Back in the saddle, but not the driver's seat.

Hey kids. I had no idea I had such a following, or ye few but faithful. My absence of posting has been duly noted and I'll get right on the weekend's story-telling.

But I’m a little busy at the moment. Work blacklog is taking precedence over personal creativity. After a hideously long day of travel yesterday, brightened only by the charming company on the plane, I was too wiped to have the energy to write, much less to write anything of quality.

I am also a bit distracted. Yesterday morning (in Nashville) I got a call from Paul Day (in SF). We have a mutually beneficial arrangement in which I loan him my car while I am away, and he drops me off and picks me up at the airport. He called me just after he left his boyfriend’s house to drive to work. The car was no longer where he parked it. And it wasn’t towed.

One of the most painful ways to end a vacation: getting your car stolen.

And of course, all of my insurance/vehicle information is back in my SF apartment, so there was only so much I could do. I called the dealer to get my VIN and called the police, who would not take a report over the phone. Paul called them again (they having told Paul I would have to make the report and telling me that Paul would have to make the report) and an officer came to take his report, generate a case number, and put out an alert. Today I deal with the insurance company. I am not optimistic.

And, okay, who the hell would want a crappy old Saturn? Sure, I need it. But when shopping in the Castro for a car, the 10-year-old Saturn with scrapes from vandals is what catches your eye? The factory stereo with cassette player? Maybe it was the rainbow cowboy sticker. Or Davidson. Or MBA. Or the subtle Phi Gamma Delta star. I have now heard that it’s a fairly easy car to steal, and they are often taken for a ride and later dumped. Criminy.

And I am also thinking of all the stuff I had in the car. Not only am I over-prepared for any occasion, I also use my car trunk as extra storage space as my apartment is so small.

Short list of things in my car (stream of consciousness):

• FastTrak transponder (I’ll have to cancel that too)
• CB radio kit
• Leather-bound, monogrammed road atlas I received as a graduation gift from Barry and Went which has been invaluable
• Random CA/NV maps
• iPod/Cassette adapter
• Flashlights
• Lipbalm
• A pair of prescription sunglasses and a pair regular
• $20 in quarters for parking meters
• House keys to James’, Kate’s, Deb’s, Lances, and Michael’s apartments.
• Umbrellas (2)
  In the Trunk:
• Brand-new high-end compact jumper cable kit Dad gave us each for Christmas (SHIT!)
• A packed suitcase containing jeans, khakis, running shoes, dress-shoes, t-shirts, boxers, socks, belts, two dress shirts, sweater, knit shirts, swim trunks, shorts, sleepwear, drop-kit, towel, hat, sunscreen etc.
• Sunshield
• Collapsible hose and nozzles
• New jumbo box of laundry detergent
• Vend cards for the laundrymat ($20)
• Windbreaker
• CDs
• Extra t-shirts
• Bottles of water
• Milk crate holding all of this stuff.
• Windshield fluid, Windex, and paper towels
• New, unopened croquet set
• Koosh darts
• Bubble machines (why do I have several?)
• Kite
• Toolkit
• Spray glitter
• Treasured can hugger from Graceland
• Homeless care packages (beer, water, meal bars, wetnaps)
  And in the big plastic tub:
• Beach sheets, blankets, and towels
• Sidewalk chalk
• Cirtonella lanterns
• Emergency road kit with jumper cables, flares, bags, flashlight, fix-a-flat etc.
• Vollyball
• Softball
• Mitt
• Frizbees
• Hats
• Water
• Kite string
• Emergency blankets

Okay, I am way prepared. And what’s even more strange, is that I am sure there are many things I forgot.

Crap this is annoying.