The Streets Of Seattle

Snoozed for an extra twenty minutes this morning, knowing that my boss would be at a doctor's appointment and wouldn't notice my late arrival (don't say anything...). So I was feeling a little better-rested and more leisurely than average, as I left for the next express bus downtown.

On my way out of the apartment's parking lot, through the alley, I saw a $20 bill, face up right in the middle of the pavement, plastered to the ground in the rain. I peeled it up, soggily--yes, it was a $20 bill all right. And nearby...a $10 bill, also wet and stuck to the ground. I looked around--is this some sort of trick? Somebody laying in wait for me? No...but I did spy a stack of more $20 bills. The streets of Seattle were paved with cash!

Total take: $150, in wet, gritty bills. I checked the area as thoroughly as I could, since I didn't want to miss my bus (it was the last express bus of the morning), but it seems like you can only lose so much in one rainy day, so there was nothing more for me to find. Too bad--both for me, and for the poor bastard who lost all this, now literally poorer for it. I'd put up a sign near the alley entrance, asking if anyone lost any money recently...but I just watched NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN a few nights ago. Object lesson: don't try to do the right thing about found money.

Now I'm feeling extravagant. Was going to Tat's for a cheesesteak at lunch, seeing if anyone would want to go with me...but I splurged on a breakfast sandwich (ham and egg on ciabatta, no cheese, from Specialty Bakery downstairs), so another sandwich would be redundant. I try not to eat the same thing within a two-day period, like to keep my diet varied. Last night I had pasta, linguine al bachelor, so that rules out pad thai or udon noodles today. And for dinner I'm making garlic rice and baked pork ribs, so I don't want fried rice from any of the oriental options here in the International District. Maybe I'll just get a big ol' order of pot stickers from Hing Loon. I don't know. At the moment, I'm not feeling hungry. I am feeling bountiful, though.

Near-Death Experience, April '09

The Universe made another in a long series of half-assed attempts on my life yesterday, further reinforcing my notion that it won't say "Natural causes" in that blank on the death certificate. And as usual, I didn't see this one coming.

I was driving down to Tacoma to see my mother for Sunday dinner and to do her taxes. I-5 southbound was fairly open, with good weather and no trouble in sight, so I was doing about 55. I was just about at the Convention Center when I felt/heard a CHUNK! but didn't know what hit me. Then I noticed in the rearview mirror that the back windshield had shattered (but not fallen in). Our first day of springtime sunshine worked against me, as the bright light caught on all the cracks in the glass, making it blindingly bright. So I had no rear vision.

I managed to exit just past the brewery (what're they calling the brewery now? The roastery, or just The Old Brewery?), turn around and head back to the apartment. Late in the afternoon on a Sunday is no time to be calling around for deals on autoglass. I'm sure I could get one of these 24-hour autoglass repair places to do it, if I had a budget for that sort of thing. No, I don't have comprehensive insurance on this car: I paid $500 for it at an impound auction a few years ago, and it has a bluebook value of zero. So that leaves me to pay this out of pocket. I'm looking to get a used windshield at a wrecking yard, then have it installed. Got a line on a windshield out in south Seattle, for $50, but I'd have to pull it myself. I'll look at my own vehicle tonight, see if that's something I can pull off (no pun intended, now or ever).

Just what the hell hit me I don't know: there was nothing at the site of the impact on the glass, I'm thinking it was something heavy that fell/was dropped from one of the overpasses. When I think about it, had I been travelling any slower, if would've landed sooner and taken out my front windshield, and quite possibly me with it. Even if it didn't kill me instantly, it would still mean a shattered windshield when I was driving 55 or 60 right past all those downtown exits. I almost certainly would've wrecked, maybe taking out one or two other vehicles as well. Not a pleasant thought. Moments like this I try to think of myself as lucky (though annoyed).