damsel in distress
--tyler, my couch--
tonight, i was on my way out to this remote school district - cruising along in my malibu, taking curves and chatting with my sister on the phone, when all of a sudden i notice... my car is no longer accelerating. in fact, it's slowing down and quickly.
so i pull over and try to start it again. it's dead. so i call work, tell them the situation and kim, the most awesome editor in the entire world, told me to hang on - she'd send someone.
i stood on the side of my car, intermittingly talking to my crazy dad on the phone, apologizing for not taking care of my car and stomping ants from my heels. and you know what? in under an hour, nine guys stopped to ask if i needed help. NINE! i've got to be in east texas.
it was nice, it really was, despite the fact that every guy that stopped was clinically insane. seriously. the most hilarious thing was when photographers DJ and tom showed up with a tank of gas, and three cars were stopped on the side of the road near my car, in spite of my enthusiastic pleas of, "i've got someone coming." DJ was cracking up when he pulled up.
so DJ and tom put gas in the car, tried to start it, and... no luck. we spent almost two hours attempting to start the car. tom was pretty confident he knew what was wrong, and dj, well, he's too pretty to know cars. he kept suggesting things, and then got frustrated because he didn't feel masculine.
we called a tow truck, and dj offered me his free AAA towing (so i didn't have to pay - thank goodness). they towed it to the local chevy dealership, and tomorrow i'm going up there to figure out what's wrong. right now, i'm at home, without a car (jon gave me a ride home) and feeling very helpless. dj offered to pick me up in the morning to take me to the dealership, and i am so grateful.
here's the ironic thing. i spent the entirety of lunch in a feminism frenzy - yelling at roy for saying i should have a sewing kit because i'm a girl. and yelling at sara when she asked if i don't have a sewing kit, what do i do if a button comes off? ugh! i told her, quite indignantly, i don't need a sewing kit, i don't need a man, i'm independent, gosh darn it!
and then i break down. and what happens? i need a man. actually, lots of men. nine, plus dj and tom, plus the male tow truck driver, plus jon, who drove me home. all that adds up to one big fat equation of I AM NOT SO INDEPENDENT, after all.
what would've happened if i was a guy? would nine guys have stopped for me? would anyone have stopped? would two male co-workers spend three hours helping me get back to the office, promising not to leave me alone in the wilderness?
don't get me wrong. i am blessed to work with wonderful people, to live in a place where strangers are bending over backwards to help me. but it shows me how lucky i am to be a girl, and in the end, i really AM a girl. the classic damsel in distress. damn it. i really must learn how to fix broken shit on my car. and bake cookies for the guys for all their help.
tonight, i was on my way out to this remote school district - cruising along in my malibu, taking curves and chatting with my sister on the phone, when all of a sudden i notice... my car is no longer accelerating. in fact, it's slowing down and quickly.
so i pull over and try to start it again. it's dead. so i call work, tell them the situation and kim, the most awesome editor in the entire world, told me to hang on - she'd send someone.
i stood on the side of my car, intermittingly talking to my crazy dad on the phone, apologizing for not taking care of my car and stomping ants from my heels. and you know what? in under an hour, nine guys stopped to ask if i needed help. NINE! i've got to be in east texas.
it was nice, it really was, despite the fact that every guy that stopped was clinically insane. seriously. the most hilarious thing was when photographers DJ and tom showed up with a tank of gas, and three cars were stopped on the side of the road near my car, in spite of my enthusiastic pleas of, "i've got someone coming." DJ was cracking up when he pulled up.
so DJ and tom put gas in the car, tried to start it, and... no luck. we spent almost two hours attempting to start the car. tom was pretty confident he knew what was wrong, and dj, well, he's too pretty to know cars. he kept suggesting things, and then got frustrated because he didn't feel masculine.
we called a tow truck, and dj offered me his free AAA towing (so i didn't have to pay - thank goodness). they towed it to the local chevy dealership, and tomorrow i'm going up there to figure out what's wrong. right now, i'm at home, without a car (jon gave me a ride home) and feeling very helpless. dj offered to pick me up in the morning to take me to the dealership, and i am so grateful.
here's the ironic thing. i spent the entirety of lunch in a feminism frenzy - yelling at roy for saying i should have a sewing kit because i'm a girl. and yelling at sara when she asked if i don't have a sewing kit, what do i do if a button comes off? ugh! i told her, quite indignantly, i don't need a sewing kit, i don't need a man, i'm independent, gosh darn it!
and then i break down. and what happens? i need a man. actually, lots of men. nine, plus dj and tom, plus the male tow truck driver, plus jon, who drove me home. all that adds up to one big fat equation of I AM NOT SO INDEPENDENT, after all.
what would've happened if i was a guy? would nine guys have stopped for me? would anyone have stopped? would two male co-workers spend three hours helping me get back to the office, promising not to leave me alone in the wilderness?
don't get me wrong. i am blessed to work with wonderful people, to live in a place where strangers are bending over backwards to help me. but it shows me how lucky i am to be a girl, and in the end, i really AM a girl. the classic damsel in distress. damn it. i really must learn how to fix broken shit on my car. and bake cookies for the guys for all their help.