Bite Me, Daniel Powter!

For those of you who avoid Top 40 radio, Mtv, Vh1 and American Idol, Daniel Powter is the guy who sings that catchy yet annoying song "Had a Bad Day." And man, did I have one yesterday!







First–I got up late. Not usually a big deal, but since the weather has been less than pleasant and she doesn't have a car, I pick my intern up for work on Tuesdays and Thursdays. So I was running around all morning trying to cut corners on my usual routine so I wouldn't mess up her schedule.

Second–I burnt my hand on the curling iron. Not really a big deal, but I should've seen it as the omen it was...

Third–I parked the Cheap Jeep (David's $50 bargain Jeep Grand Cherokee I drive when the roads are nasty) behind my car the night before to make unloading groceries easier, then forgot to move it back to its regular parking spot. When I was ready to leave for work, I went out to move said vehicle and found the doors solidly frozen shut. I was able to get into the truck via the rear hatch (wearing heels and a nice skirt), climbed over the seats and started it up with the heat on, then climbed back out the way I came. Then I texted the intern to let her know I would be about 10 minutes late.

Fourth–Since I had to warm up the Jeep to move it, I figured I'd just drive it. I had tried to open every frozen door before using the hatch and although they didn't open, the rear doors were apparently unlatched enough that the vehicle computer thought they were ajar. It beeped at me so I got out and tried to shut the still frozen doors. Didn't work. So I drove on with the car going "Beep, beep, beep!" Grrrr!

Fifth–As usual, I jumped on the toll road to get to work the quickest way possible. Since we haven't had the Jeep for a very long time, David's not sure he's got all the kinks worked out of it, and it gets horrible gas mileage (12 mpg in full-time 4wd), I keep it at the posted speed limit of 70 mph. Just past the Elkhart exit, but luckily before the rest stop, something violent happens that causes the steering wheel to jerk out of my hands and whip back and forth repeatedly. My immediate thought was that a tire had blown out, so I slowed down, put on the flashers, and pulled to the shoulder, driving slowly to the rest area. I got out of the car and there was nothing wrong with the wheels or tires or undercarriage that I could see (I wasn't crawling under there in the slushy parking lot). I called David and asked what to do. He didn't want me to drive it until he checked it out (if your tie-rod end breaks the wheel can fly off). So, he came with his truck prepared to tow it home and rescued me! After he crawled under and had a look, he ran it around the parking lot and nothing was wrong. I wasn't about to hop in and finish the drive to work, so we wung a U-ie (shout-out to Bid) on the toll road and took it home.

I was feeling seriously jinxed at this point, starting to wonder if there was some karmic reason I should not go to work that day (plus, I don't really need excuses to want a day off). But, I bucked up and got in the car and headed off for the second time. All day long I waited for the other shoe to drop and even considered cancelling my hair appointment (it took almost 8 months to fix the last bad hair experiment). But, the bad luck was short-lived and I'd say it evened out in the end. My hair looks awesome thanks to Carrie, the best colorist ever and when I got home David had already fixed the Cheap Jeep (bad steering stabilizer), paid for it using parts we needed to return to the store AND had $50 for me from the insurance company!

People often say karma is a bitch. I think she just has mood swings. Sometimes several times a day.

Love, K10