And I'm up at 4:30 a.m. because ... ?
First and foremost ...
Baby Zachary ... f***ing adorable!!!!
....
I would like to take a moment to thank Rocky and his wonderful friends Brian Savala, Joe Aguilera, Joe Perry, and Brian Peake for a wonderful wonderful wonderful weekend. I had so much fun.
The weekend was spent in San Antonio and it was amazing. The weather was crap, I'm still all sorts of hungover, and I have the WORST hickey ever. But it was quite an ADVENTURE!!! We were staying downtown near the Riverwalk, and we did everything the typical vacationing American would do ... we ate and shopped at every national retailer and chain restaurant we eat and shop at back home. :P
But we were also in great company, and things like this rarely happen ... How often do you just get up and go to a city hours away just for the hell of it? It was awesome.
....
Friday I had two classes, physical anthropology and art direction. They're both pretty interesting, as my anthropology professor is a world-reknowned anthropologist who spends most of her life studying lemurs in Madagascar. She showed us (the class of 300 students) photos of her camp in the rainforest. Her biggest accomplishment? .... Learning to bake a cake over an open fire in a cast iron pot. Pure awesomeness.
My art direction professor is a professional art director with his own studio in Austin. He seems a little less laid back than Berno or Davis (my poster design and corp. marketing materials profs who are best friends), but I think he's somewhat younger. He looks like a genius and I can tell that this class (Fridays from 1-5 p.m.) is going to be intense. Our first homework assignment .... bring in ten materials that appeal to me visually. Anything. a scrap of cloth, a candy wrapper, a screenshot of a website.
....
After class, I noticed that the weather was turning drizzly, so I went to Wal-mart in the hopes of replacing the fuse for my windershield wipers. They were dead, and my dad recommended replacing the fuse. Of course, I couldn't located the fuse box, nor did Wal-Mart have what I needed.
So I ventured to O'Reilly Auto Parts, where the squawky pimple-faced sales associate advised that it was probably the relay, and that they didn't stock and Volkswagen parts ... I'd have to go to the dealership, which is in Austin, and get it fixed there. I replied, "Well, I don't think I'll be doing that since it's raining, and I can't exactly drive my car." He apologized as I left grumbling.
Luckily, Autozone is literally right next door. After parking (tremulously), I walked in and was greeted by a thirty-something Hispanic guy, who reminded me a the sales guys from the mall. Not the young, hip ones from Express or the punks from Hot Topic ... more like the shoe dept. manager at JC Penney.
Anyway, he asked me what the problem was; I told him, and he punched a few buttons in the computer. "This is it. This is what you need right here. A new motor. Your wiper motor's shot. It's $67, and we have to order it. It'll have an extra $33 charge, but we'll refund that when you bring us the old motor." And after I told him that I couldn't install it myself, he said that I'd have to take it to Volkswagen -- where they'd charge me double.
So, I refused to order the motor (I didn't have the money anyway), and attempted to wipe my windshield down with RainX ... which is great when you apply it properly -- to a dry windshield. An old funny, toothless man laughed as he watched my futile attempt to wipe down my windshield, then he asked if I'd checked the fuses ... which, until that time, I had completely forgotten about!
After a half hour of searching for the fuse box (the manual was no help!), the old man and I located a toasted fuse, switched it out with another one to test, and JACKPOT! The wipers were back on. He helped me pick out a box of five fuses (for less than $2), and he was on his way. I thanked him profusely, and he laughed as he walked to his car.
This is the second time a stranger has helped out unselfishly. A friend and I were once on our way to Austin, when we stopped to get some bottled water at a convenience store. The truck died and would not restart despite my friend's numerous attempts. We'd just taken it to San Antonio to get a new alarm system installed, so something in the re-wiring was sucking the battery. Many people passed us by, a couple of white rancher guys peeked under the hood and laughed before they were on their way.
Then a truck, almost identical to Chris's, pulled up with three friendly older Hispanic gentlemen. They asked what the problem was, they offered suggestions, they tweaked some things, and finally got the thing working. They refused any kind of payment, smiled and drove off. Before they left, one of the men said, "You know, we've all been in this same situation at some point in our lives ... We're just trying to make it a little easier."
It's these little things that just blow you away, and stick with you forever. It's true what they say... Never underestimate the kindness of strangers.
