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blubirde


Chanel

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My first tire changing experience...
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So Sunday was interesting. I had to change my first flat tire. It was pretty awesome. My friend S was following me and we were going to drop her car off at my house and meet the crew for the movie we're destined never to see. I'm stopped at a light when I hear this loud popping sound (more of a banging really) and then this swooooossssssssssshhhhhhh. Oh wait, there was definite some 'i' sounds in there. swiiiiiissssoooosssshhhhh. Yeah, that's about right.


I wonder to myself - first, was that the cd I'm listening to? I quickly realize the Burden Brothers don't have such sound effects in their songs (thank god). The second thought I have is: did Seton (the nearby hospital) just explode? I look over my shoulder and realize that something pretty big would have had to happen for me to have heard it so clearly, and since there's no debris or anything, it's probably not that. The next thing that enters my brain is the realization that the rear right side of my car seems lower than the rest. I could have been imagining it but turns out I wasn't.


I pull over in a parking lot and S pulls in right beside me. She asks me what's wrong (a needless question if you ask me) and I point at my tire, which by now is as flat as Paris Hilton's chest. S stares at me, a bit perplexed, and says, "Who are you going to call?" Teehee. Me? Call someone when I can do it myself? I think not. I quickly inform her that we're women and we can change a tire by ourselves without the help of some silly man. S looked at me a moment more, kind of just sagged, and proceeded to inform me, in a most pitiful voice, "But... it's hoooottt."


I ignore S, as you do when one is pointing out the completely obvious, and get out the owner's manual from the glove compartment. It's also at this point that I realize how completely filled with crap my car is, but I suppose that's another story. We read the instructions on how to remove the spare tire. (Okay, I will admit I needed S's help to get the spare tire out of the trunk. It was heavy!)


We pull out random other metal things that look fairly useful. All in all, a good start. I spread everything out on the ground behind my car so we can examine all the pieces and tools and such. (At this point I have ordered S to sit in my car with the door open so 1) she won't complain and 2) she can read the directions to me.) I'm removing the gray turny things on the rim thing (and just because I don't know the exact words for them doesn't mean I don't know what they are and what they do).


Lo and behold, some very generous soul stops and asks me, "Would you be terribly offended if I asked you if you needed help here?" I, being the strong and independent woman I am, and more importantly, being the intelligent woman I am, inform him that not only would I not be offended, I would be happy if he asked. So he asked. And we gratefully accepted his help.


Now we could have done everything he did - it was all in the manual but I have to admit, being the first tire I was attempting to change, it would have taken me a TON longer than it took him. And I'd like to add that the owner's manual is terribly unclear when it comes to putting the jack underneath the car. I only just learned yesterday that a flange is pronounced with a short 'a' and not actually like range. Who knew?


Things to take from this experience:
1.  I CAN change a tire.
2.  I do not want to change a tire.
3.  If someone offers to help me change said tire, I am more than smart enough to accept.
4.  The correction pronounciation of "flange."
5.  The gods do not want me to see The Wedding Crashers. I'm taking it as a sign to skip it.
6.  I earned some good karma somewhere.
7.  I need to expend some positive energy to repay the fates for the automobile benevolence.


But here was a bit of bad luck: the donut was flat. How does that happen? But on the up side, the gas station guy gave us free air. Nice, huh? 'Cause I didn't have fifty cents. ; )


Just thought I'd share my experience with you ladies. Anyone else have similar experiences with their cars?



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crystal


Kate Spade

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wow, u go girl!  so was the guy cute?  did u give him anything or do anything for him for his time?  see, i never know what to do in cases like that.  the one time this guy helped me push my car he actually needed directions so i felt like it was a (somewhat) even trade.  i've been on the other end tho... once getting off the freeway there was a minivan stalled & completely blocking the offramp's right lane.  i went around but when i passed by i saw an old woman in the car so me & my cousin pulled over, hopped out & helped her push the car out of the way.  we also called AAA for her cuz she didn't have a cell phone.  she was so sweet & i didn't feel like she needed to repay me or anything... in fact, i felt like my reward was how good i felt by helping someone else!  i would stop more often (i've stopped for a pregnant lady before, but she had a cell phone & didn't need help) but even stopping for chicks isn't that safe.  my dad stops for EVERYONE tho!  anyways, congrats on *almost* changing a tire!  at least u know exactly what to do next time!!  (oh & btw, when i read "flange" i read it with a short "a"... i'm a natural, eh? )

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ejc423


Coach

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You made me laugh out loud.  If you decide to quit law (or just supplement), you could totally have a job as a columnist.

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blubirde


Chanel

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Posts: 4845
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ejc423 wrote:
You made me laugh out loud.  If you decide to quit law (or just supplement), you could totally have a job as a columnist.


I wish! Wouldn't I love to write fun and amusing stories for public consumption instead of putting bad guys in jail? Oh yes, I would.

Crystal - I didn't even get his name! Can you believe it? I'm such a spaz. I was so worried about getting air in my stupid donut tire that I completely forgot to get his name and/or contact information so I could buy him a drink or send him a thank-you note or something. I'm so ashamed! I'm thinking of putting a "shot in the dark" type ad in the local paper and see if I can at least get some contact info so I can send him a thank-you note. And no, he wasn't terribly cute. Not ugly or anything, just a little older than I like my men (maybe mid to late-30s). Man I suck!

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laken1


Hermes

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Posts: 5600
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Hysterical!!!! I must say, when the guy came up & asked if you need help, I thought you'd say no - I'm so glad you didn't!!!!!

The one time I had a flat tire I was moving - talk about having a lot of crap in your trunk!! So we had to unload my trunk just to get to my spare. I was also in the middle of bum f**k Texas country where there wasn't even a remote chance of finding a place that sells tires for Acuras on Sunday (donut only takes you 60 miles & as you know that's not real far in Texas). So we ended up putting the wrong size tire on it to get me to Dallas - what a nightmare. My husband - then boyfriend - was in a u-haul in front of me so I really didn't have to do anything, thank goodness!!!

You rock, blubirde! and I agree, you could completely write a column - you should send that out as a tester.


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gruiz


Kenneth Cole

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I think every woman should change a tire once in her life. After that, I find it's just as empowering to call AAA. Isn't that what I pay them for?

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