Monday 14 July 2003

All told, my recovery from my broken heart was off to a good start. My students kept me happy, Cathy and I found places to climb rocks on the way between her house and mine... hell, I even dated a little in April and May. (It didn't turn out to be very long-lasting... over the time we were seeing each other, she spent more and more time with another guy from her workplace... she eventually preferred his company to mine.) In general, though, things were indeed off to a fairly good start. However, there were a couple setbacks that kept the 2000-2001 school year from being perfect.

Setback Number One: Automotive Difficulties. By the time that first school year started, my car was on its last legs. In November, not wanting to use it to pick up Catherine for a placement weekend, I rented a car. It was nice having something reliable for a change. I did it again in December, but my car wouldn't start in their parking lot, and I kept the rental for a couple extra days until I could arrange a ride home. I rented again from them over Christmas. Upon my return from Canada, I headed from the airport in Minneapolis to the car rental agency and found my car had been towed. (It had been in their lot for three weeks.) No loss, the damned thing didn't run, anyway.

Over the next month, I was getting rides into work from a fellow teacher, and she'd often give me rides home as well. In February I bought an Audi from another teacher, and it ran great for about a month... then making the turn home over lunch one day I tried shifting into second, and nothing... then first... and nothing.... I stopped and tried reverse... nothing. The engine ran fine, but the car wouldn't shift into any gear. I got a cab back in time to teach my next class, but with three months in the school year to go, I had no working vehicle.

So for three months, I'd ride into work with one teacher, and caught rides home when I could. However, I stayed at school a lot later than most teachers headed in my direction toward home... there were Algebra Parties to run, weekly tutoring sessions, and so on. Several times I'd start walking, and a student or a parent would see me on the sidewalk and offer me a lift. It was so easy. I'd still rent a car on weekends when I had to get Cathy, but for the time being it was working out.

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