The misadventures of Rainechan
Chapter I-seem-to-have-lost-count: Car troubles. Again.
So it's Wednesday evening. Every Wednesday evening, I drive 30 minutes out of my way to Farmington, where I take my doumbek class, followed by rehearsal.
6:30PM - I pack up my Mystical-Magical-Music-Mobile, and drive away with my music blaring.
7:10PM - I arrive in Farmington with 20 minutes to spare. I park my car and think to myself that I will just sit in my car for 20 minutes and jam out with my music. Not even a minute after that thought occured, I notice that there is smoke coming from beneath the hood of my car. So I turn the engine off, in hopes that it will stop. It doesn't. Fearful that my car will catch fire, I evacuate, but not first before unlatching the hood. I open the hood, and am greeting by a large billow of smoke. I choke a little, and try to figure out where the smoke is coming from, but am not only unable to see where, I am also unable to identify any part of my car by name. In a panic because I am now stranded in Farmington, I call Thad.
Thad is working, and irritated that I called him. He tells me to call his dad.
I call my father-in-law. He can't do anything because he lives in Monroe. That's an hour-and-some away from Farmington. I don't blame him. He asks me if Rune knows anything about cars, and if he can help me, and to call him back with the diagnosis.
I call Rune.
"You're early..." he says.
"Yeah... My car is smoking. I'm right outside the building. Can you come down and help me?" I ask, still in a panic.
Rune leaves his student and meets me at my car. He checks my oil. There is a yellow-ish sludge all over my oil stick. Rune does not look hopeful. He then checks my antifreeze. The same yellow-ish sludge is on the cap.
"Your antifreeze and your oil are mixing." he tells me, explaining that it could either be a crack in the head gasket, or in a pipe. None of which will be cheap. "I don't mean to be pessimistic, but... Your car's toast."
He tells me to come inside the building with him, as he has to get back to the other student.
I call my father-in-law back, and tell him what Rune told me.
"I was afraid of that..." he says. He then tells me that he'll take a look at it Friday or Saturday, but, in the meantime, to call Thad and tell him to get me oil and antifreeze, to top off both, and have Thad follow me home. He also tells me to watch the temperature closely.
I call Thad back and tell him what his dad said. I get unhappy grumbles out of him. I tell him that he can do it AFTER he's done working. I get hung up on.
7:30PM - Doumbek lessons. To not get tired of a plain roll, Rune makes Richard and I incorporate a random Doum or Slap into our excercise to challenge us, while Kim, the new student in our advanced class, gets used to the plain roll.
8:30PM - Doumbek lessons end. Rune, Richard, and I sit around and snack before rehearsal. I text Thad to call me when he's done work, which should typically be 9PM.
9PM - Rune, Richard, and I start rehearsal. We go over "Zephyr" a few times to get the timing right, and do the same for "Norwegian Wood". We then listen to a new song, "Erima Kormia", as a group (our previous homework was to listen to it on our own and be ready for rehearsal), realize that there is an extra doum in the rhythm in a few places, then practice it together a few times.
10:30PM - We listen to another new song, "Ta Mavra Matia Sou", and Rune and Richard try to figure out the strange breaks in the rhythm. I'm not too into the song, as I keep staring at my phone.
"Has anybody called you, yet?" asks Rune. I shake my head no.
11PM - Rehearsal ends. Richard leaves and I call Thad, who tells me that he is JUST wrapping up the tournament, and will call me back once he gets oil and antifreeze from Wal-Mart. Rune and I chat for a bit while I wait.
11:30PM - Thad calls back. I give him pretty specific directions, with street names AND landmarks so he doesn't get lost.
"Take Telegraph ALL the way down. Pass the overpass. There will be a graveyard on your right, with a junction IMMEDIATELY after for Grand River. That junction is in between the graveyard and U-Haul. Take Grand River all the way down until the "Y", where two lanes veer off to the left, and two lanes veer off to the right. Stay on the right. There's going to be a flashing yellow traffic light. Pass it. The next light, there will be a Jet's Pizza on your right. The next light is where I'm at, on the left, in a HUGE building. It's the Old Winery."
... Pretty easy, right?
11:45PM - Rune asks me if I want him to stay with me. I say no. He says he's going home (he only lives two blocks away), but to call him if I need anything, or if Thad doesn't come, and to make sure to keep him updated. He also asks that I shut off all the lights to the building before he leaves. I am all alone in a huge, empty building.
12:00AM - Thad calls me, all flustered and angry.
"I passed your stupid graveyard, but I don't see no Jet's Pizza!" he fumes.
I explain to him that he needs to calm down, because he's getting my directions all wrong. I explain the directions to him, again; that after the graveyard, he's looking for a junction for Grand River.
