One more list of photo albums
OK, y'all, I *really* thought it would be easier than it has been for me to write a daily travel blog/journal entry.... (note to self...
I almost don’t even want to talk about yesterday
If I don’t even mention yesterday, maybe we can pretend yesterday never even happened…?
I know it’s true that you can’t please all of the people all of the time, but it seemed like yesterday if there was going to be someone not pleased with what I do, they took yesterday to tell me about it. I’m putting out about six different fires, one of which has actually been going on for a number of weeks and is just so frustrating that it may wind up with me deciding not to ship internationally any more, including to Canada. I’m just that over it. I’m also considering not dyeing any more of a specific colorway (oddly enough, the colorway I’m using in the photo to the side here) because I’ve had such a run of bad luck with orders for it lately that I’m starting to think it’s cursed.
I was so ready to be done with my work day yesterday by mid-afternoon that I was really, really glad it was Knitting Tuesday and I went off to go to the post office and up to Wild Iris for a cider and some knitting and hopefully a lot of laughter from my peeps. About halfway between the PO and the bookstore the heavens opened up – not unexpected, after all, it is a summer afternoon in Florida. Naturally I turned my windshield wipers on, but then was confused when they didn’t react. I turned them up a notch. Nothing. I turned them on high. Nothing. WTF? I kept flipping the switch, both eyes on the road, trying to make out the lines in the road from looking out my side window because by this point the windshield was unusable. I actually wound up pulling into someone’s driveway to hop out in the rain and pull on the wipers, seeing if they were stuck or something. Nothing. They wouldn’t budge.
Long time readers will remember about three years ago, when my windshield wipers wouldn’t turn off – that was annoying, but also kind of funny (and blog worthy). This was just flat out scary. If I was stopped, I could see out the window. If I moved, the water drops smeared and I couldn’t see shit. I have never been so frightened to be behind the wheel, and I used to drive the DC beltway to and from work! At this point I was closer to Wild Iris than I was to home, so I decided to take back roads to the bookstore (not that stop signs were any easier to see through the rain than red lights were, but at least I thought if I hit anything it would be a tree and not another car.
I got to Wild Iris, emailed Tim, and then called Billy, the mechanic I’ve had for going on about 20 years. It was starting to clear up but since Billy’s has moved to about the opposite end of town, I didn’t want to drive out there and get halfway through the campus area just to have the heavens open up again… so I asked him to send me a tow truck. Bobby came out and got my car, I told him the same things I had told Billy, and he loaded up my car on the flat bed and took it off to work on today.
So at some point today I’ll get a call, and if it’s the same relay switch from a few years ago that wouldn’t let the wipers turn off, I’m looking at about $200. Which is totally worth it to, you know, NOT DIE ON THE ROAD.
I used to date a guy whose wipers didn’t work. He poured gallons and gallons of RainX on his windshield (which I actually thought of while parked in dude’s driveway, but was closer to Wild Iris than I was to a place that might sell RainX). But somehow in dating him I was never in his car when it rained. Maybe also because he was drunk most of the time and I didn’t think he should be driving. Anyway, now, having driven in the rain with no wipers, he’s a crazier motherfucker than I thought he was.
Now. I’m off to wrap soap for most of the day, and wait for Billy to call. And try not to continue to fume about yesterday.
14 thoughts on “0”
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Such a wonderful time! Thanks for sharing!
just WOW! too much! I'll dedicate a weekend to Ire when you get back. Have fun!
OH MY GOD I wonder if it's too late in life for a career change?! That would be so fun!
Brilliant! I'd watch the hell out of a PBS show of you just traveling and rambling, just sayin'.
I'm sure Molly is thrilled at all the people touching her boobs. Goodness... Those parks are so lovely. And that…
Ugh. That sounds awful. I hope it’s an easy problem to fix with your car and that it’s not too expensive. Hopefully the universe will try to make up for a terrible yesterday by having awesome things happen to you today.
It’s expensive — well, not so expensive that I’m all, “just buy a new car a;dja;djf;adj!!!1!” but definitely more than my cheap ass wants to pay. But I also don’t want to die on the road. So… 😉
I hear you. Shipping internationally has given us problems as well and we don’t offer it. Hope the car comes back with working wipers!
Had you ever offered international? I’m wondering how to explain to previous customers that, no, sorry, no more….
Wow, that is most definitely a terrible day! I feel your pain. It totally sucks when complaints roll in all at once – I’ve had days where it seems like every cranky person has come out from under their rocks to publicly declare that one of my clients and/or their products or service is Very Bad (and it’s always a wave directed at just ONE client – perhaps they have a weekly or monthly meeting to decide who to harass??). I have learned that some people just want to complain and are not interested in solutions – quite often it doesn’t matter WHAT you do to try to make it better. There is a subset of said complainers who just want you to give them free shit, and lots of it – and they often still would like to retain their complaining rights. And finally, there is the small category of folks who end up being super cool and are happy to work with you to a reasonable solution – and then will be even cooler by sharing their now-positive experience with the rest of the world – and I hope that a few of your fires turn out this way!
Good luck with the car, I hope you get good news there, too. That sounds terrifying!
I second you on thinking they get together to have a monthly meeting. I swear it was all about the same thing!!!! Six different people that, well, I’m *pretty* sure don’t know each other… 😉
Seriously, though, thank you for what you said – sometimes when you work alone you think you might be the only one who gets those problems; and while I wouldn’t wish that on anyone I am glad to know I’m not the only one. And the majority, I’m hoping, will wind up being in the super-cool folks…
Sounds like it’s time to meet for a Las Margs lunch. Call me if you’re in the area today or any other day this week. We’ll hook up and have some relax time.
I won’t have my car until after lunch today, and tomorrow I need to fire the kiln and can’t leave the house. I bet Tim would like to see you too, though; he’s going to be out of town training next week (sigh, our schedules!!!) but maybe the week after, between the 25th and the 29th, we could hook up…?
Yes, and yes – you becha. Just let me know when is good for youz guys.
Seriously though, RainX is like the Moses of windshield treatments. Works like a miracle, if there was such a thing. =)
Perhaps I should invest in a bottle just to keep in the car, since this is the second time in… ten years… that my wipers have gone insane…
I’ve been using RainX for years & love it. In the beginning you’ll have to use it on a monthly basis, but after a while, you’ll be able to spread out the time. On the cars I’ve used it on, it seems to work best once you reach 40-45 mph (may relate to the angle of the windshield). I almost never use my wipers.
Dude, shite day! I’m so sorry.
We had a car once, if you turned the windshield wipers on high for too long, they’d just fly off. Driver’s side first, then a couple seconds later, passenger. I can’t tell you how many times I was on the side of a road trying to find a missing wiper during a downpour. Ridonkulous.
Here’s to a better rest of the week!
That… that is alternately the most frightening thing ever, and hi-freaking-larous!