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Carless Living
Dec. 7th, 2010 12:43 pmI’m not used to living without a car.
A friend was able to pick up Mason and bring him home from school, but he didn’t get back to me to tell me he could until I was already on the city bus. I’m glad Jason called me back when he did, because even though I left an hour before I was supposed to pick Mason up, I wouldn’t have made it in time. I forgot how slow buses can be and how much time you need to build into arrival times.
Though, I have to say, city buses are much quieter than I expected/remembered. When I last rode the bus regularly, cell phones were just starting to be a common part of daily life. People used to spend a lot of time shouting into their phones. Now, people seem to text more, and it was much less noisy. But, I was just as happy to bail at Lexington and hoof my way back home down University.
We went off to kuk sol wan afterward, and I was really, really tired by bedtime, what with all the walking and running around.
Today, we got up early and I ordered a taxi. Let me recommend City Wide Taxi to you. The cabs are clean, the drivers are friendly, and there always seems to be someone available. (Oh, AND they take credit cards!) We dropped Mama off at the History Center and then Mason and I got off at Crossroads. I got him to class, and I started walking to University down Dale. At University I caught the 16, and then realized that it was almost 10 am and I hadn’t had any coffee yet. I decided to bail at the Border’s on University.
I forgot that they don’t open until 10 am, so I ended up having to stand around outside for a while. I took the opportunity to check on the car, which the shop said would be going for a test drive and then be done. That made me incredibly pleased. They ended up having to do a lot, so I knew the bill was going to be steep, but I’ve needed new front breaks for a while. I had them do the breaks, struts and the springy-thing that came loose and started all this trauma.
As I was waiting to get in to Borders for my coffee, a guy struck up a conversation with me. We’ll call him Orange Wolverine, because he was one of those guys who kind of over shares but is really quite harmless. He and I talked about places to buy cheap shoes and what we liked about Borders, and out of the blue he pointed to the purple tinsel Christmas tree in the window and told me he thought that purple matched my personality. Skeptically, I asked, “Is that a good thing?” Then he went on at great length about how awesome I was. Seriously. It was weirdly flattering to have a stranger tell me that I was confident and smart and personality-plus, without being arrogant. Then, he told me that he was “orange.” I said I thought that was a good, solid, strong color, but he said that he thought of it as changeable – strong, but also laid back. I could see it. Then, the door opened and he followed me like an attachment upstairs to the café. I ordered a mocha and he bought me a piece of coffee cake, which I let him do, because even though he had the vibe of being a lost puppy that had just attached himself to me for life, I decided that kindness was kindness even if it was a bit un-Minnesotan.
When the Border’s barista asked if he had a Border’s membership he said his email account was wolverine-something at yahoo. So, I asked him he chose it for the superhero or a sports team. He said, “Neither, for the animal,” and then began to wax on about wolverines and grizzly bears, engaging another woman in the queue in our conversation. I shook hands goodbye and began the long trek to Sinclair on Wheeler and Grand.
As I headed to Summit, I passed a much crazier African-American lady, who had the classic luggage/shopping carts, paced the sidewalk, shouting loudly to no one in particular. She ACTUALLY said, “You need to hop on to the satellite and turn off the police frequency!” I just nodded and said, “Yes, ma’am, right away.”
I had to smile, though. I mean: what a classic “city” experience! If there had been more than just me on the street, it could have been New York instead of St. Paul.
A half hour later, I walked into the repair shop and paid a zillion dollars to retrieve my car. Now I’m sitting ONCE AGAIN at the Discount Tire place waiting for the guys to put on a new – FREE - tire. Actually, I had to pay 16 bucks because they had to special order it, or its mounting, but that’s still a good deal.
And, man, am I happy not to be walking everywhere any more. Although, I have to say that I really enjoy a good, long walk, even in these temperatures. The sun was really bright and shiny today and I used the time to talk to myself and daydream and tell myself the sorts of stories I used to tell myself when I walked around all the time.
Speaking of stories, I had Shawn Netflix “Spartacus: Sand and Blood” for me. I have a completely unhealthy interest in gladiators, and it sounded like this cable show was exactly the kind of soft porn trash I was looking for. I have to say, I was disappointed. Shawn and I made it through the first three episodes. But, the third episode, “Legends” promises to be something it isn’t quite. What I want from my gladiator porn is awesome arena battles where the underdog rises up and flips off the establishment by winning over the sympathy of the crowd. This episode started down that road. Spartacus (not, it turns out, the real one) starts using his brains to get ahead in the gladiator school. He starts tricking the other gladiators into injuring themselves so he can move up in rank. He even does a clever ploy to earn crowd favor at a party intended to get patrons for the big battle. Thus, I got hopeful that he would use this sort of clever thinking to his advantage in the arena.
Let’s just say, it _so_ didn’t happen. In fact, despite his awesome name, Spartacus was a total DUD in the arena. My fantasies are better, alas. Plus, I’d have better sex scenes. What’s the point of being in Rome without any boy on boy action?
“Spartacus” will return to Netflix unfinished. Sads.
One thing I’m really looking forward to tonight is a private lesson at kuk sul wan. They have a deal where if you walk (or ride the bus/bike) six times to lessons, you can get one free personal training session. Mason and I live so close that it’s a crime to drive. So we’ve already earned our free private lesson. I have no idea what they’ll do with us, but it’s sure to be fun. Best birthday present EVA!
My battery is running down and they’re sure to be done with my car soon, so I’ll sign off for now. Hope you’re all having a wonderful day full of crazy people like I am!