Baby Zachary ... f***ing adorable!!!!
....
I would like to take a moment to thank Rocky and his wonderful friends Brian Savala, Joe Aguilera, Joe Perry, and Brian Peake for a wonderful wonderful wonderful weekend. I had so much fun.
The weekend was spent in San Antonio and it was amazing. The weather was crap, I'm still all sorts of hungover, and I have the WORST hickey ever. But it was quite an ADVENTURE!!! We were staying downtown near the Riverwalk, and we did everything the typical vacationing American would do ... we ate and shopped at every national retailer and chain restaurant we eat and shop at back home. :P
But we were also in great company, and things like this rarely happen ... How often do you just get up and go to a city hours away just for the hell of it? It was awesome.
....
Friday I had two classes, physical anthropology and art direction. They're both pretty interesting, as my anthropology professor is a world-reknowned anthropologist who spends most of her life studying lemurs in Madagascar. She showed us (the class of 300 students) photos of her camp in the rainforest. Her biggest accomplishment? .... Learning to bake a cake over an open fire in a cast iron pot. Pure awesomeness.
My art direction professor is a professional art director with his own studio in Austin. He seems a little less laid back than Berno or Davis (my poster design and corp. marketing materials profs who are best friends), but I think he's somewhat younger. He looks like a genius and I can tell that this class (Fridays from 1-5 p.m.) is going to be intense. Our first homework assignment .... bring in ten materials that appeal to me visually. Anything. a scrap of cloth, a candy wrapper, a screenshot of a website.
....
After class, I noticed that the weather was turning drizzly, so I went to Wal-mart in the hopes of replacing the fuse for my windershield wipers. They were dead, and my dad recommended replacing the fuse. Of course, I couldn't located the fuse box, nor did Wal-Mart have what I needed.
So I ventured to O'Reilly Auto Parts, where the squawky pimple-faced sales associate advised that it was probably the relay, and that they didn't stock and Volkswagen parts ... I'd have to go to the dealership, which is in Austin, and get it fixed there. I replied, "Well, I don't think I'll be doing that since it's raining, and I can't exactly drive my car." He apologized as I left grumbling.
Luckily, Autozone is literally right next door. After parking (tremulously), I walked in and was greeted by a thirty-something Hispanic guy, who reminded me a the sales guys from the mall. Not the young, hip ones from Express or the punks from Hot Topic ... more like the shoe dept. manager at JC Penney.
Anyway, he asked me what the problem was; I told him, and he punched a few buttons in the computer. "This is it. This is what you need right here. A new motor. Your wiper motor's shot. It's $67, and we have to order it. It'll have an extra $33 charge, but we'll refund that when you bring us the old motor." And after I told him that I couldn't install it myself, he said that I'd have to take it to Volkswagen -- where they'd charge me double.
So, I refused to order the motor (I didn't have the money anyway), and attempted to wipe my windshield down with RainX ... which is great when you apply it properly -- to a dry windshield. An old funny, toothless man laughed as he watched my futile attempt to wipe down my windshield, then he asked if I'd checked the fuses ... which, until that time, I had completely forgotten about!
After a half hour of searching for the fuse box (the manual was no help!), the old man and I located a toasted fuse, switched it out with another one to test, and JACKPOT! The wipers were back on. He helped me pick out a box of five fuses (for less than $2), and he was on his way. I thanked him profusely, and he laughed as he walked to his car.
This is the second time a stranger has helped out unselfishly. A friend and I were once on our way to Austin, when we stopped to get some bottled water at a convenience store. The truck died and would not restart despite my friend's numerous attempts. We'd just taken it to San Antonio to get a new alarm system installed, so something in the re-wiring was sucking the battery. Many people passed us by, a couple of white rancher guys peeked under the hood and laughed before they were on their way.
Then a truck, almost identical to Chris's, pulled up with three friendly older Hispanic gentlemen. They asked what the problem was, they offered suggestions, they tweaked some things, and finally got the thing working. They refused any kind of payment, smiled and drove off. Before they left, one of the men said, "You know, we've all been in this same situation at some point in our lives ... We're just trying to make it a little easier."
It's these little things that just blow you away, and stick with you forever. It's true what they say... Never underestimate the kindness of strangers.