I started my day with a wispy tank on my motorcycle. It died about 3 minutes before my school. I dropped it off at the grocery store and left the helmet to do watch. Walking with my usual ache (esp. since i was wearing my fancy SIDI boots) to the next gas station, i thought to myself... it's a nice morning - sux that i will spend it running an errand for my bike.

I figgred the dry days had evaporated my reserve tank, because as soon as i heard that famous sputter, i switched it expecting that glorious growl to come back only to hear another sputter. Few things suck more than that sound twice in a 2 minute span.

The whole time, i kept looking to see a car i might recognize.

Nada. Nobody i knew. Not at 66 mph. Even as i closed in toward the gas station, i realized i recognized no one. The hungover rednecks looked at me with a longing that can only be described as a thoughtful, "i bet she has a job."

I got to the gas station - unattractive bald fat guy behind the counter tells me he has nothing for me to put gas in - mech shop opens in half hour he tells me. I'm thinking how long it would take him to bake in a zero-gravity suit very close to the sun. I blink. I say, that's OK - i'll grab one of your plastic big gulps and a red bull. He charged me an extra 2.50 for the cup. I imagined him without the suit very, VERY close to the sun.

I walked outside and as the high octane poured over the cup and all over my hands, i glanced up and saw what appeared to be an angelic looking older woman. I picked up my mountain dew/pee cup/saviour gasoline and limped over to her and said, "Excuse me, i'm a school counselor at the nearby elementary school - would you mind please giving me a lift as i've left my bike only a half mile up?"

"Uh.....my daughter's late and i have to go to her."

Next line: "i'm late and i need to go in the other direction."

I refuse to ask any of these men for a lift. I'll walk in the desert sun with my eyelids tied to an acid-induced camel before i'll ask one of these men. They smell my isolation and it's disconcerting and it's starting to really PISS ME OFF.

i walk. and i walk. and i walk. by the time i get to my bike the assistant principal is sitting near my bike in her car. She tells me she saw me walking along the road near my car. I'm thinking: no suit no suit no suit near the sun for YOU EITHER!

But i can't do that, she's there, she's waiting for me to take the big gulp and the cheap paper funnel and put my 2 dollars worth of high octane into the tank. I start putting on my left glove and i look over at her and say, "go on, i can get there from here."

I just wanted to be alone for a minute to figger out if this was a bad morning or not. Basically, no, but there were too many ppl i wanted to see suitless near the sun at this juncture.

Did i mention how bad everything else is? Nah. *i won't mention the 2 bee stings i acquired last month whilst riding....*

I made it to work and i'm still alive.