Who Knew Getting An Oil Change Was Dangerous?

I just had an oil change at the Jiffy Lube. The technician was asking if everything meet to my satisfaction. Everything looked fine. The technician started to walk back to the front door. The key was already in the ignition so depressed the clutch so I could start the engine. Despite the cold it fired up just fine. I let off the clutch; the car lurched forward and stalled! The technician was right in front of me and slid a bit on the snow. He had to brace his arm against my hood!

I almost ran over the man. When I park my car I leave the transmission in neutral and use the parking brake. Unless I'm on an incline I never leave my car in gear when I'm parked. I forgot the oil change techs will leave my car in gear when they park it. Given how often I need an oil change you would think I would recall that important fact.

My mind went into a whole lot of what if scenarios. What if I took the key out of the ignition to put it back on my keyring? What if I remembered my car would be in gear when I got out to it? What if I just glanced down and noticed my transmission was in gear? My mind also raced into full legal mode. Would I have been at fault if I hurt the tech? Would the store be at fault for leaving the car in gear? Could it be truly considered an accident with no legal liability? I hated that my mind even had those thoughts. It felt very selfish.

No harm, no foul, but we both were scared for a few seconds. A scary reminder that something can go wrong in the blink of an eye.

Not The Way I Wanted To Spend A Personal Day.

I was somewhat looking forward to today. A day with no hearings means I can finally attend to the mountain of files in my office. Assuming nothing weird occurred, a big assumption, I could easily get over 20 files out of my office. If I were truly focused perhaps over 30 files.

General Winter had a different idea. The snow in the morning was a bit of a problem, but only delayed my arrival by 15-20 minutes. The snow we had overnight on the other hand was a knockout punch. Big City had 10 inches of snow as of early this morning and it was still coming down.

I brushed enough snow off of my door to get inside. It was above 20 degrees so the engine fired up without a hitch. I spent the next 20 minutes brushing a good 8 inch layer of snow off my hood, roof, trunk, and windows along with a thin layer of ice. The snow was well above the bottom of my bumper. That isn't a good sign at all. When your bumper becomes a plow you tend not to have enough power to get through it. I also had no idea how much traction my tires would have. A neighbor came out and wondered if she should even bother to try to get to work today. I told her wait 2 minutes and see if I was stuck, then make her decision.

I made it about four feet.

I left the car running and went back to my place to find a snow shovel. I wasn't worried about my car being stolen. I dug around my car for 30 minutes to clear the snow away from my tires and undercarriage. I tried to rock the car out of the snow and made it a foot back towards the parking spot. I shoveled for another 20 minutes or so and decided to try again. I noticed another half inch of snow was on my roof again. After shifting into first or second and then shifting into reverse I managed to rock myself back into the parking spot.

Around 8:30 I called work to see if anyone was even there. One clerk answered. She lives in Small Town and normally has a 5 minute drive to work. Even with her Jeep it took her nearly a half hour. Another clerk managed to pick up a third clerk. There was no word on the Boss or others. I told the Clerk we had no hearings today and while I wasn't giving up it wasn't looking good that I would make it in.

I walked up to the street. It wasn't clear, but it was plowed and passable. An old Geo Metro drove by me. I figured if a Metro could drive on the snow I could too. If I could make it 300 feet I could get to the street. A neighbor had a big Ford Bronco similar to what O.J. Simpson had in that infamous slow chase in L.A. I saw him get stuck in the snow for about 10 minutes. If that thing has 4 wheel drive and if he was smart enough to engage it and he was still having problems I knew I didn't have a chance!

I think I'll just stay home and put on a comfy sweatshirt.

EDIT: By noon the sky was sunny and a truck with a plow had come through. I only needed to shovel the snow wall the plow created. I'm amazed at the difference just a few hours can make. 12 inches of snow is not a problem right now. Go figure.

I Don't Think It Will Be As Bad This Time.

