Aye Car-umba!

I don't drive very often. I prefer to live in a place where I can walk or take the bus to where I need to go. However, sometimes it's a necessary evil. When I say evil, I say this because I have not had the best luck with cars. This may be due to the fact that I usually have an older car. Since I don't want to spend money to buy a new car, instead I spend money fixing an old one. I guess you have to choose and this is what I have chosen.

I am talking about this because my car broke down on Monday. I probably use my car once a week, usually to meet up with my friend for a walk (she lives about 45 minutes from me, so we tend to meet somewhere in the middle). I know this is ironic, driving somewhere to get exercise, but sometimes it's fun to try new places where the bus can't go. This time, however, I was on my way back to Oakland to pick up some stuff to take to Santa Cruz. After a stop along the way, I was getting back on the freeway and it just sputtered and died (on the on ramp). So I called AAA. I am getting to be pretty good at dealing with breakdowns, as I have had several over the years, some better than others.

Mid 90s: I get my first car. It's old. The starter stops working, but luckily if I park on a hill, I can pop the clutch. This leads to my profound knowledge of every hill/slant/bump in my hometown. When there is no hill, my friends help me push my very heavy car far enough to pop the clutch. This leads to me not having any more friends. I start leaving the car running when I go into stores (yes, you can do this in my hometown). I finally end up taking out the starter myself THREE times and having it re-lathed three times. This is quite costly, even though I have done the work myself. Finally we find out that the part that was needed was a tiny piece near the starter that costs mere dollars.

Late 90s, same car: I am driving to my friend's house for NYE and I break down on the Sacramento causeway due to overheating. This was when I didn't have a cell phone. Several people call 911 because they think I am on fire. Thank goodness they do, because I have the firemen call me a tow truck.

Mid 2000s: A different car. Still old. I am commuting from Sacramento to San Francisco and the car decides to call it quits on the Bay Bridge right AT the toll booth. People are honking and giving me the finger. On the plus side, the tow truck comes VERY fast. Also I save $5 on bridge tolls.

Present Day: About a month ago, I went to use the car for my once a week jaunt and it wouldn't start. I know a couple of things about cars, mostly that (a) it was not a problem with the battery, (b) it was not a problem with the starter and (c) I was not out of gas. As soon as the AAA guy comes, he asks me if the car is out of gas. I wonder if some people are unsure of the answer, because the guy that came to get me on Monday asked the same question. 

One of my many friends

Basically from 2000 to present day, I have made do with public transportation, my feet and a rental car for work. So I haven't had any problems. Now I am back to having a car and back to having problems. I am on a first name basis with the mechanic, who is actually awesome. I also am very adept at making small talk with tow truck drivers, since I often have to ride with them to the mechanic. Monday's driver was a very nice man and it was a pleasure to spend 45 minutes hanging out with him. However, I have already used 2 out of 3 of my allotted AAA calls, so I am hoping to get the problem resolved quickly and to not have it happen again! Every time I break down, I am trying to get somewhere! (ha)  

Do you often have car trouble? Have you ever tried to fix your own car? Have you ever ridden in the tow truck with the driver?

Motorcycle Survival Tips

I have always wanted to be a biker. However, I am a tad scared of the bike (motorcycle). What if I fall and scrape half my face off? What if I run into a wall or a truck or fall off a cliff? My parents have a lot of friends who ride Harleys and they have had some bad accidents, some resulting in death. I have that in the back of my mind every time I consider getting on a bike. When I lived in San Francisco, I heard a crash and a scream and I ran outside to see what had happened. A girl on a bike had been sideswiped and flew about 30 feet in the air before landing in a very weird position.

So, as you can see, I have some fears. However, when I was a kid my dad taught me to ride a Honda 70 and I loved it. But one time it fell over on me and I think my Mom wouldn't let me ride anymore after that.

So, since I was 15, I haven't ridden a motorcycle.

Today, I decided to buck up and try again. Luckily in Thailand, it only costs about 5 dollars to rent a bike for the day, so if I hated it, no harm, no foul and barely any money. Everyone here rides them. If a Thai lady and her three kids (and dog) can ride a scooter, so can I! And that's what these are. They are not "motorcycles"; they are "scooters". I think mine was 100cc. Tiny and not too fast. Perfect.

It's easy enough: gas on the right, back brake on the left, front brake on the right. Easy, right? Mostly it was, except one time when I was trying to park the bike and it almost fell over and so I grabbed the right handle and WHOOPS, gave it gas and it jumped a curb and almost went into a restaurant window. Other than that, it's no problem.

