C Note(s)

Being a dyed-in-wool, tried and true, American, I love a road trip any time to anywhere. Unfortunately, if I'm the passenger long enough I crash out almost immediately. Urban Dictionary calls it carcolepsy. Even when one post I found claimed the following -  Carcolepsy: The Science Behind Why People Instantly Pass Out In The Car I dunno about that, but I do know why I fall asleep. Carcolepsy: My Origin Story My mother told me this story about one evening that I was having difficulty sleeping as an infant. She tried all her usual tricks such as changing my diapers, breast feeding, and rocking and singing to me. I couldn't be consoled. Or soothed back to sleep. At first she was frustrated because she couldn't get me asleep. Eventually, she grew worried when nothing could get me asleep. So she loaded me up in the Green Duster for a trip the hospital. As soon as she started the vehicle it would be when I would get carcolepsy: my origin story. I fell asleep after one bl...

So, the other day this happened. It reminded me of... Sapphire Sled and I: The Adventure Continues!  More on that later! The other day I left my girlfriend's house in Monroe a grip later than I wanted. I pressed the gas pedal down a little harder in a few areas than I usually do. Then I was fast approaching the exit I needed for northbound Highway 9 to start my work shift. As I left westbound 522 I knew it was tight right-handed cloverleaf. The caution sign rates it as 30 mph. From formal and informal racing experience, I knew the braking zone would be where I would slow down the most. I applied the brakes, but to my surprise there was a wicked bump at the beginning of the downhill right-hander. This upset the inertia of the car. It kicks out the rearend to a 35 degree to the left. No need to panic, just steer into the skid. Still coming around. Damn , I thought . I goose the gas, crank the steering wheel to the right, and yank the emergency brake to complete a 360 degree spi...

So this just happened. I was rolling home a.ka. the C & C Crash Pad after tutoring the child assigned to me for the Costco Volunteer Reading Program. After detailing the Sapphire Sled inside and outside, and placing a new Seahawks emblem on it yesterday, I was feelin' good, like the Michael Buble version. With the windows down and the sunroof open, and the music blasting out from Mark VI, I noticed a smoke plume from under the hood. My heart sank. I was no longer carkaraoke [see what I did there?] the Pentatonix song "Sing", but focused on the hood. I continued my way home. I kept the engine running as I lifted the hood. The pungent smell of cooked anti-freeze was present but I couldn't locate the source. Finally able to realize that while I'm no mechanic like Doctor Auto but I know enough that there's a leak in the radiator where all this anti-freeze should be. I logged into the Costco Travel website to locate a nearby rental car. They called...

The following is the journal excerpt from my 2006 experience of a sudden ice storm that paralyzed the Seattle area for one night... Below is the excerpt from my journal regarding my almost 20 hour (19hrs 56mins) odyssey from Costco Travel (Issaquah) to my home (Bothell) and the 26 miles that separate it... "Home, Sweet, Home" November 27th 2006 [430p] Left work to start my commute home. Since it had rained/snowed earlier I knew my traffic would be delayed. I just didn't realize what the Gods of Lunacy had in store for me... [630p] Two hours into my usual 1.5 hour, I was near  160th St  SW on I-405 NB. I sat there for 15 minutes w/ no movement. I made the fateful call to bail off the freeway and brave the surface streets to home. Now to fully appreciate the situation, you must know that accessing Bothell from the Woodinville is like connecting via Hong Kong on a Seattle-Los Angeles flight. It was dark, cold and starting to freeze the water on the r...