My Day of Impressions

Today was a day of impressions. A lot of good it did me.

Well, I went to the interview. The attorney stated over and over how impressed he was with my resume (THANK YOU J AND JD!). It went well, but somehow, some way, someone cut in line in front of me and has better connections than I do. Oh, well. I guess sometimes impressions aren't all they are cracked up to be.

Anyway, I was only about 20 minutes away, so I went by J's work and picked her up around 11:00 ish, and we went to lunch. Baked potato for me; bbq sandwich for her. We talked about the interview and what to write on the follow-up e-mail. A couple of times during this drive, my car would not shift into 4th gear. It kept making a grinding sound, and I had to stay in 3rd gear for awhile.

Took J back to work and headed home to change clothes. Was to meet K19 at 1:45 at the college in the town I used to live in to talk to financial aid. Ran late because there was a MAJOR car wreck on the bypass. Finally got to the college and found out that there was more paperwork to fill out, and had to call my ex to bring our tax return up there. Not sure why since K19 is paying for college herself, but oh well.

Was supposed to pick K15 up from work at 3:00 p.m. By the time we met with the financial aid advisor and turned everything in, it was close to 3:00 pm. I was to pick K15 up and bring her back to the college library to do our schoolwork. At 2:59 on the nose, around the corner from daughter's work, while trying to pull out of a four-way stop, I hear a popping noise as I tried to put the car in 1st gear. Then it would not shift. I could only stay in neutral.

I knew I was near some baseball fields. And, wouldn't you know, I was right behind my old church! Here I am literally in the middle of my old small town, where I used to have about 40 friends, and I could not call any of them. Well, one, L. We will get to that. I got out of the car and started pushing it through the stop sign and turned right. Then pushed it down the street a bit and then to the left into the baseball field parking lot. All of this in flip-flops and 99 degree or more heat. As I was pushing, I noticed an older lady drive by.

The engine was still running, so I got back into the car to cool off for a bit. Called my ex to come back into town and pick up K15. Called J and told her I was stalled. Then the old woman came into the parking lot and asked me to roll my window down. She told me that she just had to come by and say how impressed she was that I was pushing the car and how I had really thought it through. (Um, there wasn't really much to think about.) She offered to take me back to her house, which I declined. I told her someone was on their way and thanked her. She stayed for a few minutes and left, saying again how she never would have thought of that and how impressed she was. ????

Thanks to my friend L, who gave me the name of a garage nearby which towed my car. Thanks to J for changing her evening plans and leaving work early to pick me up so that I would not have to sit in the heat. And thanks to my girls for understanding that I cannot take them to Galveston tomorrow as planned. I offered them swim time tomorrow at the apartments to make up for it, but now it is supposed to rain.