Also there were steep downhills and uphills with curves and that was a little hard to maneuver. Especially since at the same time two cars AND the Thai lady with her kids and dog are trying pass you while traffic is coming the other way. Other than that, it was simple.

So, it really wasn't that bad. But I don't think I am quite ready to get a Harley yet. 

Rock and Roll

I have so much to say that I don’t even know where to start. It’s been two weeks since my last confession.

In case you don’t know, it is not always easy for me to get on the internet. You take for granted your smart phones and your high speed internet. I do as well, at times. However, now, today, I do not. I am staying with my parents for the holidays. They do not have cell service. They do not have broadband. They have a land line, which works most of the time (more about that later) and they have….bum, bun, buhhhh…..dial-up. Yep. Dial-up. You thought that most people in the world had high speed internet? Well, you are wrong.

When I am not at my parents, I am usually traveling. While most places do have faster internet than my parents (imagine that. Africa – Medium Speed. California – Internet like a turtle) it is not always easy to find a computer, or one that has the internet. Needless to say, I am not one of those bloggers who blog every day. Some people I follow even blog multiple times per day! How do they do it!? I don’t know.

Here in California, in the mountains, in the “civilized” world, we can’t look at photos; we can’t check our Google reader; we can’t do much. So we just don’t do anything which includes the internet. It is too frustrating to try to get online. So we try to find other things to do instead. You would be amazed at what is exciting in these parts.

First off: Rocks.

My parents live on a very windy road. In case you don’t know it, it is in the Mountains near Sacramento. Think of Lake Tahoe. If you have been there, you know it is beautiful. There are endless spans of green pine, cedar and fir trees. There are peaked snowy mountains. There are windy mountain roads along gushing rivers. There are tiny mountain towns. People ski and snowmobile for fun. They sometimes have to do this to get to their houses because the roads are not plowed. It is the boonies. I love it. I think it is beautiful.

However, with beauty (and boonies!) comes danger. Snow creates accidents. Windy mountain roads are slippery. Mountains are full of…you guessed it. Rocks. Now you know where I am going with this story. Last Friday a rock came down on the highway and a lady ran into it and died. Yes, I said A ROCK. One rock! Here is a photo from the local newspaper.

On Tuesday my parents went “to town” (yup, we say that. We live that far out of “town”) to run errands. About 30 minutes after they left (and in the middle of a batch of cookies! Luckily the stove is gas!) the power went out. With it went the phones. This is the phone I was talking about before: the one and only phone, the land line. So I sat in the dark with no phone and no TV, trying to read my book with the light of two candles.

Yesterday (today is Thursday the 16th, who knows when this will actually be posted) there was another rock slide. This actually closed the highway. The big rock in the photo above was huge, but “luckily” only covered half of the highway. Mind you, there is not really a way around. If this highway is closed, you are SOL. Unless you have a 4WD vehicle, know your way around the mountains and are prepared to drive in snow, you have to wait. They said the road would be closed for about 3 hours. It was still closed today, 24 hours later.

So, we are on a roll. In the week I’ve been home we’ve had two rock slides, one causing a death, the other closing the one-and-only highway for at least 24 hours. We’ve had a power outage; we’ve lost our phones; we’ve had an unusual amount of rain. We’ve tried to trap a skunk (as of yet unsuccessful) and we’ve almost run over dozens of deer (without any luck).

Who says life is not exciting in the boonies without internet!?

Road Trip: Day Five (aka Last Day)

Oh the last day of a road trip! You just want to get to your destination, so you don't stop to take photos or go to the Wizard of Oz museum because it is 30 miles off the highway and you don't want to spend another half an hour on the road.

Today's trip: Salina, KS to Des Moines, IA

Have you ever taken a road trip? We used to take them as kids. My dad had a 1970s era motorhome that was orange and white. I remember going to the Grand Canyon. I remember asking him, "how much gas mileage does this thing get?" (I think the answer was about 8 mpg.) I think asked him, "and how much does gas cost?" Then I would figure out how many miles we had to go and how much the entire trip would cost us. That was fun for me.

We would also play the license plate game, which is where you try to find as many different states' license plates as you can. My brother and I had a contest to see who could get the most. I honestly can't tell you who won those games. However, I still play that game, even when I am by myself. I found so many different plates on this drive!

The License Plate Game:
Farthest away plates: Alaska, Maine, Florida
Most common plate (other than states I was in): Minnesota

On this trip, I went through a total of 7 states. California, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri and Iowa. 
Here are some of the stats:
Flattest state: Colorado (I did not go through the Rockies in CO)
Snowiest state: California
Coldest state: Nevada
Warmest state: Kansas

I have to say, call me biased, that the most beautiful state of all the states that I went through was, you guessed it, California. I like trees, preferably green ones that smell like pine. And mountains. If you can have both, that is even better. Although all the other states were beautiful in their own way, I still love California the best!

