2 weeks notice

2010 has proved to be full of intrigue, adventure and a touch of danger.... and it's only been two freaking weeks!


I'm not sure I can keep THIS pace.


I should have known when I came back to Vegas on Jan first to find my car had been impounded. I'd go into more detail but I can't... lets just say the towing company made a killing that night... at 300 bucks a pop I estimated they made over 20 grand for the 65 cars the impounded on that one day!


The second of January I came down with bronchitis. Though I suppose it must be stated that I originally got a sinus cold on November 20th, the common cold a week later, and I ended 2009 with a lingering cough. Little did I know that 2010 would take what it could get... turn a lingering cough into a nasty paralyzing cough.


It's not right that in a year like 2010 I find myself apologizing to people after a hacking coughing fit "I'm sorry, that's just the old man in my throat" I think it's the meds that convinced me that was funny.


Needless to say I spent days 3 thru 7 drugged up on a nifty cough medicine laced with codine. Doctor approved... I swear!


Day 4 was an exception though. Tuesday. I got a surprise visit from a Bosnian friend! My original plan was to drive back to Fresno on Monday and greet Enisa there on Tuesday... but as luck would have it Enisa's flight to Fresno was grounded in Vegas due to fog and I was grounded in Vegas due to a coughing attack. Now here I was welcoming her to my parents home in Vegas. This was one of those odd moments where your social circles collide. In the end I think that both my parents and Enisa were thoroughly amused.


2010 began to wind down for me on days 7 - 9 where I spent 3 wonderful days in sunny San Luis Obispo for a weekend full of Bosnian reunions, baklava and hanging out. I was driving Enisa to Cal Poly for the weekend. My dad called me when I drove into town and asked when I was going home.


I shared that it was 75 degrees and probably not till March. As I was driving back to Fresno on Sunday night through the foggy hills on the 41, I heard what sounded like a rock rattling under my hood.


It's a wonder how fast your heart rate will jump when you realize your car is breaking down, in the dark, in the fog, with NO cell reception!


Thankfully I was able to drive on just my battery to the next town over, Kettleman City. With a population of less than my high school it's a wonder I'm not still stuck there now.


You've heard the saying 'it takes a village to raise a child'. Well, it took a village to get me home.


Here's my village:


Sunday @ 7p: Car breaks down


Sunday @ 7:45: Two guys leaving the gas station use their cell as a flashlight and help identify the problem (broken belt)


Sunday @ 9: Phone calls begin: devise a plan with Rob, ensure my dad I'm not going to get kidnapped, message with Melissa, and ask Noemi to come rescue me


Sunday @ 10: Noemi meets me in lush Kettleman and stayed the night with me in the motel


Monday @ 12: Nicole and Enisa pick me up on their way to Tulare for staff meetings


Monday @ 6: The handoff begins and from there Joseph drives me and Enisa to Bakersfield, where she's continuing her tour Bob's wife, Kendra, also picks up all the parts from Bakerfield's Nissan so they are waiting for me when I arrive


Tuesday @ 10: Joseph drives me back to Kettleman and Mauricio, of course the mechanic, takes said parts and fixes my car


Tuesday @ 1: I hit the road for Fresno...


The piece de resistance was yesterday when my Fresno mechanic handed me a check for the full cost of parts and labor of my ordeal since he had just replaced that belt in November.


His words "it's just the right thing to do".


Now I really am in the twilight zone... so far this year has included being doped up in Vegas, a fickle car, a vacation in Kettleman City, an honest mechanic...and everything in between.


All I've got to say is... 2010... bring it on, this should be fun!