"I'm ON Grand River!" he yells.
I tell him to calm down again, and tell him that he's now looking for the "Y", and that it's a ways away. He can't find it. He has no idea what I'm talking about. He keeps getting angry at my directions, and keeps hanging up on me in anger. I keep calling him back, telling him that it is DEFINITELY not the time to be hanging up on me, and that **I**, of the both of us, should be the one freaking out, because **I** am the one stranded in Farmington with a dead car, am alone in an old, dark, and empty building, with a dying cellphone battery, which I can't charge, as it involves going to my car and turning it on. I tell him to pull into a gas station and ask for "The Old Winery" on Grand River and Orchard Lake, as EVERYBODY in Farmington knows what it is and where. Well... Thad ends up asking the ONE person in Farmington who didn't know. Thankfully, a customer behind him overheard, and pointed him in the direction of Orchard Lake, WHICH HE HAD PASSED. He backtracks, but can't find the road, and is naming off sideroads that mean nothing to me. I tell him that I am going to hang up and text him the coordinates, which he can GPS via his phone. I do so. Not too long after, I get a call back from him, grumpier than ever, threatening to throw his phone out the car window. I tell him to calm down, that I'd call Rune and have Rune call him.
12:30AM - I call Rune and explain that I have no idea where Thad is, nor can I tell him how to get back to me. Rune gets his number and calls him.
12:45AM - I get a call from Thad, telling me that he's in front of the building. I shut off all the lights as I exit each hall of the building. Thad fills my oil and fills my antifreeze, then tells me that he will drive MY car, and that I am driving his truck, and to follow him home.
"Do you know where you're going?" I ask.
"I take Grand River all the way down to Telegraph!" he snaps. "It's not that hard!"
... Coming from the man who got lost off of MY simple directions.
1:30AM - We get home without a hitch. I inform him that there was lots of smoke coming from my exhaust, and that it smelled bad. We are both suddenly hit with said smell as my car starts smoking again. We gag and choke and run inside the house, leaving my poor car alone.
Needless to say, I had to get up at 6AM this morning so that I could drive Thad to work and take his truck so that I could be at work at 8AM. UGH.
I hope my father-in-law fixes it, because I had planned to see Jane Doe Friday and/or Saturday, since Shakedown isn't playing on account of Bruce and Anne being in Vegas, getting married.
Raine
So it's Wednesday evening. Every Wednesday evening, I drive 30 minutes out of my way to Farmington, where I take my doumbek class, followed by rehearsal.
6:30PM - I pack up my Mystical-Magical-Music-Mobile, and drive away with my music blaring.
7:10PM - I arrive in Farmington with 20 minutes to spare. I park my car and think to myself that I will just sit in my car for 20 minutes and jam out with my music. Not even a minute after that thought occured, I notice that there is smoke coming from beneath the hood of my car. So I turn the engine off, in hopes that it will stop. It doesn't. Fearful that my car will catch fire, I evacuate, but not first before unlatching the hood. I open the hood, and am greeting by a large billow of smoke. I choke a little, and try to figure out where the smoke is coming from, but am not only unable to see where, I am also unable to identify any part of my car by name. In a panic because I am now stranded in Farmington, I call Thad.
Thad is working, and irritated that I called him. He tells me to call his dad.
I call my father-in-law. He can't do anything because he lives in Monroe. That's an hour-and-some away from Farmington. I don't blame him. He asks me if Rune knows anything about cars, and if he can help me, and to call him back with the diagnosis.
I call Rune.
"You're early..." he says.
"Yeah... My car is smoking. I'm right outside the building. Can you come down and help me?" I ask, still in a panic.
Rune leaves his student and meets me at my car. He checks my oil. There is a yellow-ish sludge all over my oil stick. Rune does not look hopeful. He then checks my antifreeze. The same yellow-ish sludge is on the cap.
"Your antifreeze and your oil are mixing." he tells me, explaining that it could either be a crack in the head gasket, or in a pipe. None of which will be cheap. "I don't mean to be pessimistic, but... Your car's toast."
He tells me to come inside the building with him, as he has to get back to the other student.
I call my father-in-law back, and tell him what Rune told me.
"I was afraid of that..." he says. He then tells me that he'll take a look at it Friday or Saturday, but, in the meantime, to call Thad and tell him to get me oil and antifreeze, to top off both, and have Thad follow me home. He also tells me to watch the temperature closely.
I call Thad back and tell him what his dad said. I get unhappy grumbles out of him. I tell him that he can do it AFTER he's done working. I get hung up on.