So, I guess what I am trying to say is that no matter how far you roam, "There's no place like home!"

Which state do think is the most beautiful? and why? 

Highway 70, California

Road Trip: Day Four

Country music is funny. Today on the radio, since I could not get any other stations, I listened to these songs:

1. All I Want for Christmas is a Real Good Tan
2. Pretty Good at Drinking Beer

After that I turned it off. I don't mind country, if there is nothing else, and I will definitely pick it over Christian rock, but how silly can you get? Speaking of driving through Kansas, I have found out a few things about Kansans:

1. They LOVE Jesus
2. They HATE abortion (there are tons of signs on the side of the road to prove both of these)
3. They make their bales in rolls. I like the rolls better than the cubes. (see photo at bottom)
4. Their BBQ is okay, but not "the best BBQ in the country". Sorry, Kansas. Actually Iowa so far has been the best I have eaten.

Today's journey: Denver, CO to Salina, KS.

Agate, CO

Agate, CO

Genoa, CO

near Grinnell, KS

Tomorrow is the last day. I will travel from here to Des Moines, which is about 350 more miles. There I will get to see my HS best friend and some old work buddies (in case you didn't know, I worked in Iowa for about 7 months and I learned a lot about corn while I was there).

Road Trip: Day Three

I have flown through Denver dozens of times and once had to spend the night due to a flight delay. However, I have never really BEEN to Denver (or Colorado in general!) So finally I made it. For real. I had a meal downtown and walked around the 16th street mall. So, now what do I have to say about Colorado?

1. They are worse drivers than CA, NV, UT or WY (but better than LA or FL!).
2. It is warmer here than in all the other states I have been through (the record was NV at -1 degree; it is in the 30s in CO)
3. There are a lot of bums downtown.
4. The mountains are BEAUTIFUL!!! but Denver is not as close to them as I thought it was.
5. There are a ton of towns with the name "springs" in the name. 

Also, let's not forget Wyoming. I thought it was flat; it is not. There are mountains and rolling hills both! It is beautiful. I only just skimmed the bottom edge of it, but I can't wait to come back when it is warmer and I have more time and go hiking, see Yellowstone, climb the Tetons and explore!

Today's stats:
Favorite license plate so far: Wyoming
Highest point: 8,640 feet
Number of pumps of chocolate in my Venti mocha this morning: 3
License plate from farthest away state: Alaska! My first one ever! (does anyone else play this game?) 2nd place: Florida (that guy must be freezing up here!)
Cost of parking for two hours in downtown Denver: $2.00
Miles remaining: 700

A couple of questions for you, readers: Have you ever taken a road trip? If so, where? What is your favorite place? And where's the coldest place you have ever been? The highest?

Today's trip: Rock Springs, WY to Denver, CO (a little bit of a detour to Denver, but I heard it was worth it)

Here are today's pictures. I noticed I have a lot of "road" shots, but hey, it IS a "road trip"!!! These were all taken in Wyoming. There is no snow in Colorado so I wasn't as photo crazy. 

Road Trip: Day Two

I woke up, walked outside, and my nostrils froze together. Once I checked the weather, I realized it was because it was below zero outside. Luckily it was not snowing anymore, but the roads were a little icy at the beginning. I went from Elko, NV to Rock Springs, WY today.

A few stats:
Number of White Pickup Trucks spotted: 456 (thats just an estimate)
Cost of full breakfast, including large coffee (at crappy casino cafe): $6.00
Number of times it snowed: 3
Average duration of snowstorm: 1 minute
Top Speed Limit: 75 mph
Number of states crossed: 3

Here are a few photos from today! I love the way everything looks covered with snow. It is white + another color. California was "black"; Nevada is yellow, Utah is red. I mostly drove through Wyoming in the dark, so I will have to think about that more tomorrow.

Elko, NV

near Wendover, Utah

near Skull Valley, UT

near Skull Valley, UT

near Skull Valley, UT

Salt Lake Marina, UT

I am having a great time listening to bad 80s music, singing at the top of my lungs and contemplating life as I stare at the back of the big rig in front of me. Tomorrow I will head towards Denver after exploring what Wyoming has to offer (it is surprisingly NOT flat, like I pictured!)

