“WHOSE STREETS? OUR STREETS!”
7 minute read
June 8, 2004, 2:04 AM
It’s been a few days since I last posted, and so I thought I’d fill you in on what’s happened in my life.
Biggest event was on June 5, where I attended an International ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) protest in Washington DC. That was FUN. We went from Lafayette Park in front of the White House to Donald Rumsfeld’s house at 2206 Kalorama Road NW. To get there we left Lafayette Park and took H Street to 14th Street. From there we went several blocks up to U Street, where we caught Florida Avenue to Connecticut Avenue, and finally to Kalorama Road.
I ended up connecting with a group of relative strangers from Chicago who drove a long way to come to this event. It was a very diverse group, too. One of the women had their hair colored purple. Another carried a bucket being used as a makeshift drum. Another was dressed for the weather (cool and wet) and were ready to follow the protest. The two men in the group appeared to be my age or slightly older, and were dressed for a Black Bloc, wearing all black and masks over their faces. Considering that I came to the protest alone, I was very pleased about how well this group from Chicago that I never met before and will probably never meet again accepted and welcomed me into their group. Very friendly folks. Me from two hours away, and them from half a continent away.
Chants at this protest ranged from “Occupation is a crime from Iraq to Palestine”, “Ain’t no power like the power of the people ’cause the power of the people won’t stop!”, chants about Mumia Al-Jamal (Free Mumia), “Whose streets? Our streets!” and others I can’t remember off the top of my head.
Continue reading…Categories: Anti-war, Black bloc, DC trips, Toyota Previa, Washington DC
“Arlington Cemetery station is closed! Please get back onto the train and go to the next station!”
9 minute read
May 31, 2004, 9:36 PM
Well… my birthday trip to Washington DC that I took a day early (my birthday is the 30th, and I went on the 29th) went very well. A friend of mine actually put it this way…
Um, do you realize what is going on in DC this weekend? I’d leave Transit Deprived Town in the Middle of Nowhere, VA now if you want parking at Vienna come Saturday morning.
I do not take offense to “Transit Deprived Town in Middle of Nowhere, VA”. I am both transit-deprived locally, and also in the middle of nowhere. And Staunton’s trolley-bus system, the closest thing to transit around here, doesn’t even follow a schedule, but rather, they just say that they run a 20-minute loop, and so a trolley-bus should be there about every 20 minutes or so when service is running. They do call their two services “Green Line” and “Red Line”, which amuses me, though.
But anyway, though, the main concern in the comment was that DC was supposed to be swamped with tourists for the World War II Memorial dedication, which I was already aware about. The concern, of course, was that I would not be able to get parking at Vienna. Hadn’t planned for that, but after thinking about it, I determined that if I didn’t get parking at Vienna, I would head over to Franconia-Springfield on the Blue Line and park over there.
Categories: DC trips, Television, Toyota Previa, Walmart, Washington DC
I have my car again…
< 1 minute read
May 18, 2004, 9:40 PM
My car is back! And my, does it brake wonderfully now that all of the brake pads are back on it. And I also found out about the air conditioning situation. I would be hard pressed to find a shop that would service my car with its existing refrigerant, which is some sort of freon. But to convert me to the new kind of refrigerant would only cost $150, and return cold air to my Previa. Which would be nice.
And tomorrow, it’s off to Lake Moomaw…
Categories: Toyota Previa
Tomorrow, my own personal hell will be over…
2 minute read
May 17, 2004, 10:44 PM
In case you’re wondering, since Saturday, I have been without my Previa after a brake pad fell off in the driveway. As a result, I have been without wheels, and have had to bum rides from the family to and from work. It SUCKS. See, my parents are using it as an excuse to bring up all the unpleasant topics they would like to bring up all the time, but can’t because I can leave. Now that I’m a captive audience, they used it as an opportunity to bring them up. Makes for a very long drive to Wal-Mart.
