Design...
It has been a simply hellish morning. The first part wasn't too bad -- I woke up early and left to go out on a run (I ended up just walking instead) out on the West State Street park area. The morning was foggy and mystical in its own way and I found it calming just to roam around where only the insects and fauna were chirping or stirring. I wandered into the community garden spaces to look at what people were growing and I was really impressed. There were several towering shoots of sunflowers at about 7 or 8 feet high in the air, one plot was almost completely filled with corn stalks, and the other plots around were filled with common plants and vegetables like squash, tomatoes, and greens. I stopped by for a little bit to marvel at this spider's complicated design (pictured above). It was really neat to look at how the spider had effectively captured two bees (or maybe wasps?) inside its clever web. Simplicity in nature can be starkly impressive against the backdrop of how complex we humans try to construct this life of being. Sometimes it feels like there is so much that we need, our lives and worlds are turned upside down while the simple spider spends his life waiting, patiently perched in the simple design of her web.
Speaking of complications....this morning's follies started after I was finished grocery shopping at Kroger. I had great plans to come back to the apartment, cook vegan pancakes, shower, and nosedive right into the pile of work ahead of me. However, I get into my car and try to turn the engine and then I hear the sound of fate. It kind of reminded me a bird fluttering its wings, the sound of baseball cards rapping against the spokes of a speeding bicycle, and a mechanical mutant phoenix flapping its titanic metallic body all into one noise. In fact, it was an awful noise, and for the next three hours came to represent the sound of being stuck; the sound of fate against my will (not unlike the wonderful lyric from Echo and the Bunnymen's hit songKilling Moon). So there I was in the Kroger parking lot, stuck and bewildered, and I soon only made matters worse when I unknowingly locked my car keys inside of my car. I was talking on the phone with my dad about how to potentially fix the problem with my car, I was caught up in the panic of it all, and for some reason I just left my keys on the passenger side and locked them inside. It was awful. I didn't tell my dad that I had locked them inside because I was afraid of him reprimanding me (like he often has done) for me doing such a thing and I soon came to realize that I was left to my own devices.
So I regrouped, packed up camp a little bit, and then walked across the street to the conveniently-located AutoZone. There, I received the awesome advice of how to fix the problem and was given a long and slender rod that looked like an over-sized and unraveled shirt hanger. As it happened (as it was meant to happen Kurt Vonnegut would say) a good samaritan was waiting for me in the parking lot to help me out with my car. She prized open the passenger window with an ice scraper while I did my magic with the steel rod. We first aimed at trying to push the unlock side of the automatic lock button on the door but then later changed strategies. With surgical focus, I was able to unlock the lock dial that is located near the handle of the passenger door and voilá, we were able to get into my car! This, however small, was a triumph in what was otherwise a shitty morning (for the lack of a better word). Things didn't seem so bad when I was able to unlock my car and get my keys because, without my keys, I would not be able to get to my wallet, my phone, or get back into my apartment. Through my mind were images and fears of being stranded out of my home for the next three days until my parents came -- and I am so glad that that wasn't the case.
Anyways, me and the generous stranger (her name is Timmy and she was really helpful) worked on trying to get my car jumped. One of her friends showed up to Kroger and he helped us with the cables. The setup was good but it just didn't work. In addition to the jumper cables not working, my power windows being able to work, and my headlights functioning with reasonable efficiency, I have determined that the problem here is probably not the battery. I have come to think that the problem is either (a) the alternator is not corresponding with the battery well enough to start or (b) the starter itself is shot. Either way, we're going to somehow get my car towed or push it over across the street when mom and dad come on Saturday.
I am really lucky to have the generosity of Timmy (the woman who helped me) and she later gave me a ride (with all of my groceries) back to my apartment. To top it all off, I had realized I left my new iPhone in her car about five minutes after she left from dropping me off the panic had started all over again. I was trying to figure out how I would be able to contact her -- I only knew her first name was Timmy, didn't know her last name, and didn't get her phone number or anything. For about fifteen minutes I thought my phone was lost until I heard a knocking at the door. I opened it up and there was Timmy and her 21-month old daughter wearing her
Tinkerbell sunglasses, beaming from ear to ear, and clutching what appeared to be an enormous phone in contrast with her tiny hands and frame.
After saying goodbye to them both, I collapsed on my bed for about an hours nap. A simply exhausting experience.
