Let's continue the list...
The card tower continues to be reinforced by the steel frame of real-life challenges and my own dumb mistakes.
4. Wednesday evening, I suddenly realized I was running late for youth group, so I decided to drive. Bueno. The problem is someone was parked in front of my driveway...for like the 4th time. I noticed that the spots on either side of me were empty and so (in spite of my idiocy concerning spatial reasoning) I decided to attempt a 500 point turn and get out of one of the other two gates. Bad idea. After my 10th reversal, I tapped the pole that holds the gates to mine and my neighbors parking spots. I KNEW I wasn't going real fast, but the sound was intense...and jangly. Additionally, a kid looking my way started laughing and a woman turned towards me, startled. I was suspicious. I got out of the car and there were no marks at all...and then I looked down at the sidewalk. Yes, my gate had completely fallen off its hinges and was literally one foot away from hitting the car that was parked in front of my driveway. While smashing a window and destroying the side of the vehicle may have been poetic justice, it sure would have cost a lot. So I am thankful for the near miss. When I finally realized it was my neighbor's car and notified him of it through my clenched teeth, he came down and lectured me for trying to get out of someone else's space. Ummm...and WHY was I doing that in the first place? To his credit, he helped me carry the fallen iron beast up against a wall until it can be repaired.
5. Yesterday afternoon, I returned to my apartment to find my electricity shut off. Apparently someone had placed the bill for me and a number of my neighbors in an unfamiliar location and more than one of us were at risk of having food spoil in the refrigerator. The bill for 2 months comes out to be a little less than 15 bucks (aahhh subsidized energy) and it was due to be payed before the 1st of January. OOPS! It all turns out to be a lot less complicated than I expect, though. It seems that you have to open your meter, take of the plastic inhibitor, and then make sure you pay the bill the next day, copy the receipt and tape it to the meter so they don't turn it off the next time they come around. When I came home after a brief outing, my downstairs neighbors had gone in and reconnected it for me and my next door neighbors had left me their toolbox in case I needed it.
Love.
4. Wednesday evening, I suddenly realized I was running late for youth group, so I decided to drive. Bueno. The problem is someone was parked in front of my driveway...for like the 4th time. I noticed that the spots on either side of me were empty and so (in spite of my idiocy concerning spatial reasoning) I decided to attempt a 500 point turn and get out of one of the other two gates. Bad idea. After my 10th reversal, I tapped the pole that holds the gates to mine and my neighbors parking spots. I KNEW I wasn't going real fast, but the sound was intense...and jangly. Additionally, a kid looking my way started laughing and a woman turned towards me, startled. I was suspicious. I got out of the car and there were no marks at all...and then I looked down at the sidewalk. Yes, my gate had completely fallen off its hinges and was literally one foot away from hitting the car that was parked in front of my driveway. While smashing a window and destroying the side of the vehicle may have been poetic justice, it sure would have cost a lot. So I am thankful for the near miss. When I finally realized it was my neighbor's car and notified him of it through my clenched teeth, he came down and lectured me for trying to get out of someone else's space. Ummm...and WHY was I doing that in the first place? To his credit, he helped me carry the fallen iron beast up against a wall until it can be repaired.
5. Yesterday afternoon, I returned to my apartment to find my electricity shut off. Apparently someone had placed the bill for me and a number of my neighbors in an unfamiliar location and more than one of us were at risk of having food spoil in the refrigerator. The bill for 2 months comes out to be a little less than 15 bucks (aahhh subsidized energy) and it was due to be payed before the 1st of January. OOPS! It all turns out to be a lot less complicated than I expect, though. It seems that you have to open your meter, take of the plastic inhibitor, and then make sure you pay the bill the next day, copy the receipt and tape it to the meter so they don't turn it off the next time they come around. When I came home after a brief outing, my downstairs neighbors had gone in and reconnected it for me and my next door neighbors had left me their toolbox in case I needed it.
Love.