It’s best exemplified by this trip home from Wal-Mart, as said by Mom in the car: “So when are you going to lose some weight?”
Realize I’m not a fan of questions about weight in the first place, and I especially don’t give any weight to comments about it from Mom, since she seems to be obsessed with everything that goes into everyone’s bodies, and is obsessed with the appearance of everyone’s bodies.
These rides could be quite painless, and we could talk about fun things like my Web site, or Metro, or about whatever, but instead my parents bring up all the unpleasant topics. Not fun.
Categories: Family, Toyota Previa, Walmart
Twelve hours at work…
2 minute read
May 4, 2004, 12:56 AM
This is what happens when we don’t have enough help at the Service Desk. So I worked extra beyond my regular shift to cover the Service Desk. And I did pretty darn well, too. Sometimes on a regular day, I get fatigued in the last couple of hours. On days when lunch doesn’t agree, I get fatigued soon after lunch. This, by the way, led to my no-rich-foods-for-lunch rule, which came about after I ate some of the very rich (and very expensive) “Cherry Cheese Delight” that we sell at the Deli proceeded to not agree with me, and wrecked the entire second half of my day.
Still, today I was going like gangbusters from 11:00 AM when I came into work, through my hour-long lunch break where I had a hoagie and some fruit, and right on through to 11:00 PM when I finally was able to get the heck out of my little Service Desk cave.
And just think… I’ve made it through however many days I was scheduled for, and now I’ve made it to my two days off! And what am I going to do for these days off? Gooooooooooood question! I know that I’m going to spend at least a little time on the phone, trying to find a good price for a garage to put new brake pads on the Previa. Additionally, I need to also find someone who can look at my car’s air conditioner and tell me what’s wrong with it. Since trust me… no air conditioning during the warmer months is HELL. And considering that the air conditioning was weak in 2002 and non-existent in 2003, I have a feeling it may just need a “recharge”. Of course, it might just be more than that, which means it can get quite pricey.
Categories: Food and drink, Retail, Toyota Previa, Walmart
Three days, three different sets of license plates
< 1 minute read
April 21, 2004, 9:56 PM
I think that the Previa is going through a bit of an identity crisis lately. As you know, the Previa is now mine, and I’ve also mentioned how I had to wait to put the temporary plates on the car, since they were cardboard, and it was raining cats and dogs outside.
So anyway, yesterday, the weather was nice enough to change the license plates. So I unscrewed the screws on my old leaves-style “CITY PLZ” plates (it stood for “City Please”, a holdover from my directory assistance days), and removed them. I preserved one plate, scrubbing it clean with the dish sponge and some dishwashing liquid. It now is on the bulletin board in my room as a memento.
So after pulling off my old plates, I put on the cardboard temporary plates. And that was it for last night. I might as well have procrastinated a little longer, as you will see…
So fast forward to today. I get the mail, and what’s in the mail? My real plates! Say hello to “SCHMNWB” on my car now. Plus I have some very cool plate frames, with my Schumin Web logo on top, and my URL in red on bottom. I custom-designed it for myself.
So anyway, honk if you see me driving around.
Categories: Toyota Previa
The van is MINE!
< 1 minute read
April 13, 2004, 4:18 AM
It is official! The van is now MINE and MINE ONLY! So now to just figure out when to start cleaning it up/out. Since now that it’s mine, I need to take some serious ownership in it. I also need to put the new temporary license plates on it, and take off the old ones.
Yes, temporary plates. I actually have “multi-use” tags right now that are made of cardboard that DMV issued me. I have yet to put them on, since I’m waiting for either time in the garage, or some nicer weather. Either way, since these are cardboard, I don’t want to mess ’em up putting them on the car while it’s all soggy. Thus to give them a fighting chance of survival until my real license plates come in (customized, as always), I’ll put them on while the car is dry.
Then once the new plates come in after a few weeks, off with the cardboard tags, and on with the new! And also by then, my new license plate frames should have arrived, which will make it all just look really smooth.