Today is the anniversary of the infamous Blizzard of '78. I think we got 10 inches in less than 12 hours. I just remember A LOT of snow on the ground the following morning and being stuck inside. Tonight we're getting the first wave of two snow storms. I'll admit it is pretty, but we're only looking at 2 or 3 inches for tonight and perhaps another 2 0r 3 inches tomorrow. Of course if the storm travels in a different direction maybe we'll have 10 inches in the morning for all I know.

I can handle snow. Ice is what I fear. I suspect the commute will be longer tomorrow. A good thing I have no hearings tomorrow. At least I filled up my tank with cheap gas this afternoon so if I'm stranded I"ll be fine. Not that I'm anticipating being stranded, but some idiot could always run me off the road. Times like this I miss my old Jeep. Thanks to the Blizzard of '78 my parents bought that big old Jeep. I miss the unstopable nature of the old beast, though I don't miss the 10 miles per gallon on leaded, yes leaded, gas that thing guzzled down.

Anyone else have an old car they miss?

KITT vs KARR: The Smackdown Of Lameness!

The original Knight Rider is the quintesence of early 1980's Glen Larson cheesetasticness. David Hasselhoff and a talking indestructible car as crime fighters. BRILLANT! Combined with The A-Team, The Dukes Of Hazzard, Airwolf, The Equalizer, and MacGyver there was no better run of television shows.

My childhood has been tampered due to the abomination known as the current Knight Rider series. The movie was horrible. I've tried to watch something of the new series, but after 5 minutes my stomach curdles at the sheer volume of crap I'm forced to endure. Bad writing, bad stories, horrible logic, and too many characters.

For tonight, if there was one episode to watch this was it: KITT vs KARR. In the original series KARR was the evil prototype Trans Am that would eventually become our noble crimefighting KITT. In the new series KARR was the evil Mustang/Transformer that would eventually become the new KITT, the Ford Mustang able to transform into any other Ford product available (and somehow a submarine too from what I've heard). Voices by the the original actor, Peter Cullen, the previews showed ANGRY OPTIMUS PRIME trying to destroy KITT. (Peter Cullen was the voice of Optimus Prime in both the cartoon series and the recent movie.) The though of ANGRY OPTIMUS PRIME destroying the horrific new KITT and Michael Knight had appeal to me. I decided to watch the entire show.

NBC writers in their wisdom decided to finally introduce KARR at minute 52 of the show. Oh I see, they'll make this a two parter! FINALLY introduce the BIG BAD near the end of the first episode; therefore, forcing me to commit to a second episode. They want ratings and using horrible writing and sluggish plot development to achieve this! I gave the writers and studio execs too much credit.

On the off chance you actually want to see the show I suggest you stop reading now as I'll ruin it for you otherwise.

Instead of a dramatic cliffhanger, the new and lame Michael Knight with a stripped of his invulnerablity KITT decided to turboboost through the chest of KARR, who is in robot mode. Shouldn't KARR also be invulnerable? Even if KARR isn't invulnerable for some reason the giant killer robot is vulnerable to any redneck who decides to catapult a car though the robotic chest. WTF! That is the lamest killer robot ever!

Almost as bad is the fact KARR had a human in the chest cavity (has to merge with a human for some reason) and that person is now on the ground looking like he's suffering from a cold and a nosebleed. If a car turboboosted through the passenger compartment of your automobile wouldn't you be chunky salsa at this point?

The evil character that spent an entire episode building up to was destroyed in two minutes. THAT WAS THE BIG BAD! If the General Lee, or even worse Roscoe P. Coltrane's police car, could jump off a dirt ramp to destroy your killer robot, then you're not worthy to be KITT's nemesis.

I'm so glad this series has already been canceled. I need more Leverage, Burn Notice, and Battlestar Galactica!

We Shall See.

I keep trying to write an inauguration post, but I have a problem. I keep wanting to type some eloquent post expressing my thoughts. Instead I'll just post an email I sent to a friend that isn't eloquent, but cuts to the quick of the matter.


