Faster Car

Today, Doug is off to get us a new car. 

Well. A new used car. And every time we talk about a new (used) car this enters my brain. 

In fact, I'd say it lives in my head rent free. 

The McElroy Brothers of the podcast My Brother, My Brother, and Me have a bit where they go from talking about "Fast Car" by Tracy Chapman into a video game of Fast Car, and then a revival of it called Faster Car 6.  And it just deteriorates into them singing about the Faster Car.

I was singing the part (in my head, because he'd NEVER get this if I sang it out loud to him) "you're gonna shiiiiiiit your pants when you see how fast this car can go..." 

Here, please watch this animation of the bit below, and enjoy this screenshot of the sweet baby brother and Forbes 30 under 30 media luminary imagining of Faster Car. 

I showed this to Geoff, and when they start talking about Tracy Chapman's friends in the video game, and Travis mentions Tracey Ullman, Geoff says "isn't that who wrote the Simpsons' theme song?" Nope, that's Danny Elfman but excellent deconstruction and stream of consciousness to fall into that direction where Trav goes to Steven Curtis Chapman. 

He did not find it as hilarious as I do. But he did laugh at the Rock punching a torpedo. 

That'd be a heck of a video game, folks.  

And maybe, just maybe, you'll think it is as funny as I do when the Rock punches a torpedo, and we drive the car off a building into another building. Does it have nitrous? Of course it does. It turns into a robot. Let's rob a bank, rob a bank, rob 80 banks...

Because that is totally what a video game and/or the Fast and Furious franchise would do with Tracy Chapman's fast car.

Doug is astute at buying used cars. So I trust he'll buy something safe, good for the highway, and if it breaks, we'll get it towed and Geoff can use the Jeep until the car gets fixed. Living with the back up plan. 

At the beginning of the pandemic, we let one car go to save money on insurance. Doug saw it coming that we were not going to be going back to the office any time soon. The pontiac was basically on its last legs anyway. We kept the solo car until it started to fail to the point repairs were going to outpace value, and then got the Jeep. The jeep has done well, I forget if we bought it in 2020 or 2021, I'm pretty sure we got it in 2020 before we both got Covid. I'll have to check with Doug and verify. 

Anyway.

Once Doug left, my goal was the usual: vacuum because the man who was once a small dog in a previous life and hates the vacuum. I love when Doug is out. I mean, I love when Doug is here but I feel empowered to get things done. 

Instead, I heard Geoff pull up the top of his toilet tank lid, flush the toilet, and push the lid back into place. He came upstairs and I asked if his chain was off the hickey that flushes the toilet. 

"Yes. For like the fifth time this year. Dad keeps fixing it, but it never stays. So. For the rest of my time in this house I have to pull up the lid, use the toilet brush, pull up the plunger so it flushes."

Um. No. How about I come down and take a look. 

I saw that the little hook part on the flapper had a huge gap in it. No wonder the chain keeps slipping. I brought a paper clip with me, and put the paper clip through the hole on the flapper. I wasn't even going to mess around with the little triangle dealie that was there. The paper clip would come right through it. For sure. 

Then, I hooked into the chain much higher up, because of the length of the paper clip. I showed Geoff how I did it, and told him the paper clip might rust after a while but I have a lot more. We can fix it again.  Don't resign yourself to reaching into a toilet tank to pull up on a flapper. We tested the toilet flusher a few times and it's working. Now, stay that way damnit! 

I then looked at his bathroom. Kind of a mess, not nearly as bad as he'd let it get in the old house. That bathroom up there was so tiny, I could barely get in it to use it, much less clean it. This bathroom is much bigger. 

I assessed the cleaning supply situation. He had plenty of spray stuff, toilet bowl cleaner, and dry Comet cleanser, but no real scrubbies or paper towel. I sent him upstairs to get all of the above, and some more toilet bowl cleaner, he came back with only paper towel saying he couldn't find what I sent him for. I knew there was a small box of sponges in the hall closet and a package of 2 toilet bowl cleaners, but figured I'd enjoy playing "here, I told you so," with him later. 

We cleaned up around the toilet, talked about towels and the bath mat. We spray cleaned the floor and the baseboards. The bathrooms here are too small to mop, so I find it is much easier and kind of relaxing (almost like weeding the garden) to just plop my ass down and spray things, and wipe them down with paper towel or whatever. 