7:30PM - Doumbek lessons. To not get tired of a plain roll, Rune makes Richard and I incorporate a random Doum or Slap into our excercise to challenge us, while Kim, the new student in our advanced class, gets used to the plain roll.
8:30PM - Doumbek lessons end. Rune, Richard, and I sit around and snack before rehearsal. I text Thad to call me when he's done work, which should typically be 9PM.
9PM - Rune, Richard, and I start rehearsal. We go over "Zephyr" a few times to get the timing right, and do the same for "Norwegian Wood". We then listen to a new song, "Erima Kormia", as a group (our previous homework was to listen to it on our own and be ready for rehearsal), realize that there is an extra doum in the rhythm in a few places, then practice it together a few times.
10:30PM - We listen to another new song, "Ta Mavra Matia Sou", and Rune and Richard try to figure out the strange breaks in the rhythm. I'm not too into the song, as I keep staring at my phone.
"Has anybody called you, yet?" asks Rune. I shake my head no.
11PM - Rehearsal ends. Richard leaves and I call Thad, who tells me that he is JUST wrapping up the tournament, and will call me back once he gets oil and antifreeze from Wal-Mart. Rune and I chat for a bit while I wait.
11:30PM - Thad calls back. I give him pretty specific directions, with street names AND landmarks so he doesn't get lost.
"Take Telegraph ALL the way down. Pass the overpass. There will be a graveyard on your right, with a junction IMMEDIATELY after for Grand River. That junction is in between the graveyard and U-Haul. Take Grand River all the way down until the "Y", where two lanes veer off to the left, and two lanes veer off to the right. Stay on the right. There's going to be a flashing yellow traffic light. Pass it. The next light, there will be a Jet's Pizza on your right. The next light is where I'm at, on the left, in a HUGE building. It's the Old Winery."
... Pretty easy, right?
11:45PM - Rune asks me if I want him to stay with me. I say no. He says he's going home (he only lives two blocks away), but to call him if I need anything, or if Thad doesn't come, and to make sure to keep him updated. He also asks that I shut off all the lights to the building before he leaves. I am all alone in a huge, empty building.
12:00AM - Thad calls me, all flustered and angry.
"I passed your stupid graveyard, but I don't see no Jet's Pizza!" he fumes.
I explain to him that he needs to calm down, because he's getting my directions all wrong. I explain the directions to him, again; that after the graveyard, he's looking for a junction for Grand River.
"I'm ON Grand River!" he yells.
I tell him to calm down again, and tell him that he's now looking for the "Y", and that it's a ways away. He can't find it. He has no idea what I'm talking about. He keeps getting angry at my directions, and keeps hanging up on me in anger. I keep calling him back, telling him that it is DEFINITELY not the time to be hanging up on me, and that **I**, of the both of us, should be the one freaking out, because **I** am the one stranded in Farmington with a dead car, am alone in an old, dark, and empty building, with a dying cellphone battery, which I can't charge, as it involves going to my car and turning it on. I tell him to pull into a gas station and ask for "The Old Winery" on Grand River and Orchard Lake, as EVERYBODY in Farmington knows what it is and where. Well... Thad ends up asking the ONE person in Farmington who didn't know. Thankfully, a customer behind him overheard, and pointed him in the direction of Orchard Lake, WHICH HE HAD PASSED. He backtracks, but can't find the road, and is naming off sideroads that mean nothing to me. I tell him that I am going to hang up and text him the coordinates, which he can GPS via his phone. I do so. Not too long after, I get a call back from him, grumpier than ever, threatening to throw his phone out the car window. I tell him to calm down, that I'd call Rune and have Rune call him.
12:30AM - I call Rune and explain that I have no idea where Thad is, nor can I tell him how to get back to me. Rune gets his number and calls him.
12:45AM - I get a call from Thad, telling me that he's in front of the building. I shut off all the lights as I exit each hall of the building. Thad fills my oil and fills my antifreeze, then tells me that he will drive MY car, and that I am driving his truck, and to follow him home.
"Do you know where you're going?" I ask.
"I take Grand River all the way down to Telegraph!" he snaps. "It's not that hard!"
... Coming from the man who got lost off of MY simple directions.
1:30AM - We get home without a hitch. I inform him that there was lots of smoke coming from my exhaust, and that it smelled bad. We are both suddenly hit with said smell as my car starts smoking again. We gag and choke and run inside the house, leaving my poor car alone.
Needless to say, I had to get up at 6AM this morning so that I could drive Thad to work and take his truck so that I could be at work at 8AM. UGH.
I hope my father-in-law fixes it, because I had planned to see Jane Doe Friday and/or Saturday, since Shakedown isn't playing on account of Bruce and Anne being in Vegas, getting married.
Raine