"So, any estimates on how soon the most ardent Obama supporters realize he is merely a man and not Jor-El's only son sent to remake the world, cure cancer, and bring the world a Coke?

I don't have a major problem with the Obama the man but I can't stand most of his supporters. Its a cult of personality and I swear the cult just turns off their collective brain.

Keep in mind, I did vote for him so I'm not a bitter diehard of the losing side expressing these ideas. Both McCain and Obama gave me little bits of what I wanted in a president, a lot of what I didn't want, and it was a narrow victory.

As for Obama as president, I'm willing to give the guy a shot and if and when he screws up I'll complain then."

They're Going To The SuperBowl!

Sadly my team isn't, but the improbable Arizona Cardinals will meet the Steel Curtain of Pittsburgh for SuperBowl 43. Nobody is surprised Pittsburgh is representing the AFC, but did anyone really think the Arizona Cardinals would make it to the big game? They'll be big underdogs, but lately it takes an underdog to win games it seems. It'll be an interesting matchup. I'm sure oddsmakers in Vegas are working overtime now.

Who has the hi-def big screen and the party for me to attend so we can watch the game :-)

Sometimes You Need To Drink Ambrosia Straight From The Bottle.

Wow that was a season beginning for Battlestar Galactica. When I saw Dee featured a lot in the review section I knew she was going to be big in the episode.


Poor Dee!


If Starbuck finds herself in the wreckage, what the hell is she? When Leobon is freaked out you know something has hit the fan.


If you guide humanity to a nuked paradise I can see why Laura Roslin would retreat to "I just don't care about anything." place. I'm sure burning a holy book leads you to a place in hell though.


Look out world, the old man is drunk and asking for a sidearm. The Admiral had the best line when asked what were they going to do now: I don't frakkin' know!


The Final Cylon is....you've got to be kidding me!


I'm waiting to see where this goes over the next 9 episodes, but somebody better start explaining things. There are way too many unanswered questions and I want a few things figured out! This is going to be one heck of a dark gritty ride I can tell.

There Will Be A Smackdown Soon.

Clerk points finger at order and notes in the case jacket.

Clerk: Wolfrham, what happened here?

Me: The Judge made a ruling.

Clerk: Did you fight it?

Me: Yes, and the Judge still made the ruling.

Clerk: How could you let that happen?

*Getting rather pissed the Clerk is riding my ass.*
Me: Miss Clerk, there is a certain rank order of things and the Judge outranks me! If you have a solution to this situation please tell me what it is. Otherwise let's just lick our wounds, accept what happend, and move on.

Clerk *in shocked look*: Then what are we doing here if the Judge is going to make decisions like this?

Me: The Judge is the decision maker, not us.


I appreciate the Clerk's passion, but she needs to work on on her professionalism. There are ways of inquiring what happened without being such a bitch. There are way too many little things like this that are starting to boil over. Mistakes get made and somethings things just go wrong through nobody's fault. I'm not perfect, but if you're rubbing me the wrong way then there is a problem.

If You Look At The Calendar Only 3 Days Suck This Month.

Sadly two of them are this week: yesterday and tomorrow. Which really means 4 days suck because you spend one day preparing for the other day with all the hearings. To make matters worse I ran into a block of 4 files where no one has touched them in 5 to 10 years. So much for prepping a file in 5 minutes. Try 15-20 minutes of frustrating number crunching.

Bookend the day with a morning and evening snowstorm and I'm just going to bed now. Forget about dinner, laundry, Mythbusters, or reading anything.

Perhaps if I can get a good night sleep the Fortress of Suck will collapse.

Now THAT Is Good Customer Service.

Customer service seems to be in decline these days. I ordered something online from a small speciality shop on Wednesday and it arrived on Thursday. I was shocked since it was free shipping and I figured I would get my order in 3 to 5 business days at the earliest. I didn't get a chance to unpack the big box until today. I ordered 11 items, but only had 10 things in the box along with a ton of those foam shipping peanuts.

