Good Times... Good Times....

**Just a note to explain my absence..... I've been insanely busy... more than ever this last week!! I swear!!!**


Last Monday I had a horrible day at school, and ran errands well into the evening. You would think that since Monday is my shortest school day it would be an excellent day for me... but it was not. It was...crazy. Plus my mother was coming to spend the night so I had to clean up the mess that had become my dwelling place. I studied my little heart out Monday night and woke up Tuesday refreshed and ready to start the day.

I decided since I had a little bit of time on my hands, and I haven't had a chance to head North to see the colors I would take the back roads to work instead of the highway. It was a beautiful, brisk morning, the sun was shinning and I certainly was not disappointed in the colors. Somewhere between 8 and 10 miles from home I heard a funny noise. I turned down the radio and listened.... Yup... something was amiss. I wasn't sure what to do, but if I know nothing, I do know this... NEVER LOOSE YOUR PHONE SIGNAL! So I decided when I hit the the metropolis of Frederic that I should head for the highway and not take the back roads (even though my favorite part of my own private color tour was coming up) I knew that if something did happen it would most likely happen in that 1 mile stretch when I had no signal.

I decided to pick up the phone and call my sister and describe to her the noise that I was hearing in hopes that she could diagnose the problem over the phone. But, before I could dial my car went all wonky, got really loud, and I said... Hmmmmm... perhaps I should just pull over. So I did. I get out only to notice that my front passenger tire is flat. Really flat. Bad Flat. And of course, the nearest house looks like something out of the Blair Witch Project. I decide to start making phone calls.

I call my sister only to have her laugh at me. I call my best friends husband, only to find out he's already left for work. I call my other friend who's husband has also left for work, but she offers to come drive me to the gas station where I can charm myself into free tire fixing services. I decline and called another friend. I was hesitant to call him simply because I don't know if he works nights, days or what. (Hey.. .I can't keep track of my own schedule, let alone all my friends) Anyway I manage to get ahold of him and he agrees to come help as soon as he can. --At which point the nic Save-The-Day-Jay was born--

So my sister tells me to go get the jack out of the back of the car and start jacking up the car so that when Save-The-Day-Jay gets there it will be all jacked up and ready to go. Well... after about 5 minutes of me whining and scraping my hands on the dang thing my sister says... Just get back into the car and sit there and look pretty. So I obliged.

Finally Save-The-Day-Jay comes pulling up and gets out of his car. Strangely enough I believe I heard an Angel chorus when he pulled up. It was impressive. Anyway, he informed me that he is NOT the handy man. He is the fix life's problems man. (Note to self) but he would attempt to get me back on the road. He tried to change the tire, I took his car and got coffee and doughnuts. (hey I can't change a tire, but I can buy food) We chatted, he got mad at my car. We chatted some more, and eventually... 4 hours later... I was on my way to work.

4 HOURS you say? Yes... it took 4 hours to change my tire. Let me break it down for you

-20 minutes trying to find the stupid thing to release the spare tire. There was supposed to be a cut out in the carpet but we couldn't find it.... until we pulled all the carpet up and then saw the cut out part pop open.

-15 minutes putting the carpet back down

-20 minutes trying to get the spare tire released

-5 minutes cussing out the car

-10 minutes getting tools

-15 more minutes trying to get the spare tire released

-5 minutes cussing out the car

-5 minutes making phone calls

-10 minutes deciding what to do

-10 minutes getting the tire off the car

-15 minutes driving back into town to get the tire fixed

-40 minutes waiting for the tire to get fixed

-20 minutes driving back to the car to put the tire on (HEY we needed a potty break)

-2 minutes getting the tire out and ready to put on the car

-.05 seconds watching the car ever so gracefully glide off the jack and sink into the gravel beneath it.

-5 minutes cussing out the car (and maybe me... I wasn't sure) lol

-10 minutes digging the car out enough with his bare hands, so that there is enough room to place the jack back under the car and get the darn thing jacked back up

-10 minutes getting the car jacked back up and dusting off the gravel from the brake pads

-10 minutes getting the tire back on.

-5 minutes cussing out the car.

I had to suppress the urge to jump up and down and hug the guy when the car was fixed but I was ever so grateful. I played it cool, said thanks, then went to work.... just in time for lunch.

How was your Tuesday?