I talked to him about my basic levels of acceptance for cleanliness and how he was falling way behind. I asked him to pledge once a week for a wipe-down. His shower curtain and liner were great, he recently washed them both. The bathmat and my bathmat get washed together so the washing machine doesn't go off kilter, and we're out of bleach so I told him we will wash those both this week.

We have to return to the shower and the sink, with the scrubby sponges, of which I found two right where I told him he'd find them.

Now it looks almost like a bathroom in a house instead of a side of the road, hole in the wall gas station on Rte 1.

Geoff is starting classes on Wednesday in Virginia. On paper, the school is like 28 miles from our house, allegedly 31 minutes of driving (were he to leave right this second). On any given day though, it's a different story. It can take up to an hour, maybe more, to get there and get back. Classic DC stop and go traffic. 

We are not sure the Jeep can last doing that. It's got a lot of life left in it for sure. It can be our grocery store, take the dog somewhere, maybe more trips up to Massachusetts. Highway-wise it's great. Smooth ride, good speed, but stop and go traffic will probably kill it and kill it fast. We knew eventually we'd end up being a 2 car family again. I had hoped he'd pick a school to go to (like the last one) where the metro was the best option. But this isn't the case. 

He has this summer class that he has to get through before starting his one year program in the fall. Three days a week in person lab, 2 lectures remotely, including Saturday (voof). 

So wish Doug luck in picking out a good faster car. With nitrous. And a HEMI. That turns into a robot. 

I'm finding July 4th celebrations to be uninteresting and I have no desire to do anything like go see fireworks, or a parade, or anything. The Rah Rah patriotism that some folks are relishing in right now feels vapid, empty, and cultish. I just hid three people I've been friends with for years on facebook because their incessant drumbeats about American Exceptionalism and all kinds of joy about the current state of this country really bothers me. I have to just walk away from someone quoting the constitution and bill of rights at me and saying "see? THIS is what God wants for us!" when there are so many people abandoned by basic lie of "all [men] are created equal." I'm not finding it true. At all. 

I feel like the crazy people are taking over and if you express any questioning or doubt, you get the "what's wrong with you! Don't you LOVE this country? Love it or leave it!" If someone says love it or leave it to me I'm going to love punching them in the face and leaving them to bleed on the sidewalk. 

It is not that easy to love something, and leave it.

And I don't have the energy to deal with irrationality, blind rabid jingoism, and nationalistic idolatry. 

It's very quiet in our neighborhood. Even the neighbor I expected to throw down a rager like he has in years past has not. I don't know if he's waiting for tonight as the actual holiday, but, his house has been dark and quiet all weekend. Maybe he took the kids somewhere for the weekend. The beach, the lakes, the mountains, someone else's house, and he's throwing a rager there. 

This morning we sat outside, enjoying the quiet. No music, no TV. Peace punctured by the occasional holler from one of the kids in the house out back calling to momma, a sneeze followed by "bless you" in someone's porch, or my dog barking at white panel trucks or the Amazon van. I hope it stays this quiet tonight.

Pictured are two shots of the morning glories on the fence, super purple and pretty, and a mimosa tree flower I found in the yard. I was surprised last summer when this tree flowered and then the little fan-like flowers fell all over my damn life (mixed with all the cicadas!). Learn more about mimosa trees here. I picked a Pros and Cons article instead of a "Never plant this tree in your yard!" vs. "These trees are beautiful!" articles. People are very opinionated about these things. People are opinionated about everything.

Digits below the image jump.

Digits

exercise: tons of time weeding and futzing in the garden! Farmer Chris got a workout. And a small walk. a nice walk. yes.

Blood Glucose: 
9am: 213
5pm: 164
11pm: 234 (i just ate a bunch of trail mix so. this is not a valid before bed reading)

Food:
Coffee
Water
big salad: Mixed greens, goat cheese, bacon, tomato, red onion, celery, mayo
3 small chuck steaks with a giant salad and bleu cheese dressing (salad: mixed greens, romaine, red onion, cherry tomatoes, pepitas, celery)
trail mix
Cashews w/ sea salt & pepper
wine (did not intend to drink tonight but. America so fuuuuuuuuck it).