lastlee

Okay… so I started this day with a cold. I didn’t get to walk the dogs because my head hurt, so, Linus and Rigby: if you are reading this, I’m sorry. I felt better after a shower, so I decided to head to school–albeit a few minutes late. But nobody cares; it’s Computer Science. I got in my car and turned right out of Canon Dr. (I never knew this was the name of that road until now) to Los Positas. Into the intersection on State St., my car stalled. This happened whilst I was releasing the clutch in first gear, so I assumed my left foot was a little too frisky. I was almost in the middle of the intersection, so there was a need to be urgent in getting the car to a running state. This didn’t really happen. I turned the key in the ignition, it turned over but didn’t fire–a clear sign that the electrical (less spark) is in good condition. Quickly, I decided to stick the car in neutral and push the car back to a parking spot on Canon Dr.. A friendly man at the SB Car and Audio shop saw me struggling with the steering, so he decided to help me push. He was wearing a helmet. I thought to myself: this guy is cool. I called mom, she picked me up, we went to Kragen to get some oil (the remedy used for the previous issue with the same general symptoms), went back to the car. No luck. I called Triple-A. And then we enter part two of this saga.

It took a very long time for the tow truck to come. I already missed the first class by now, and my second class would soon pass if I didn’t get going soon. I got very bored sitting in my car. I had a chat with the parking lot security guard at First Bank. She was somewhat understanding, though I think that was partly due to her lack of intelligence. I went back to sitting in my car. Hmm… not much going on here. I started thinking about random things, like: if I was homeless and could only travel thirty feet from the car in any direction, where would I live? I thought of the alley. Nope. Creepy people live in alleys. I would be a non-creepy homeless guy. Then I noticed a pine tree that had a thick layer of pine needles underneath. Perfect for a bed. There was some undergrowth to provide protection from predators as well as noise from the traffic. That’s where I would live if I could only use a thirty foot radius for available living quarters. I even took a picture of it with my marvelous camera phone.

I continued sitting in my car. I saw a GT3 pass by, but that just made me feel embarrassed. Embarrassed because the driver of the Porsche was sitting behind the wheel of an automobile that does more than just work. And I am sitting behind the wheel of a broken car with rust spots on the hood. How embarrassing!

The tow-truck finally arrived, minutes before I lapsed into semi-permanent insanity. When the driver stepped out, he looked exactly like Pedro from Napoleon Dynamite. I thought: this guy is cool. That thought quickly vanished as I hopped into the cab and he turned on the radio to the station that played “You’re Still the One” by Shania Twain (I didn’t know who that song was by, I had to google it. Never you mind). And he left it on that station until we arrived at the autoshop in Goleta. Miller, the auto technician, ran a few tests to determine that the spark was normal and all the tubings were connected, etc., but determined that the problem existed in the fuel pump. That meant that I had to steal the car from mom. Luckily, her office is just a few block away from the autoshop, so I ran over there and waited for her to arrive. Driving to school in the minivan, I felt a little embarrassed. This time I was actually behind the wheel of an automobile that works. But it is a minivan. Oh well.

I managed to arrive at school with about five minutes remaining in my second class (Music Appreciation), so I decided to head over to my third class (Political Thinking). I met some people outside the class, so we talked a bit about the reading. It was the highlight of the day. So far. Class started as usual, and all went well (albeit slightly chilly inside the class room) until the largest fat kid arrived late. He is usually late and always walks about one third the speed of an average man his age. Already disrupting the fascinating lecture, he sat down in the front row, breaking the chair that he sat upon. Instantaneously, a few nuts and bolts flew a few feet away adding an additional sound effect. Dr. Eskandari, the professor, immediately yelled at him and another later girl for disrupting the lecture. The fat kid got up and sat down carefully on another chair, though I still feel the pain of the chair. There was an eerie and awkward silence from the audience for about a minute, while people were biting their tounges trying not to laugh. The moderately cute girl who sits next to me (and also has a Tool shirt) let out a faint sound of a muffled laugh, so I glared at her until she shrugged while mouthing “wha happen?”. This was the new high point of my day.

The lecture continued, but somehow we managed to get talking about the myth that claims that Aldous Huxley died (on LSD) in Isla Vista. Somehow this quote came out of Dr. Eskandari’s mouth: “you need to read Aldous Huxley on LSD”. Okay, so we either need to read a book called “Aldous Huxley on LSD”, or read books by Aldous Huxley, on LSD. That class is great.

Anyway, my car is still in the shop and I still have a cold. w00t.

I feel a little concert fever going on here. I was invited to see Modest Mouse on September 14 with Andy, so I couldn’t pass that one up. Modest Mouse always puts on a great live show–the lead singer is very enthusiastic, but not creepy-enthusiastic.

The real run started last week Sunday when I went to see George Carlin with my Asian friend Kevin Tran. He is old. Old, but still amusing with his antics relating to children and their role as government puppets. He hates kids. I love him. His guest was Vance Gilbert, an amusing and talented guitar player who was thrown a rose from the audience and threw it back.

Two days later I went to see They Might Be Giants in Ventura. Little did I know, my high school AP Economics teacher, Mr. DeVries, was there with a few of his friends. Again, I went with my Asian friend Kevin Tran, who also happened to be in the same economics class with me. It was cool to see TMBG play the songs that we heard in DeVries’s class, such as “James K. Polk” and “Mammals”. There were only three in the audience that “raised their paw” during “Mammals”. In a sense, it was a very educational concert–I learned about the four chambered heart, the composition of the Sun, Napoleon of the Stump (Young Hickory), Turkish cities, Belgian painters, The ‘64 World Fair, and particles… The encore was interesting as well; they said they would play 24 songs. They really did play 24 songs. It was amazing.

Just last night I saw The Shins. This was my most anticipated concert. Apparently Tyler Anderson and his girlfriend were in the pit just a few feet away from where I was, though I did not manage to see them. Anyway, the lead singer looks a lot like Kevin Spacey.

Back to er… real life.