Now I've Seen It All

Tonight I was watching another "absolutely dreadful" episode of American Idol, which really has nothing to do with the rest of the story unless you want to insert your own irony, when my mom popped in a Gather video that was inherited from my Grandma. It apparently was a sing along, and there were a bunch of those traveling family bands backed up by a choir of baptist bigwigs on stage like Mark Lowry and the old lady with the giant wig of frizzy white hair and a fake pearl necklace. (No, not Nancy Reagon, the other one.) As I stood up to walk out of the room none other than Terry Bradshaw came strutting across the stage. What in the world was a hall of fame quaterback turned annoying TV football commentator doing with the Gathers? Singing of course. It wasn't even that bad, for a football player. Who'da thunk it.

Blowing a Gasket

After making the final trip from Texas to Pennsylvania several weeks ago, my trusty Jetta decided it needed a break. On the way to church this morning I noticed the temperature gauge start to climb way above normal. Since I was only a mile from home, I decided to turn around and limp it back to my garage. It made it most of the way back before the water temperature idiot light started to blink at me, begging me to shut the engine down. Once in my driveway I popped the hood and found the expected steam and green slime oozing from the head gasket.

I spent the rest of the morning and part of the afternoon tearing apart my engine getting it ready for a new head gasket. Hopefully I will be able to pick it up tomorrow despite the expected snow storm that is supposed to sweep through the area overnight. On top of that, I need to find a way to get to work in the morning. I guess I'll be stealing my parent's car since they will probably have the day off. Lucky schoolteachers.

The Jetta is definitely starting to show its age. In addtion to the head gasket, it also needs four new tires, a power steering pump, several new exhaust components, new rear springs, (see previous posts), and something in the front suspension is now creating a terrible clunking noise everytime I transition from reverse to forward motion. I guess it may soon be time to part ways. I'm not sure how much longer I can keep it on life support. If only it had waited another couple of years.

Nothing to Say

Having nothing to say, I leave it in the hands of the "experts."

But I also made it clear to [Vladimir Putin] that it's important to think beyond the old days of when we had the concept that if we blew each other up, the world would be safe." -George W. Bush, 2001

"For every fatal shooting, there were roughly three nonfatal shootings. And, folks, this is unacceptable in America. It's just unacceptable. And we're going to do something about it. -George W. Bush, 2001

Taken from the George W. Bushisms Daily Calandar. Expect more gems to come as they are uncovered.

By the Numbers

13 - Number of times driven either way between Longview TX and PA
1,350 - Mileage between the two points
17,550 - Estimated total miles driven on "The Trip" over the years
10 - Times I've driven pretty much straight through
2 - Record fewest number of stops
19 - Record fewest hours from start to finish

The Latest Experience:

10 - Broken down cars along the side of the road
2 - Number of those cars that looked older than mine
1.5 - Quarts of oil that needed to be added during the drive
39 - Gallons of gasoline my 1.8 cylinder engine drank along the way
4.5 million - estimated crankshaft revolutions (running at 3800 RPM)
2.5 - Estimated number of inches of travel left on my rear suspension after loading all my possesions
72 - Ounces of coffee consumed during the trip
18 - CD's enjoyed during the drive
1 - Trucks that ran of the road and almost flipped in front of me
1 - Times I thought I was going to die
0 - Times I ever want to drive that trip again

Saying Goodbye

The time came more quickly than I thought possible. After a whirlwind of last minute checkrides, graduation ceremonies and all that goes with them, Christmas break, and a week of doing nothing but fun back home in Longview I was suddenly stuck in a Starbuck's Cafe staring departure right in the face. By not initially setting a definite date I had thus far been able to avoid it in my mind. However, possible snow storms up north and upcoming job interviews forced the hand and it was time move on.

All in all I am ready and excited about the pending possibilities. I just wasn't looking forward to saying goodbye to my familiar life in Texas. Longview was my home for almost a fifth of my life and I never thought it would grow on me like it has. Good friends are a dangerous thing. They cause one to love places that have no reason to be enjoyed. Who would have thought places like the Waffle Shoppe, the king of "greasy spoon diners" and the worst coffee imaginable would be home to great memories of late night study sessions and eyebrow raising jelly poker games. I would have never guessed that Fast Freddy's, the run down, smoke filled pool hall that it is, would conjure memories of trying to impress a girl with my nonexistent pool skills (it worked for a while) and later fun times with my other pool shark minnow friends. How about resorting to opening a tasty beverage with jumper cables in the parking lot of a certain Texas Stadium, a location that, as a diehard Eagles fan, equates to the inner circle of hell itself? Ingenuity does indeed set us apart.

This was actually the second "promised land" exodus. Four years ago I couldn't wait to shake the dust from my sandals as I fled up 259 vowing "never again" to that godforsaken place. This time I couldn't really swallow until well past Dangerfield. Last time I was ecstatic to be "Homeward Bound." This time when Simon and Garfunkel's song played on the radio I couldn't help but "wish I were homeward bound."

History Repeated

When the "Wright Experience" attempted to repeat history on the 17th of December, who would have thought they would have achieved so accurate a reenactment. Too bad it was the wrong one.