she's
actual
size

After the horrible, hellish day I had yesterday, there's no way I could possibly have written a journal entry.

Actually, it started Friday. My normal evenings at work are rather lackadaisical, and I have plenty of time to finish the work that I've been given. But Friday I was sent to a garage about an hour away to pick up a bus that had gotten some transmission work done.

While I was on my way back, I got a call saying that the Polish stu... - I mean, international temporary workers - were done at the park. I picked them up in the bus that was "fixed," no problem, and then drove them back into town.

Now, on occasion they've asked me to stop at a grocery store or gas station so that they could get some beer or food. I'm not really supposed to do that, but in the interests of being nice I've been helping them out. So Friday I drive them to a grocery store and waited while they ran inside.

While I was waiting, the bus stalled.

A lot of things ran through my head, but in the foremost was "How am I going to explain this?" I mean, I wasn't supposed to be at the grocery store anyway, and the store wasn't really on my way. I couldn't pawn it off as coasting in after the bus died, since the bus was neatly parked by the entrance. I wasn't looking forward to explaining that I've been taking the Polish kids on beer runs.

I tried to start the bus from the driver's area three or four times, with no luck. This was is air start, so every time you try to start it, it loses some air. When the air gets too low, it won't start.

I was starting to sweat.

I went around to the back of the bus, where the engine is. By this time I had three Poles following me, lending mechanical advice in broken English. I ignored them and opened the engine hatch.

Careful, now. Flip the switch to REAR START. Flip the ignition switch on. Wait for tone... Hit START ENGINE.

The bus whined to life. I breathed a sigh of relief.

After getting back to the office, I still had to print out schedules for the weekend and Monday, and park some vehicles outside. It was a very tedious end to the evening.

On to yesterday. After setting out in a barren field for four hours on another failed parking lot shuttle, I was hot, tired, and thirsty. I went to my parents' house for dinner...

And found two letters waiting for me. One was a letter from a lender, informing me that the interest rate on my school loan was being raised. The second was the first bill from the emergency room visit - another for the emergency room doctor will follow. Current damage: $331.

Shortly after opening the letters, I was told that my beloved first car, Ol' Blue - the one that had been sold to a friend of my sister's - had finally died of natural causes. His engine still ran, but the floor had fallen out.

I got called at home, telling me that the shuttle for Sunday had been cancelled. In other words, my hours have been cut.

As the evening draws to a close, I head back to work to pick up the Polish kids. They were most unhappy when I arrived, saying that I was an hour late. Curious... According to my schedule, I was 45 minutes early. They complained about how crowded the bus was. When I sat to wait for the other bus to arrive, they complained that they had to wait.

"Fine," I said. "The other bus will be able to take 7 of you. If seven of you get off now, the rest of us can go."

They didn't like that answer. After ten minutes of Polish discussion, seven people finally agreed to wait.

The good thing about Sunday is that no bills are delivered.

Now, please excuse me. I have to go pick up the Polish kids. They'll probably chew me out again for some fucking thing. I'll be damned if I'm taking them to a grocery store again.