An Unfortunate Friday the 14th
The calendar disagrees, but calamitous clouds adopted "Everything I Don't Need" as a theme song, turned my Nov. 14 into a "Friday the 13th," and hung around all weekend.
On Fridays, I teach music lessons at an academy in another city. In spite of the Triad's monsoon weather conditions, I stuck to my cost efficient plan to incorporate a banking errand and a haircut en route to the first lesson.
Atrocious weather aside, with newly-shaped curls and Clay Aiken's On My Way Here CD blaring, I cheerfully departed the salon 10 minutes ahead of schedule. Picking up lunch at a drive-through, I parked in the lot between McDonalds and a car wash to eat a cheeseburger.
AAA to the Rescue
When I tried the car ignition, nothing happened. I turned the key again, and still nada. In all the years I have paid for a AAA membership, this was only my second time to really need assistance.
When asked for the address of my location, I could name the intersecting streets but not a specific number. The agent suggested that I walk to McDonalds to secure the exact address. I described the "cats and dogs" rain conditions and told her that people from this area would recognize my location, which was also part of a large Harris Teeter parking lot.
The AAA contact finally dropped the exact address request and informed me my wait would be up to 60 minutes. I immediately called the school and the parents of my first two students. Fortunately, I never leave home without a calendar and student contact info.
Post Mortem for Holiday Funds
The local towing/recovery establishment easily located me within 10 minutes. The mechanic checked my battery and promptly signed its death warrant. I am positive I paid more for the replacement under emergency circumstances, but I was assured that my new battery carries a six-year guarantee.
I later learned this means three solid years with the next three on a pro-rated basis. Whatever, this unplanned event cut deeply into my holiday shopping plans.
Then again, maybe I am being paid back for my first AAA experience years ago. I was on the way to Nashville, TN, when my car stopped running a few miles east of Cookeville. On my brother-in-law's recommendation, I had purchased a AAA-Plus membership prior to the trip.
Instead of looking into the problem, AAA towed the car and me 90 miles to a service station near my destination. I told my rescuers that I was running on fumes and aiming for the next exit. Sure enough, the only problem that time was being out of gas.
Bad Luck Stays All Weekend
I taught three lessons instead of five on Friday, and the rainy conditions continued through the evening. Soon "Weight of the World" was added to my playlist.
Wearily, I fell asleep relatively early on the sofa in my den. Around midnight I awakened to a series of "ker-plunks" bouncing off a cardboard box on the nearby love seat. I immediately moved the box of new USB cords, thankfully still in unopened plastic, and stationed a couple of bowls to catch the invading raindrops.
By Saturday morning, the rain and original leak had stopped. The den, a converted garage, has a flat roof; and in the afternoon, water blazed a new trail inside and my luckless litany continued. I set up another bowl to catch the invading drips and began leaving messages with recommended repairmen.
Sunday a roofer's estimate of $2,800 for a new rubber topping added an exclamation point to my weekend of bad fortune, poking further holes in holiday funds.
However, the forecast is sunny; and I look forward to a week without a "Friday the 13th"!
PHOTO INTERLUDE: Inspired by scenes from the recent TBAF Gala, Spamalot stage door gatherings in Shubert Alley, and Clay's latest UNICEF trip to Somalia, this clickable interlude features graphics by Amazing_CA, photo by Toni7babe, 1; ACA, 2; ACA, photo by Rhonna1, 3; Claystruck, 4; and ACA, photo by Dancerdad, 5.
Carolina Blog Greets 96 Nations!
Greetings to the Carolina blog's many new visitors! As always, the welcome mat is out for all who stop by this corner on a regular basis.
From the sidebar's ClustrMap and Feedjit Live Feed statistics, you represent 96 countries -- roughly 20 more than in June when I last listed reader locations. According to these stats, a very successful worldwide tour is bound to be in Clay Aiken's future.
Clickable ClustrMap
By continent, countries represented are listed below with new sites in bold:
ASIA: Guam, Hong Kong-China, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Micronesia, Oman, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Qatar, South Korea, Taipei, Taiwan, Vietnam, Pakistan, Iran, Bahrain, Kuwait, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Cambodia
AFRICA: South Africa, Egypt, Morocco, Madagascar, Seychelles, Somalia, Kenya, Nigeria, Mozambique, Algeria
EUROPE: Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Romania, Scotland, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Belgium, Poland, Russia, Luxembourg, Slovakia, Croatia, Serbia, Ukraine
NORTH AMERICA: Canada, Costa Rica, El Salvador, United States, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Bermuda, Saint Lucia, Guatemala, Nassau, The Bahamas, Grenada
SOUTH AMERICA: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, Ecuador
AUSTRALIA: Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania
The "live feed" not only indicates the graphics and photos readers open and save but also the wide range of topics -- Clay Aiken's career and new family, Martin Luther King Jr., Barack Obama, Loree oboe, trifocals, viral marketing, "Hurricane Kai," etc. -- that guide Google searches here.
Many thnx to those who leave comments with a screen name or as "Anonymous," the conventional moniker for non-Blogspot members. It's always great to hear from you.
Thank you, too, for the ongoing geography lesson. No doubt, you make "Teacher Clay" proud.
A Caption for Kai's Picture
In this interactive segment, you can help pen a grandmother's blog. When snapping the latest picture of 14-month-old Kai, his mother said she tried everything to get him to smile. Normally a happy little guy, Kai is walking and talking up a storm.
I asked some friends to offer caption suggestions, and clever is "in." Several have been added from the OFC and Carolina blogs; more are welcome.
I finished my cracker, Mom. Don't we have enough groceries yet?
This is BORING. When's the fun going to start? -- Ashes
I'm going to start charging money to see my cute dimples. -- Margaret5828
You know what would go good with this milk? Chocolate chip cookies and the express check out! -- PromiseMe
Are you done yet? I want Grandma Caro! -- way2clay
Really Mom? The 'baby in the bathtub' picture wasn't enough? -- Kimmstarraiken
Mom, I'm tired of shopping. It's cookie and nap time. -- Crazy4ClayinTN
Now promise me ... are you sure this whole election thing is over? -- vibajajo
I will make this face and give all those woman in my grandma's blog something to ponder about. I wonder what they will think I am thinking. -- Aspiegirl
Mommy, are we done shopping yet? We need to pick up our airline tickets to go see Grandma Caro? -- Marlyne
Sounds good to me! Have an awesome week, Clay Nation!
Caro
TECHNORATI TAGS: Clay Aiken, On My Way Here, Everything I Don't Need, Weight of the World, Monty Python's Spamalot, Friday the 13th, ClustrMap, Feedjit Live Feed, grandson, Official Fan Club, Clay Nation
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