I had no intention of walking as much as I did yesterday. I guess sometimes, we walk.
The morning started out just great. 4:30 am wake up, no snooze. Coffee. Navel gazing. Cold drive to the gym. Squats. Hot drive home. Shower. Baton trade-off with Holly for morning Ivy duty. Oats and egg whites for breakfast. Kissed Holly goodbye as she left for work at 6:00 am. Ivy awoke at 6:15 am. Milk for Ivy. Meds. Fresh diaper and clothes for Ivy. Listened to Amnesiac. Drove to daycare. Wished Ivy well on her second day back. Then, it happened.
As I cranked the car, it made the strangest of noises. The “service engine soon” light had been on for a few days. This noise, in conjunction with the warning light, gave me that sinking sensation. You know, that “this is going to be expensive” feeling.
Our Camaro (long story) was drivable, but it sure sounded bad. I wondered if a muskrat had crawled into the motor. Nah. That would have been too easy.
I made it to the service station a few miles away. ”We’ll get it in as soon as we can,” the front desk clerk explained. ”Thank you,” I replied. I turned the keys over, pulled my collar up, and began walking.
A mile-and-a-half is a manageable walk. It’s just long enough for me to consider asking someone for a ride. It’s just short enough to where I don’t mind taking a 25 minute stroll. I opted for the latter.
I enjoyed the sound of cars swishing by. The short section of road without a side walk is a bit tricky. One of Greensboro’s many greenways offered a short cut home.
For the next few hours, I worked on a mix. I wondered to myself, “Is there an easier way to do this?” At that moment, to my surprise, the recording software company had just announced an update that makes everything a lot easier. What are the odds? That’s really weird.
But, not as weird as the call I got next. ”Mike, we ran the codes. Other than a faulty evap sensor, the car appears to be running fine,” the mechanic said. The technician went on to recommend that we warm up the car in the winter, as the sound could have also been related to the new power steering pump we had installed a few months ago. It was a fairly inexpensive day at the shop.
And so, I walked to pick up the car. A slightly less brisk mile-and-a-half. I listened to the three “a-list” mixes for the new album. Things are coming together well.
Right around four o’clock, after the last of the software updates downloaded, Lord Smithfield gave me a look. Our 80-pound black lab has a unique way of telling me that he’d like to go for a walk. I obliged. What’s another mile?
I slept like a baby last night.