So that’s the highlight of my day yesterday, making the car mine in title, and ordering my new license plates.
And next up? Another DC trip. I enjoy those.
Categories: Toyota Previa
What a busy day it was today…
2 minute read
April 8, 2004, 11:13 PM
Somehow, people can smell when there’s only one of us on the Service Desk, and so as soon as it’s only me on there while the other person goes to break or something, everyone and their mother decides to come to the Service Desk with a return, a list of a bazillion money orders, and a few MoneyGrams. And of course let’s not forget people cashing payroll checks, too. Lots of stuff.
Meanwhile, as plans currently stand, the van will be MINE by Monday! That’s right, MINE! No longer will it be my parents’ car that they let me use. Now I will own it outright.
I’m talking this car:
Categories: Toyota Previa, Walmart
You do not know what two days off will do for you…
< 1 minute read
December 30, 2003, 11:03 AM
After having two days off from Wal-Mart, I am now officially ready to go once again, ready to take whatever the customers are willing to throw at me. Especially since Monday was basically a sleep day, where I basically slept for most of the day. A much-needed day of R&R, especially after a great photo day in Roanoke on my other off-day.
My car’s also ready to go, too, as we replaced a burned-out headlight that was discovered on the way home from Sunday’s Roanoke trip. Quite the longevity, too, when you think about it. My father and I discussed it while replacing it, and realized that on this 1991 Toyota Previa, which we bought in July 1990, we were actually replacing the original bulb. That’s thirteen years with that same bulb, believe it or not. The other headlight’s bulb was not original, having been put in during repairs after we hit a deer in 1994.
Categories: Myself, Toyota Previa
Fixed!
< 1 minute read
November 3, 2003, 12:22 PM
Well, my car’s exhaust problem is fixed. Basically, my car was running very loudly for the last few months, since, as we found out, the “flex pipe” was shot. I have no idea what that is, but I need one in good condition to pass my inspection.
It was very strange to drive the car after it was fixed, since now there’s no roar when I accelerate. It’s quiet!
Categories: Toyota Previa
Rear-ended!
< 1 minute read
September 4, 2003, 11:27 AM
What a way to start the day… I’m sitting at a light on Route 608 on my way up to JMU, when all of a sudden, I’m hit! Nothing major – just a minor fender-bender, and no one was hurt, and it wasn’t my fault. But my rear bumper now sags a little on the passenger side due to being knocked loose by the collision. That will probably end up having to be reattached or replaced. And that was the only damage, too. And I still made it to Harrisonburg, though I ended up getting there considerably late.
I also think it’s somewhat ironic… I have that “I need a car” quote up on the site beyond when I intended to change it, and I end up having an accident. Even more ironic is the fact that in 1997 I did my site up with a whole “Great American Road” theme, and the week of its debut, I got into a real doozie of an accident. No injuries, but the car was out of service for a month. I don’t know… maybe automotive features on my site are bad luck.
Categories: Toyota Previa
Flat!
< 1 minute read
August 15, 2003, 8:26 PM
Flat tire… loads of fun, indeed. I still made it to the office on time, though, since I did it two blocks away from the Office on Youth. What happened is I took a right turn off of Johnson Street onto New Street too sharply, and ran the back right tire into the curb in such a way to make it split. The car was able to limp the two blocks to the parking lot, and then I changed the tire during my lunch, and so I’ve got the (filthy) spare tire on there right now. Tomorrow, Dad and I are going out to get a replacement tire at Eavers Tire in Stuarts Draft.
This should teach me not to overcompensate when making right turns. I’ve occasionally ridden up on curbs before while making right turns, but never to the extent of destroying the tire.
This also ought to learn me (excuse the poor grammar) to occasionally clean the wheels, because I got years’ worth of track dust on my hands. Even though I didn’t get any on my clothes, still, good thing I was wearing all-black today, because it wouldn’t have shown.
Categories: Toyota Previa