| Junk the Chebby November 1, 1997 Chris Maus [RAMBLE INDEX] |
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| My Web Archive |
I guess it's about time I send out another one of these boring e-mails... It's
been so long since I've done this I can't even remember when I last wrote one of
these. If memory serves me it was prior to the death of my computer and I've
lost my past "Rambles" (I hadn't backed up my computer :-( ). So I guess I'm
starting over. I'm not even sure who I all had in the list to get this drivel.
So if your new to this and don't want to get this crap from me just let me know... If any of you still have any old "Ramblings" sitting on your computers I'd sorta like to get a copy for when I back up my computer. So where should I begin? The latest greatest event of recent times is the decision to junk the "chebby". I am now vehicle-less. (unless you want to count my roller-blades...) Junking the chebby was a challenge. I got up Monday morning and started calling junk yards. NOBODY ANSWERED THEIR PHONE! I somewhat methodically called the rounds of about 3 or 4 junk yard and finally at about 1:30 that afternoon one answered their phone. So the routine of: Is the car complete with engine transmission etc...? (yep) Did I have the title? (yep) Did I have an Illinois ID? (NOPE) Why they needed an Illinois ID was beyond me. I had the title but they would not send a tow truck to pick it up unless someone was there with one. So I said I'd get back to them when I had made arrangements to have a friend there when the tow truck arrived. There was also the issue of my car being parked in a garage with a 7 foot door and most tow trucks being too big to get into the garage... Well once I talked to a friend who would be around for the removal of the car from the garage I called them back on Tuesday morning to tell them to come and get it between 3 and 5 o'clock. Well, they didn't schedule pick ups that way. I was told to call when I was ready for them to come and get it. So I called at 3 o'clock and told them the tow truck had to be able to clear 7 feet. Well, I was told they had one truck that could do it and it was out on a run. So I told them to page me when they were ready to come and get it. I didn't hear from them that day. I called them Wednesday morning. The person I spoke to told me they didn't have a tow truck that small. So I said OK and thanks... I immediately called another junk yard and explained the situation and at least this one gave me a phone number of a towing company that had trucks that could get into the garage. He also told me he'd give me more for the car if he didn't have to tow it in. He also commented that it would cost me to get it towed in by some other company... I didn't care at this point. I was willing to pay to dispose of this car. The $50 the first place said it would give me for the car was too painful to get 3 days later. I spoke to the towing company and they said it would $105 and a half an hour. I had to ask what she meant by half an hour. She meant the truck would be there in half an hour. The next question was payments accepted for the tow, "VISA MasterCard, American Express or cash" I said, "Send the truck. I'll get the cash and wait at the entrance to the garage." I hit the ATM and bought a cup of coffee from the restaurant right next to the garage door and waited. Three cigarettes and two cups of coffee later the truck showed up. Oh, and while I was waiting the first junk yard paged me. I chose not to answer it. They blew it as far as I was concerned at this point. When the truck went down the ramp into the garage the attendants stopped him and I was told we had to push the car up to the door and tow it from there. So the driver turned around and the attendants and I pushed the car a block through the garage. It was as far away from the door as it could be and once the beast was rolling it was hard to stop. We almost crashed it through the gate. Fortunately the driver new exactly where the junk yard was because I had no clue. We dropped off the car and I got $100 from the junk yard for it. I was told not to tell anybody because they've only been giving the tow truck drivers $80 for cars like mine but since it was "my" car they gave me $100. The driver also volunteered to drop me off anywhere along his route afterward. So we proceeded to a parking lot by the county jail and court house where people always parked in a lot that was reserved. It was part of a housing project and I was impressed by how quickly he backed up to a car and got it without even getting out. I got the feeling there was a good possibility that they may have been shot at doing this because about a mile away he got out and checked the car. I asked to get dropped off at the "El" stop ahead when I spotted it. It's nice not having to pay the $150 a month for parking this month. I doubt I'll get another car until I move into a place that has off street parking (preferably indoors) as part of the apartment or condo I live in next. This week has been a bit stressful in that I also am "on the perch" (para-speak for "non-billable"). My last day at Ameritech-ACI was October 24 and I don't have another site to work at YET. When I checked in with my "TM" (Technical Manager/Task Master) on Monday afternoon he told me he was looking into sending me to Kansas City to do some "cross training" with "Tivoli". He asked if I was ready to go to Kansas City and I paused thinking of all the things I would have to do before I left and asked, "What do you mean by ‘ready'? Are you asking if I can get on a plane tonight?" ... Well my TM needed to clear a few things with people in KC first and he told me he would let me know. This was abut 4:30 that afternoon and I had given up on the junk yards for the day and he was leaving the office. So I went downstairs to my favorite watering hole to have a couple o' beers and also ask one of my friends there to help junk the car. As I'm recruiting an Illinois ID, the daytime bartender asks me if I want to play at their theatre on Wednesday nights for the month of November. I was shocked, "You mean a gig? Yeah sure but I may get sent to Kansas City for work..." I've been anxiously awaiting word on where I'll be working next and I left a message for my TM on Tuesday telling him I wanted to stay in Chicago so I could play at "The Corn Palace" on Wednesday nights... I finally heard from him Friday morning and the KC thing fell through but he also told me the Minneapolis office was interested in maybe bringing me to town to work on a Tivoli project there... Hmmm, I still feel a bit up in the air about where I am going to be but I made the commitment to play on Wednesday November 5. It's motivating me to learn some "new to me" songs and practice the ones I've forgotten. I've also checked out my gear and it seems to be working just fine so I'm ready. For the Chicago folks that get this and want to check it out let me know. I still don't know when the show is suppose to start and I'll get all the gory details out as soon as I know them. As far as "The Corn Palace" goes... It is the new space for "Corn Productions" which, according to the program I got from their show Thursday night: ... "... is a not for profit theatre group dedicated to providing reasonably priced entertainment while encouraging growth of emerging talents in the fields of music, theatre and art. (also to help Patrick get laid.) ... " Until next time, |
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