I was about to shoot off an email asking to send my missing item for free or to give me a refund and there were 2 emails already waiting for me dated yesterday. One informed me the items was out of stock and couldn't be shipped so they were going to refund the cost to my credit card. The second email was a confirmation of the refund.

NICE!!!!

I think I may order from them in the future.

I Shouldn't Have Got Out Of Bed This Morning.

If it isn't the drive in it was the drive out this week. Snow, sleet, freezing rain, wind all in abundance with winter's fury. Except for today that is. The drive was easy coming in. I should have known something was wrong. The files were prepped yesterday. All the minor crisises (crisisi?) were resolved yesterday. Every T was crossed and every I dotted. Karma demands balance.

A missing hearing, people trying get out of what they promised, people trying to make bad decisions they've made before, and a judge trying to break in the lawyers to his way of doing things.

Instead of having Burger King for lunch perhaps I should have bought some scotch.

Let's Make A Deal!

I didn't have many hearings today for the first day back, but the degree of difficulty made up for the lack of numbers. I poured over the file for nearly 2 hours as I read rules and commentary. I dreaded the amount of questions I would have to ask in order to pin down some solid facts. I never meet the opposing counsel, but she seemed born for battle based on the phone calls and emails I've hard with her.

I wandered into the courtroom and the judge was running late and stuck elsewhere. The attorney, the parties, and I discussed a few things and my opposition seemed open to working out some deal. I didn't like her numbers and she didn't like my numbers, but we whittled down some of the smaller issues and then split the difference on some numbers. Both parties simply didn't like each other and were obviously tired of dealing with each other. I used that to my advantage.

"You know if we just use some rough numbers and figure out a few things ahead of time that would relieve you two from having to do a monthly accounting. Just deal with these estimated costs for an annual basis and if something big happens that's when to the two of you have to do an accounting and sharing of costs."

It worked perfectly. They could live with rough approximations as long as they got out of each other's hair. The judge appeared and we told him we have a rough deal and just needed a few minutes to iron out the last details. For a second I thought it would blow up at the last second on this little nagging issue when a spouse pointed out: is it worth it to fight over that and give up everything else?

My thoughts exactly.

I helped work out a deal I thought was impossible. I deserved a Diet Coke after that one!

First Quiz Of 2009: Wear Your Colors Proudly.

The Ultimate Color Test

When you are at peace, you are: Thoughtful and sensitive When you are moved to act, you are: Unorthodox and idealistic When you are inspired, you are: Spiritual and humble When your life is perfectly balanced, you are: Philosophical and expressive Your life's purpose is: To live a passionate life

The Ultimate Color Test

Let's Party Like It's 1999.

1. Bring a few games and see if I can get some people interested in playing. Check.

2. Bring my own distinctive beer mug so it is recognizable as mine. Check.

3. Drop by the parents to have dinner with them before the party and play with Doghound. Check.

4. Remind Fabulously Game Roommate the party hosts told him to come along too. Check, but I don't think he heard me yell at him over the Wii.

Have fun tonight folks and hope you all get home safely.

Back To Work Tomorrow.

Ugh..I may take a sleep aid to help me crash. Of course that might make me drag my butt all day tomorrow. It was nice to have 5 days off. A shame I didn't get as much stuff down around home as I wanted, but it was a pretty relaxing time with lots of football of course.

Speaking of football: Louisana Tech vs Northern Illinois is just a sign there are at least 10 too many bowl games. Buh-bye to the evil New England Patriots as the 11-5 Pats don't make the playoffs after their perfect season the prior year. An 8-8 San Diego plays a playoff game early by beating Denver to get the privilage of a red hot 12-4 Indianapolis Colts the next week. I don't know how a preseason favorite Dallas Cowboys fails to get into the playoffs. Tampa Bay fails to get in by losing to the friggin' Oakland Raiders of all teams. The NFL announced they were having an expansion draft to put a team in Detroit. The Lions were recalled like a defective Chevy.