Road Trip: Day One

Today I traveled from Quincy, CA to Elko, NV. The beginning was a little rough, as it had snowed all day yesterday and then got down to about 27 degrees last night, so the road was a layer of ice. For those of you in flat places with straight roads, consider yourself lucky. The first two hours was an icy, windy, uphill, downhill, slippery road. Once I got to Reno, I stayed on Highway 80 the entire way, so it was mostly clear except for a little snow around Emigrant Gap (about 6000 ft).

Day 1

Some stats for today:
Cups of coffee: 5
Number of times I stopped for gas: 1
Number of times I stopped to pee: 6
Number of danishes I ate, thanks to the Blairsden Bakery: 2
Miles driven: 371

Here are some photos. By the way, none of them are black and white, but I love how the snow and dark trees make them LOOK like they are! 

Near Graeagle, CA

Graeagle, CA

That ICY curve before Williams Loop.

Graeagle, CA

Bathroom stop, somewhere in CA

Bathroom stop near Winnamucca, NV

South Africa Rules (and Lists)

Some words you may hear that are a little weird:
1. Lekker - this means "cool"
2. Izzit (Is it?) - this doesn't really mean Is It, it kind of means "oh really?", so if you say, "today I am flying to India." they will say, "izzit?"
3. Howzit (how is it) - the same as above, this doesn't always mean "how is it". It means "hi" or "how you doing" or like we would say "whats up".
4. Bekkie - this is a pickup truck, like a toyota 4 runner.
5. Braii - this is a BBQ. They have a curly sausage they call Braiiwoerst.
6. "too much" - they use this in place of "too many" or just "too". For example, "its too much sunny" or "too much slow" or "too much elephants". 

Traffic rules and oddities:
1. Everyone gets over to the breakdown lane to let you pass. So essentially, all roads are two lane with a mini breakdown lane, so are used as if they are three or four lanes.
2. If someone let's you pass, you flash your hazards at them to say thanks. Sometimes you get a headlight flash as a "you're welcome".
3. Robot - this is what they call a traffic light.
4. If the coast is clear for passing, a big rig will signal with his blinker. I have seen this in the US once in a while, but it is so helpful when you cant see around them.
5. When you drive on the left, your windshield wipers and blinkers are opposite. You end  up wiping the windows a lot before turning.
6. The Car Guard - when you park your car a man "guards" it for you. You have to tip him for this service. If you don't pay him, it feels like he may just accidentally "not" guard your car. Kind of a catch 22.

...to be continued...

Randoms

I was driving to work today and every lane was going the same speed. Three lanes, all going 58 MPH. I hate that. And there were miles of empty highway in front of them. I just couldn't get to it. I think getting over to the proper lane so people wanting to go faster than you CAN is not only a rule but a simple courtesy. I finally  passed the guy who had been camping in the left lane (I had to pass him on the right) and I tried to give him a really dirty look but he wouldn't look my way.

Yesterday I went into the lunch room to get a cup of coffee. There are three pots. All of them had about a millimeter of coffee in them. All three pots were on. The lunchroom smelled like burnt tar. I eeeked out about 2 inches of coffee into my cup and made three new pots of coffee. I went back a half an hour later. All pots were back to the millimeter point. I think there are about 4 people who make coffee and 400 people who drink it. I am going to sit in the lunch room and give people dirty looks if they don't make coffee when it's getting low.

My best friend is having a baby. Its a girl!! (yay!) That doesn't seem weird to you, but I still see her at 17, wearing converse and sneaking off to the river at night after her mom told us not to. She's going to be a great mom. I am totally going to go see her and spoil her daughter. I mean, isn't that what Aunties are for?

I think the IT department at work is reading everything I am writing...Hi guys!!! I wonder if they purposefully look at certain people's computers becuase they are more entertaining. If that's the case, I should be safe. I saw a guy looking at porn at work once. I mean, he couldn't wait until he got home? A little creepy if you ask me. Okay, a lot creepy.

When I sent out my Christmas cards last year, I sent them to people in 24 states and five countries. I think that is cool. Not cool like "look at me, I am cool" but just fun! I hope to someday sent one to someone in every state. I better get a move on. I need to meet some people from Alaska. Here are the states I have. AL, AR, AZ, CA, FL, IA, IL, IN, KS, LA, MA, MD, MN, MT, NC, NJ, NV, NY, RI, SD, TX, VA, WA, WV. Where are you from? Is your state missing? Do you want a Christmas card?

So, do you have any driving pet peeves? Work pet peeves? Do you write Christmas cards to more that 24 states? Lets hear it.

January Ends

January....almost over! Happy Birthday to Mr. L, Karen M and Brandon D!!! I miss you all!

