January 21, 2004 - 6:09 PM

I Give and Give and Give to You; What Do I Get in Return?

Well, after all that car crap that happened last Saturday, I had another stressful day on Monday. Damn that car.

Sunday night (dude, Isabella Rosellini isn't aging well, is she?) the studio manager called asking me to assist on a session for Monday at 1 PM. Lionel Richie. I said yes of course.

Monday, I started up the car, and noticed that the engine sounded funny as I was driving. When I stopped and let it idle, the usual constant purr was replaced by a repetitive "hurk", like a lawn mower whose throttle is almost fully released. I looked at the dashboard and noticed the Check Engine light illuminated. If I let it slide and drove to work right then, I'd be a little early. However, if I took it to the shop, I'd have to find someone to pick me up and drive me, and I'd probably be late.

However, the herky-jerky engine was so worrisome, I decided to take it to the shop; I'd have to deal with the studio afterwards. The one solid thing I knew was that Nick had the day off and that I could rely on him picking me up.

I chugged into the shop and explained the problem to the service manager. As a result of the MLK holiday, they were backed up, and he said that they wouldn't have my car ready until the next afternoon. This presented several more problems for me:
1) If I went in to work with Lionel, I would need a ride back home from someone, a bit of a sticky-wicket what with my not knowing when the session would end.
2) I had that interview scheduled at LDBL's school for the substitute position on Tuesday morning at 10:30, so I'd have to find out if LDBL would take me there.
3) If LDBL could take me there, that would mean the easiest thing to do would be to stay at Nick and LDBL's apartment that night, drive up with LDBL in the morning, and then hang around the school until 4:30 when he leaves. By then, perhaps, the car would be ready.

Nick was summoned, with much begging; work was called to see how the session was progressing (it was actually a little delayed). When Nick arrived, I explained the situations, and he kindly agreed to take me to work, pick me up after work, take me to his place, and let me crash. *whew*

I made it to the studio on time, and the Lionel session went off without a hitch. He and the producer were total crackups, not pretentious at all. Very accessible, very funny, soooo nice. Who knew?

We didn't finish up until 2 AM, at which point I called up a groggy Nick. Realizing that I had left my resume, CBEST test scores, and transcripts at my apartment, I had to have Nick drive me back home before taking me to his apartment. I am so terribly indebted to Nick for his super-trooper-ism that day.

Tuesday was the interview. I had about 5 hours of sleep under my belt. LDBL took me into the 9 AM math class in which he helps out (he's an English teacher, and his first class starts with 2nd period at 10:30). They were learning algebra stuff, specifically, point/slope and slope/intercept formulas. I haven't dealt with that stuff since I was an eight grader like those kids; as they were learning, so was I (again). Realizing that I barely knew this math better than them was making me nervous about my prospects in the interview.

10:30 finally came, and the Executive Director breezed into her office. She's busier than a dog in a land of fire hydrants since she runs several charter schools and is working to buy an abandoned school to turn into a charter high school. We charged through the interview. She seemed to like me; it turns out her boyfriend does sound production for tv and movies (he worked on the Golden Girls), so she had an idea of what I do. Although she has to run my information by one of her administrators, I got the impression that she pretty much wanted to hire me right then and there. She even offered me a week long gig filling in for a Physical Science teacher who would be taking a vacation at the end of the month; I was honest with her, telling her that science was my weakest subject, and we agreed that, at least at the start, I should sub in classes where I was comfortable, such as English, Social Studies, and the arts. So that job was nixed.

I spent most of the rest of the day reading Snowcrash in the teachers' lounge/counseling center area (got 1/4 of it done. And yes, I did finish Band of Brothers a few weeks ago). Around 3 PM, I couldn't concentrate on my book anymore, and, thinking that it would be strange for me to be sleeping while all these teachers and aides were milling around me, I decided to perambulate, check out the town.

I explored for a little more than an hour under the sad overcast sky. I got a call from my insurance company about the claim I had filed on Monday for the accident damage. While they were going to cover the costs of repairs for the collision, I'd still have to cough up $500 for the deductible, plus, I'd have to pay for a rental car myself since I didn't have that coverage. Then I got a call from the service station; an ignition coil had burned out, and they needed to order the part. Good news was that the incident was not related to the accident, and the coil was in fact under warranty, so I wouldn't have to pay anything there; Bad news was that I wouldn't be able to get my car until Wednesday afternoon.

On my walk, I did find a Ceragem store. Someone I had worked with on Saturday espoused the healing powers of this "miracle" massage bed/accupressure system. As I am wont to be, I was skeptical of his claims for this newish fad in new-age asian mystical healing. The thing that caught my ear and made me want to try it out, though, was the guarantee that one could experience the 40-minute massage for free EVERY DAY, no questions asked. That's pretty cool. I mean, who doesn't want a free massage? Apparently, the Santa Monica location where he goes always has a waiting line for the 40 or so beds. The place where I was getting a walkthrough on how the massager works was full-up. You can check out their website for locations near you (they have places in Maryland and one in Malden, MA near where my sister lives).

How can they afford to allow people to have free massages every day, you ask? I guess they want customers to try the product for a while, then, when they realize how awesome it is and how much of a pain in the butt it is to wait in line for a go at the massage, they will buy a bed for themselves. All I know is that lying down on a bed while heated jade slowly rolls up and down your back, straightening your spine, doesn't sound so bad when it's free.

I was pretty tired by the time LDBL dropped me off at home, so I took a shower, made some dinner, and watched TV until I fell asleep. Thank jeebus most shows are back to first-run episodes instead of reruns.

Wednesday, I picked up my newly rejuvenated car from the service guys and promptly dropped it off a block up the road at the Auto Body repair shop. I had used these guys last year when some idiot (me) had backed into a pole. They checked out the damage, had me fill out some paperwork, and then called Enterprise Rent-a-Car (not related to the Enterprise Studios where I work) to pick me up. 30 minutes later, I was driving home in my new Ford Focus 4-door sedan (which so far seems to be nicer than my Honda Civic). It's going to cost me close to $200 to rent it for a week. Dang.

More tv for me, including 3 episodes of Joan of Arcadia which I had on tape (hey, add Amber Tamblyn to my list of crushes, will you? While you're at it, Becky Wahlstrom too), Angel (which is striking up my interest a little again), and the OC (which makes me want to kill. Not in real life. Just some of those characters).

Now Listening To : 103.1 FM-A collaboration between Clear Channel and a Mexican radio station that mostly plays the kind of alt-rock I grew up on.
Random Thought : Koala bears with hats.

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