My Flat Tire Adventure with bonus tequila adventures!

I already mentioned that I had a flat tire when I was in Shreveport, but really there's a cute(?) story about it. This flat tire thing happened once before-- my tires apparently must be well-inflated or the tube will come right off the rim causing it to deflate. There's no damage, unless of course I drive on it! So I came out of the hotel to go to the coffee shop on Sunday and it was flat. I drove out of my parking space and about 10 feet before my brain clued in to that noise being a flat tire. "GREAT!" I thought.

Much swearing later, I got the spare and tools out of the trunk and went to fix the tire.

I don't know how it is in other areas, but in the South, if you're a woman and there are men within a 300 yard radius, you pretty much can NOT change your own tire. I remember being about 20 and trying to change my own tire cause I knew how and wanted to practice the skill and having to tell so many men who stopped to help that I wanted to do it that I wasn't getting any work done. So I finally let someone do it out of sheer frustration; I would never have gotten it done with all the "help" I was getting.

I got the jack on the car, jacked it up, then started to work on the nuts.

I have a "t" lug wrench, and the nuts were pretty tight, so I used a handy dandy method of standing on one side of the "t" and using my body weight to break the seal on nut number one. It worked just fine. I had started on the second one when the gate sentries came up behind me to help. So there were suddently three men, with very large guns, standing there with looks of disapproval of my method of lug-nut loosening. They of course offered to help. And seemed shocked when I said I was doing okay on my own. At first I wanted to keep doing it-- same as before-- one day I may be somewhere where no one else is around to help and I DO need to know how to change a tire! But I realized as the one sentry hovered with an anxious look on his face that I was going to have to let them help. So at first, I was just going to have them "break the nuts".

I tried to do the rest myself. They were, as before, not real impressed with my methods. The one young man with cute blue eyes kept getting in my way. I could tell that he wanted to be polite and let me do it, on the one hand, but he really really couldn't stand that I was doing it. So I let him finish most of the job.

Anyway. I guess the cute part of the story is my Mrs. Robinson-ish thoughts about cute-gate-guard. Ever since I married Andrew, I have had a thing for blue eyed men. I never really used to but I like those blue eyes. He was about 20 ish probably, and I was thinking "Well, cutie, you wanna be my cabana boy? How do you feel about thong banana hammocks?" I had to giggle a little, and of course, not share it with him. He would have been scandalized to know what I was thinking. Just so you know, my "cabana boy" reference is a typical one for me-- I joke that in about 10 years, I'm going to have a pool and be ready for a cute little eye-candy to traipse around cleaning that pool. So when I see a cute young thing, I say (to friends, not the poor sexually-harassed-in-my-head young men) that I'm auditioning cabana boys. You know, so I can have one lined up when I need one.

Anyway. I was telling this story last night at our Karaoke Hang Out (which was fun, as usual, but because of the bad idea of a couple of tequila shots after I had already cut myself off was a bit on the over-doing it side). I thought it was cute so I decided to share with the general public my dirty-old-lady tendencies.

And this knee injury I have today? It was NOT caused by the drinking. (If by NOT I mean WAS). I have to cancel my aerobics class tomorrow because of the NOT caused by tequila knee issue. I'm such a lush. I swear. There was apparently a vampire incident (I don't remember it-- after tequila shot number two things are a bit fuzzy). We did a rousing rendition of "It's Raining Men" that brought the house down. And there was this lady with a great voice there who let us be her Pips, too. I did some rap-- this time a cool Lil' Kim song. Hah! I rock.

But it was a great Birthday for Nissa! (Phase two of Nissa Fest is over, now, and phase three starts Friday.) But please. No more tequila. (Ugh. I hate that word.)