A friend was able to pick up Mason and bring him home from school, but he didn’t get back to me to tell me he could until I was already on the city bus. I’m glad Jason called me back when he did, because even though I left an hour before I was supposed to pick Mason up, I wouldn’t have made it in time. I forgot how slow buses can be and how much time you need to build into arrival times.
Though, I have to say, city buses are much quieter than I expected/remembered. When I last rode the bus regularly, cell phones were just starting to be a common part of daily life. People used to spend a lot of time shouting into their phones. Now, people seem to text more, and it was much less noisy. But, I was just as happy to bail at Lexington and hoof my way back home down University.
We went off to kuk sol wan afterward, and I was really, really tired by bedtime, what with all the walking and running around.
Today, we got up early and I ordered a taxi. Let me recommend City Wide Taxi to you. The cabs are clean, the drivers are friendly, and there always seems to be someone available. (Oh, AND they take credit cards!) We dropped Mama off at the History Center and then Mason and I got off at Crossroads. I got him to class, and I started walking to University down Dale. At University I caught the 16, and then realized that it was almost 10 am and I hadn’t had any coffee yet. I decided to bail at the Border’s on University.
I forgot that they don’t open until 10 am, so I ended up having to stand around outside for a while. I took the opportunity to check on the car, which the shop said would be going for a test drive and then be done. That made me incredibly pleased. They ended up having to do a lot, so I knew the bill was going to be steep, but I’ve needed new front breaks for a while. I had them do the breaks, struts and the springy-thing that came loose and started all this trauma.
As I was waiting to get in to Borders for my coffee, a guy struck up a conversation with me. We’ll call him Orange Wolverine, because he was one of those guys who kind of over shares but is really quite harmless. He and I talked about places to buy cheap shoes and what we liked about Borders, and out of the blue he pointed to the purple tinsel Christmas tree in the window and told me he thought that purple matched my personality. Skeptically, I asked, “Is that a good thing?” Then he went on at great length about how awesome I was. Seriously. It was weirdly flattering to have a stranger tell me that I was confident and smart and personality-plus, without being arrogant. Then, he told me that he was “orange.” I said I thought that was a good, solid, strong color, but he said that he thought of it as changeable – strong, but also laid back. I could see it. Then, the door opened and he followed me like an attachment upstairs to the café. I ordered a mocha and he bought me a piece of coffee cake, which I let him do, because even though he had the vibe of being a lost puppy that had just attached himself to me for life, I decided that kindness was kindness even if it was a bit un-Minnesotan.
When the Border’s barista asked if he had a Border’s membership he said his email account was wolverine-something at yahoo. So, I asked him he chose it for the superhero or a sports team. He said, “Neither, for the animal,” and then began to wax on about wolverines and grizzly bears, engaging another woman in the queue in our conversation. I shook hands goodbye and began the long trek to Sinclair on Wheeler and Grand.
As I headed to Summit, I passed a much crazier African-American lady, who had the classic luggage/shopping carts, paced the sidewalk, shouting loudly to no one in particular. She ACTUALLY said, “You need to hop on to the satellite and turn off the police frequency!” I just nodded and said, “Yes, ma’am, right away.”
I had to smile, though. I mean: what a classic “city” experience! If there had been more than just me on the street, it could have been New York instead of St. Paul.
A half hour later, I walked into the repair shop and paid a zillion dollars to retrieve my car. Now I’m sitting ONCE AGAIN at the Discount Tire place waiting for the guys to put on a new – FREE - tire. Actually, I had to pay 16 bucks because they had to special order it, or its mounting, but that’s still a good deal.
And, man, am I happy not to be walking everywhere any more. Although, I have to say that I really enjoy a good, long walk, even in these temperatures. The sun was really bright and shiny today and I used the time to talk to myself and daydream and tell myself the sorts of stories I used to tell myself when I walked around all the time.
Speaking of stories, I had Shawn Netflix “Spartacus: Sand and Blood” for me. I have a completely unhealthy interest in gladiators, and it sounded like this cable show was exactly the kind of soft porn trash I was looking for. I have to say, I was disappointed. Shawn and I made it through the first three episodes. But, the third episode, “Legends” promises to be something it isn’t quite. What I want from my gladiator porn is awesome arena battles where the underdog rises up and flips off the establishment by winning over the sympathy of the crowd. This episode started down that road. Spartacus (not, it turns out, the real one) starts using his brains to get ahead in the gladiator school. He starts tricking the other gladiators into injuring themselves so he can move up in rank. He even does a clever ploy to earn crowd favor at a party intended to get patrons for the big battle. Thus, I got hopeful that he would use this sort of clever thinking to his advantage in the arena.
Let’s just say, it _so_ didn’t happen. In fact, despite his awesome name, Spartacus was a total DUD in the arena. My fantasies are better, alas. Plus, I’d have better sex scenes. What’s the point of being in Rome without any boy on boy action?
“Spartacus” will return to Netflix unfinished. Sads.
One thing I’m really looking forward to tonight is a private lesson at kuk sul wan. They have a deal where if you walk (or ride the bus/bike) six times to lessons, you can get one free personal training session. Mason and I live so close that it’s a crime to drive. So we’ve already earned our free private lesson. I have no idea what they’ll do with us, but it’s sure to be fun. Best birthday present EVA!
My battery is running down and they’re sure to be done with my car soon, so I’ll sign off for now. Hope you’re all having a wonderful day full of crazy people like I am!