Posted 6:45 PM by Blah blah

Practical Stuff (Personal)

Busy fixing my car today and tomorrow.

Had a flat yesterday, on the highway. Parked in the emergency lane and scaled a high fence to reach a phone. Found myself in the back of a bakery. Smelled all the fresh dough while I called AAA and the bakery workers stared at me.

(This isn't the first time I've had to climb something to escape from a situation. I used to work at a museum. One Friday night, I left work by a back door which led to a courtyard. This courtyard had 12-foot high walls that are usually open. That night, they were shut, and the back doors locked after me. I was trapped. No one would come to open the walls until next Monday.

Not wanting to become the museum's first human skeleton exhibit, I thought of something I'd seen in that Jackie Chan movie Rush Hour. Seriously. I moved this trash can up next to the wall and stood on it. The tips of my fingers were still several feet from the top. I had a backpack too. I jumped and barely caught the top of the wall. Got out of there feeling like a bad-ass kung fu monkey.)

Changed all my tires today and will change all my brakes tomorrow. Costco gives a great, low-cost deal on tires, compared to Goodyear, where I first went. By sheer coincidence, I met the bakery guy from yesterday at the auto shop where I fixed my car today. The mechanic also maintains that bakery's trucks!

Did you know our environmental laws are so strict in California that it's illegal to carry more than FIVE tires in your vehicle without a permit? You may have dozens in your garage, but more than five tires constitutes "hazardous waste" and you can get a ticket. You learn these kinds of things at auto shops and used tire centers.

Also met a very interesting Indian guy at Costco's tire center and got his number. He left the corporate world five years ago, after 15 years of R&D engineering at AMD. And my auto mechanic was a Greek guy who reminded me of Anthony Quinn. He said My Big Fat Greek Wedding was only so-so.

Today inspired me in such practical ways! I learned so much about the world from a flat tire.