Flat Tire Magnet

What is it with me and flat tires? Some women are man magnets, some women are shoe magnets, but I have the honorific title of flat tire magnet. No matter what car I have or for how long I have it, I will get a flat tire. Guaranteed. I might be at the highest most driving point on Mt. Rainier: flat tire. I might be driving home from visiting my mother in Reston, Virginia: flat tire. I might be driving with friends on a 4-wheel drive road in Big Bend National Park, Texas: flat tire (and totalled car, although that's another story). I might be coming home from a bachelorette party in Canada with a group of women in a large Suburban full of luggage en route to the airport: flat tire. I might be in a Turkish Fiat driving on a winding, two-lane road at midnight along the Mediterranean Sea: flat tire (sidenote - repaired by a very nice Turkish truck driver). But really, no matter where I am -- or who I'm with, I am destined to at least one to two flat tires a year. And today was my lucky day (again).

I won't bore you all with the story of how Lindsey had come to my apartment to record an Arabic dialogue and I was taking her home, but I did notice my car driving with trouble as I left my apartment's parking area. Yes, that is because I was driving on the rim. Well, luckily we didn't get far so I made it back to the parking lot, and with Lindsey's encouragement, I changed the tire myself! Of course, with all the flats I've had over the past years, it is no surprise that I knew how to change one, but I have to say that the temptation to call AAA was very strong. However, Lindsey thought I should do it myself, and I figured it would take AAA at least an hour to get to my place, so I saved time and went to work. My hands were black by the end, sweat was pouring down my front and back (100+ degree day today with no shade in our parking area), and I didn't figure out how to lift the jack easily until AFTER I'd changed the tire, but I did succeed in getting the donut on my old Honda.

I made it over to Discount Tire (which has a lot of guys literally running around... which, BTW, was very impressive b/c I felt like these guys were really hurrying to get our cars finished), where I discovered that my tire treads were actually in good condition (low mileage on my little ol' car), but the rear tires were from 1993! Isn't that comical? The guy looking at them could hardly believe it! Turns out the rubber on the side of the tires was so old that it finally just cracked open in the sun, and the other rear tire was halfway there. Well, thank god it decided to crack open in the parking lot and not on the highway! Anyway, I did get two new rear tires. (Front ones are from 2002, although I have no recollection of getting those...)

So there's today's tire story. Lindsey and Shauna are going dancing at a club with the Indian engineers tonight, but I am just knackered from my crazy week and am opting for a cozy night at home. Plus I want to get up early tomorrow and actually be productive. I'm making a wooden screen for my living room (I've built it but need to paint it) and I have boatloads of reading for my classes.

With no further ado... adieu.