Yesterday was one of the more ridiculous days I have had in a long time. It began when I left my building to go to work and saw that I had a flat tire. Awesome. After standing and staring at it for probably a whole minute I went back inside and called a cab. Despite having to wait almost 15 minutes for the taxi and then the driver taking the long way to get to work (and almost crashing at least seven times) I was only a few minutes late.
Work was work, nothing exciting really happened. Actually, the only exciting thing that happened was that Angel picked me up and drove me home. Let us all pause a moment and sing her praises because I don't think I would have made it on the metro. It was cold, kind of raining, and I am very sore from a weekend hiking trip I have yet to write about.
SO, Angel dropped me off and I decided to go to The Sports Pub to get take out. As I am leaving the pub one of the waiters there looked at me and said I probably didn't remember him but when I was originally looking for an apartment I looked at his place. The thing is I did remember him. His name is Lamont and he is one of the nicest guys ever. I didn't rent in his townhouse because it was too expensive but it was a nice place and his roommate was a nice guy too. Turns out Lamont quit his fancy advertising job, moved out of the town house, lives a few blocks away from me, and waits tables at The Sports Pub. Awesome. I go there all the time so hopefully we will be friends. What are the chances of that?
I ate dinner and got Justin (my roommate) to help me change my tire. However, when I had the tires originally put on they used an air compressor and we couldn't get the bolts off. After a debate about whether or not I could just drive it to a gas station I finally called AAA. There was a two hour wait but since I was at my apartment that wasn't a big deal. I went back upstairs and less than a half an hour later I got a call from the AAA guy saying he was on my street but couldn't find my apartment. Once I figured out where he was I ran downstairs and across the parking lot but he was no where to be found. I called him again to find out he was in front of my building. I ran around the building, got him, and ran back across the parking lot to show him where my car was. Remember when I said I was sore from hiking? Well at this point I was pretty sure my legs were broken.
The two AAA guys looked at my tire and said it probably just needed air. However, when they put air in it the pressure didn't change. So, they asked if I wanted them to change it, just in case. I said yes. What I was thinking was more along the lines of, "I have to drive this car about 270 miles next week at speeds that will probably range from 70 to 80 miles an hour. If my tire explodes in the middle of the NJ turnpike I will hunt you down and murder you. So, unless you want to die next week, change the tire." They did and I would just like to say they had a lot of trouble with the bolts too.
So, with my spare tire on I got in the car and went to CVS, the one thing I really needed to do. As I was trying to remember what I needed to buy there this guy, who lives in my building, came up to me to say it was nice to see me. He's the Korean guy who lives a few doors down from me and he doesn't speak great English. Really, he needed me to help him find the isle with the lip balm. I did because he's a nice guy but then he wanted me to help him pick out the most oily one. At this point it was after nine, I was totally exhausted from running sprints around my building, and my legs were absolutely killing me. I told him I wasn't sure, wished him good luck on the lip balm search, got my stuff and went home.
I am still tired from all the excitement but I did learn a few things. First, I moved out of a small town into and another small town. I mean, northern Virginia isn't as small as Pelham by any means but I run into random people I know all the time. Second, if I ever have a roadside emergency and have to call AAA, I now know I might have to wait for a few hours but that they will call me with updates to let me know what's going on. And finally, it really pays to be super good at remembering names and faces because you never know who will end up working at the bar that you go to all the time.