot gun in the big rig.
So... around 12:30 I checked into Big O Tires, I have to add the Tires each time I spell that out, b/c every time I type Big O, I think of the scene from American Pie where the ugly curly haired chick I can't think of her name and Kevin have the conversation about never giving Vicky the Big O, and then I see her do the fake O face and I am like, ok, I have to call it Big O tires, anyway... tangent.
I checked in and the guy couldn't tell me how long it was going to be, b/c they were so busy, blah, blah, blah, but he said I could wait in the waiting room.
Look at those chairs. I was like ok, I can try. I started to sit down in the one closest to the wall, but when it started to squeak and what felt like buckle under the weight, I stood back up and walked over and sat on a box across the way. I sat there for an hour and I must have the most miserable look ever on my face. I couldn't think about work b/c I would get angry. I hate managing most people. I am not good at it, I don't like conflict,I just want people to work, and not be drama. I was tired and I couldn't really day dream. My phone of course b/c it is a piece of shit as soon as I sat down said it only had 20% battery, I shit you not it went from 55% to 20% from the time I sat down. So, all I could do was look around at tires. I tried to think some positive thoughts, I just couldn't. I am in a rut right now. I am not sure if it is the rain, or winter, or the flat tire, i was just sitting there wishing, I was at home in bed. finally around 1:30 or so the guy told me my car was finished. I have never been so happy to get out of a store in my life.
So that is page 5... well ok. It is not all of page five. I went to McDonald's for lunch after I left Big O Tires. It was the only place around and like I said I was in the funk and before I knew what I was doing, I was in line ordering a double double and small fry. I don't want to eat that shit. I have to be honest and say I ate it thought. I mean i guess if we get back to my health I have too. I was pretty disappointed in myself, but the truth is I didn't eat as much as I could or wanted too. So, that is a step ahead maybe? Is there a silver lining in any of this, could it be that?
I also walked again this a.m. I went for about 17 minutes I think, I will do 15 - 18 this week. Peak over 20 next week. then 25 and so on and so forth until I build back up my tolerance. or is it endurance? I it is endurance. I wonder why the don't call them tolerance events. I wonder if a drinking competition is an endurance event or a tolerance event?
I got to work, screen candidates around 2. And am closing up shop now around 11. Need to get home to watch some walking dead and get to bed. Hopefully tomorrow I will wake up relaxed and refreshed.
I guess not everyday is going to be some inspirational day. Not every day is going to be a hug realization or win. Some days are just going to be days. My goal is to write as much as I can, learn as much as I can, and do the best I can. I know I have an issue eating when my emotions run high. I have to watch for that and see how I can curb it.
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