This month has been pretty interesting -- I have been living in a place with snow, which I have not done in about 12 years. It has been fun having it around, although sometimes one gets tired of the semi trucks who drive 70 mph in the middle of a snowstorm and then you pass them a couple miles later jackknived on the side of the road...and tired of trying to figure out things to do inside!! But, we have balanced this with a few snow days at work -- yes, SNOW DAYS!!!

Also, there has been a little bit of traveling in order to get away for the weekend -- I went to Mass, which was not really much warmer, but I got to spend time with Mr L's family (sorry, grandma!). We also went to Boston and took a very small road trip to Vermont, which was beautiful. The houses with their gables and dormers (I am learning about these...) really are postcard perfect, especially with snow on them, which there was.

Mr L and I also met in Memphis last weekend and had a great day exploring the city. Unfortunately, Mr L got sick on the second day and so we did not get a chance to go to Graceland and see Elvis. Ah, well, next time, I suppose.

This weekend is the Superbowl, which I suppose I may watch, but am not really very interested in... However, Dad is back! Hurray for the return of Dad!! So we will probably hang out inside somewhere...and why not a loud sports bar, right? (or my couch perhaps...)

Goodbye January...and now we are one more step closer to spring....

Slippin' and A-Slidin'

Steering into the skid is something that when you are driving and skidding, your instincts rebel against. You go around a corner and you start to skid. You want to turn your wheel the opposite way to correct it. Wrong!

This morning when I got up there were 6 new inches of snow on the ground. The roads were half plowed; they had probably been done around 4 or 5 o’clock, but it was now 6 o’clock. I have a Pontiac G6. The ironic thing is this: For work we are only allowed to rent a compact car. Many people I work with are from Florida, Texas etc…places that never get snow. So, you have a bunch of novice snow drivers driving around in compact cars in 6 inches of snow.

So I drove to work…slipping and sliding the whole way here… but I got lots of practice at steering into the skid!

Honk If You Are Bolivian!

I almost got hit by a car the other day. It is becuase the people here drive like they are the only ones on the road. It is funny sometimes, the complete lack of rules or maybe just disregard of the rules, but sometimes there are some close calls. They just honk when they are about to hit you, so at least before you get hit, you are sure of what is about to happen.

Here is the thing. At most of the intersections, they dont have stop lights or signs. Basically, whoever gets there first and squeezes their way out into the intersection first, has the right of way. Where there are lights, they are just suggestions. If it is red, but you dont think that other cars are coming, go ahead and go (maybe to make yourself feel better, you should honk). If other cars ARE coming and they are about to hit you, just honk, you will be fine.

This is all well and good, but if you are a pedestrian it is a little hard sometimes to figure out what the cars are going to do. You cant just go if your light is green... So that is what I was doing. The traffic was stopped. There actually WAS a light, which was RED. The green way was stalled becuase they were all backed up through the intersection, so I had a green light basically. So I went. And some dude with a red light decided to try to creep through the stalled intersection and make his way across...and he almost hit me.

But I survived. I just laugh when I see the way they drive. It is comical. Oh, and PS, the car at the top is a Volkswagon Brasilia...this is the most common car in the city of Cochabamba...

All Work and No Play...

...makes Jack a dull boy, right? It also makes me a sleep deprived grandmother. Yeah, I have always been kind of a grandma; I am the one who goes to bed early and gets up early, who turns down happy hour to go home and knit (no, I am NOT kidding) or read, who spends one’s free time writing Christmas cards and thank you cards and journals...boring, right? Yup. That’s me.

Anyway, if you thought I was bad before, you should see me now. I recently moved to Baton Rouge, but am still required to come to New Orleans from time to time to attend meetings or do site visits. So, I am frequently driving back and forth from one office to the other (about 70 miles one way). This, along with 10 hours of work a day, does not leave much room for anything else. My routine is becoming very tiring. I get up around 4:30 a.m. and go to bed around 9. I run approximately an hour to an hour and a half a day. I eat fruit and sandwich for lunch while in the car on the way to a meeting. Phew. I don’t see how people do it for such long periods of time.

I used to go to school and work at the same time and it was similar to this. I got up at 5:30 to make it to a 7 o’clock class on time, then went straight from school to work and worked until 10 at night, so didn’t get home until 11 p.m. However, I have definitely gotten out of the habit of doing that! I have gotten spoiled by my free time. I have started to take it for granted. I guess this is a wake up call (fitting – since it seems like I am getting less sleep). Wake up and smell the...

Luckily I only have to stay in Baton Rouge for a few more weeks. I will be so happy when I am back living in New Orleans, where it only takes me 10 minutes to get to the office, where I can walk to the restaurants and bars downtown, where I can pop home for lunch, where I can visit with my friends... I will try not to take all of that for granted the next time around.