In the Interim

Gosh, for someone so busy, I don't have a lot to say.

I'm gearing up for the Texas Primary, which is all of a sudden becoming a bit more important than usual in election years. It's interesting to see how candidates will work their way through Texas, and with whom they will speak. All I'm doing now is finding election workers and arranging for training, but immediately after the primaries there are convention meetings, then meetings to arrange the next level of conventions and so on. I volunteered for Secretary again of the county district meeting, but I also threw my hat into the ring for the Rules committee. Yes, and now you know exactly what kind of a nerd I really am.

But it's important to me for a lot of reasons. I was skimming a book about the lamentable state of political education in the nation, and I'm a little depressed. Since I was in my teens I've been interested in politics. Since I was in my early 20s I've been actively involved. I've written congressmen and senators, called the White House, voted in every election going, run elections, worked on a campaign, testified before the state school board. I have no frame of reference for anyone who doesn't believe it's important to know what Washington is doing, or especially what is going on in their state capital. If you buy things, government is involved. If you sell things, government is in on that too. If you get sick, win a lottery, have a child in school, buy insurance, drive a vehicle, own a home, watch television, eat out or have a job, government is pit-deep in all that as well. How can someone be content to let other people decide just how government is going to mess with all these things? Never mind the bigger issues such as war and international aid and so on.

/rant

I took out the above frustrations on my car a few days ago. I had a list of things to do last week and as I was pulling out of the driveway I noticed the car rolling funny. A nail in the tire had flattened it all the way. My husband was at work 30 miles away and it was barely 10 a.m. and no guy-types anywhere on the street to be found.

I own an Odyssey and a teeny little jack to jack it up with. You do the math.

But I decided it wouldn't hurt to try, except for possbly my nails. Plus, maybe in the effort some nice guy-type would drive by and notice and offer to change the tire. I got comfortable on the ground and started millimeter-ing the jack up.

Did you know that there's a little hole in the lug-nut bar that you slip the jack-handle into and it turns around super fast? I didn't.

So I manhandled that jack-handle for about 40 minutes, a hair at a time, until the flat tire was totally off the ground. It took about ten minutes to loosen the lug-nuts and remove the tire, then I had to figure out which way the spare went on. After Herculean effort (read: a really long time) I had changed the tire and was ready to lower the car. Remember that little hole in the lug-nut bar? I didn't, until I had got the tire halfway down. Then it was two minutes between that discovery and stowing away the jack and equipment. At least nobody saw me, right? Because that would be embarrassing.

The nice guy-types at Discount Tire did the rest, and I took advantage of the situation and tried a restaurant I've had my eye on. I mean, you gotta reward yourself when you actually do something that you thought couldn't be done.

Plus I get to feel a little superior - my younger sister told me our older sister drove away from a gas pump with the pump still in her tank. At least I didn't do that.

Now what?

I'm in a mood.

I don't really know why, but I've lost a bit of enthusiasm for stuff. Like I'm wearing glasses with a heavy tint and I can't focus well. There are a lot of things coming up, and nothing I'm really jazzed about. It can't be the weather - the temperature was downright springlike today. My marriage is fine, especially since I smoked JJ two days in a row at online Sudoku. It isn't the kids; they're doing all right. The job is going great. PTA's a little sketchy right now, but it's nominating season and that messes wth everything.

I guess I really want a vacation and there's no prospect of one. I would love to go somewhere, even just overnight. Alone in a king-sized bed, room service, movies on the tv and a good book on the nightstand. And quiet.