Later folks.

The Meloncholy Season

I admit it. I don't love this time of year. I don't hate it, but it doesn't feel my heart with joy and thoughts of peace. The holidays remind me of what I don't have instead of what I do have. Is it a long term jealousy or a long term reminder of the truer things in life? I suspect both. The holidays are supposed to be with loved ones, friends, and family. I haven't been in a relationship in a very long time so there are no loved ones. Most of my closest friends are married with families of their own and are no longer in the Big City area. As for my family I'm not emotionally close to most of them. I was always the odd family member compared to the rest of the family.

I can see that some things are finally turning around. I do have a stable job. I don't like the job for a variety of reasons, but a steady paycheck after multiple years of law school, unemployment, and job hunting is a big plus. In this economy we should be thankful for any jobs. Thanks to the Small Town job I've paid off about half my non-education related debt. If gas prices stay low I might be able to have that debt paid off by this time next year.

Since cash flow isn't as big a problem now perhaps I may allow myself the luxury of dating again sometime next year. The few times I've tried to get back into the dating pool these past few years always served as a reminder that dating is really a financial luxury. Many creative and wonderful dates can be had for a mere $20 or $30, but I didn't even have that much money to spare the last few years. For too many years I've denied my emotional needs for the needs of school followed by the needs of my finances. Perhaps next year I can pay attention to my wants and rebuild other aspects of my life.

As for this year at least I got to have a few weekend road trips. I started to live my life a little bit and I want to have more road trips and perhaps a true vacation. For 5 or 6 years I never let myself relax. Everyone needs some joy in their lives. With luck and I'm betting a lot of hard work and little sleep I can see some joy coming back. Maybe that is what the holidays are supposed to provide, some joy and hope for the future, even for people like me.

Less Busy = Less Productive?

Work has slowed down a bit. I haven't had too many hearings and except for a smattering next week I don't have any more the rest of the year. Without the rush of hearings you would think I could get tons of work and special projects accomplished.

What was I thinking?

I'm burned out and I know it. My attention wonders all over the place. Even without the pressure of hearings it seems like problems pop up that must be resolved immediately. With staff all over the place taking off personal time it seems like more crap pops up. Less people to deflect incoming garbage is the theory I'm working with. Perhaps I should enjoy the upcoming Christmas holiday. Walk in Monday as recharged as possible and give a big push to end the old year.

I just want those damned files out of my office!

Snowzilla Can't Escape The Law!

This story has it all. 1) A 2 story tall snowman. 2) The snowman's name is Snowzilla. 3) All this clean fun is dashed by a city code enforcement officer.

When you can't build a snowman in your own front yard I feel the Man has gone too far!

Winter Has Arrived With A Good Tailwind!

I don't know if it is actually snowing or if the wind is blowing what little snow there is around all over the place. When I see large flags flying straight I know there's a good wind blowing. The weather lady on TV is saying with the wind chill it could be in the negative teens tonight. NEGATIVE TEENS for a wind chill!!!!

With so little daylight (it is the winter solstice today) and the cold temps I simply want to hibernate this time of year. Someone wake me up when spring arrives.

Let's Avoid The Icy Death Please.

Winter may start on Sunday but she has already arrived. Bad enough temps have been so cold the last week that my temperature gauge barely moves during the long commute from Big City to Small Town, but to have the entire road coated in a thin layer of ice is just too much. Given the number of accidents I saw and the times I saw some cars and trucks slip a bit I'm surprised my commute only took an additional 45 minutes. Sadly I'm not surprised by the number of idiots who decided to go nearly full speed. 4-wheel drive does not provide traction on ice people!

I hope I'm not as exhausted when I arrive at work tomorrow. I seriously needed a nap after keeping my car steady on today's drive home.