It's cold out!
Oct. 31st, 2003 02:16 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
miko2Fires are raging in California and Colorado, but here in Seattle it's dropping to freezing tonight.
I tried to get gas last night at the Arco station in Auburn near where I work. I didn't have enough in the tank to get home -- it's a good 40 minute commute you know. But the problem was, all I had in my wallet was a $50 bill and a $1 bill. For some reason when I deposited my last paycheck and asked for the usual $100 cash to line my wallet, my bank gave me a 50, two 20's, and a 10 instead of the usual five 20's.
I didn't consider this a major problem until the woman at the Arco told me that they wouldn't take 50 dollar bills after 10 pm. Unless I wanted to buy $40 of stuff. Just imagine -- $40 of twinkies, pepperoni sticks, and Am/Pm hot dogs. Ack!
I mean, I know the reasons for this policy, but my god it's American currency. I feel kind of persecuted just because I work until midnight. Anyway, I dug through all of the change in my pocket and my car ash tray, and along with my $1 bill I was able to buy $3.90 of gas, which was more than enough to get home on. And then today I broke my $50 bill when I bought dinner at Sunny Teriyaki, and in return I got two of the new, colorful $20 bills. Nifty.
So as I was driving home tonight, I knew I had to get gas again (already). I considered stopping at the Arco on 85th, but decided it would be better to hit the one at 105th, on the theory that it was late at night and I was less likely to run into weirdos there. This theory was false, because the gas station was crowded with weird people, and I was immediately approached by some kid who wanted money. He mumbled something about needing to get downtown and/or renting a place to spend the night, something like that. I'm pretty hard-line about never handing out money to people like this, since I can never really know if they need it for food/shelter or really just want to buy drugs or booze.
So anyway I pumped my gas and headed to the grocery store, wondering if I really should have helped the kid out and if he really needed it. As I was paying for my groceries, I was thinking that here, at least, I wasn't likely to run into people begging for money. But when I went out to my car, a middle-aged woman approached asking for money. She said something about needing food and needing to get her kids to the shelter. I could see that she had a truck and someone was inside it, and she seemed more desperate and honest to me; I was pretty certain she needed the money for real and wasn't just looking to get high or scam me or anything. I really wanted to give her something, but all I had in my wallet at that point was a $20 and a $10. I might have handed her a five, but I didn't want to hand over $10 to some stranger. So I said I didn't have anything to spare.
As I drove away I was thinking about this, wondering why I'd been approached by two people on the same night, and then I realized, it's midnight and it's going to be at or below freezing for the first time this year. People who might normally sleep outside were now desperate to find a warm place to stay. Once I realized that, I really regretted not giving the woman at the grocery store money, because I realize she really did need help. I can only hope someone else was able to help her.
I made a "Mostly Accoustic" cd earlier this week to listen to. My !#$@#$ car stereo wouldn't play it. This is a sore point with me, because my Pioneer stereo that got stolen last year played things just fine, but the crappy Panasonic that they replaced it with (they no longer carried the Pioneer model) is finicky and often won't play cd-r's. All my other cd players have no problem, but that Panasonic car stereo is a pain in the ass.
So anyway, I was listening to my cd at work instead. One of the songs on my cd is "The Cuckoo" by Hem. This is an old bluegrass song, and the chorus goes:
Oh the cuckoo is a pretty bird
And she warbles as she flies
But she never says cuckoo
Until the Fourth day of July
I've never really thought much about these lyrics, but then I realized that another song on my cd also talks about July 4th. This song is from Nirvana's MTV Unplugged cd, and is a cover of the Meat Puppet's song "Lake of Fire":
Where do bad folks go when they die?
They don't go to Heaven where the angels flie
They go to the lake of fire and fry
Won't see them again 'till the Fourth of July
Suddenly, I realized that these two songs were trying to convey a message to me.
Imagine: You're in Seattle. It's the anniversary of the founding of our country. Seafair Pirates are roaming the streets. Ivar's crew is getting ready to light up the sky with a spectacular fireworks display.
Suddenly you hear the cry of a cuckoo, and at that moment, the dead begin to rise. Not just any dead... all the really bad people, back from their visit to Hell. Like Ted Bundy, and George Argyros. Well, except George Argyros isn't dead, he's currently the American Ambassador to Spain I think it is... but you get the general idea. Bad people, here to wreck your Fourth-of-Jul-Ivar's celebration.
It could happen.
I tried to get gas last night at the Arco station in Auburn near where I work. I didn't have enough in the tank to get home -- it's a good 40 minute commute you know. But the problem was, all I had in my wallet was a $50 bill and a $1 bill. For some reason when I deposited my last paycheck and asked for the usual $100 cash to line my wallet, my bank gave me a 50, two 20's, and a 10 instead of the usual five 20's.
I didn't consider this a major problem until the woman at the Arco told me that they wouldn't take 50 dollar bills after 10 pm. Unless I wanted to buy $40 of stuff. Just imagine -- $40 of twinkies, pepperoni sticks, and Am/Pm hot dogs. Ack!
I mean, I know the reasons for this policy, but my god it's American currency. I feel kind of persecuted just because I work until midnight. Anyway, I dug through all of the change in my pocket and my car ash tray, and along with my $1 bill I was able to buy $3.90 of gas, which was more than enough to get home on. And then today I broke my $50 bill when I bought dinner at Sunny Teriyaki, and in return I got two of the new, colorful $20 bills. Nifty.
So as I was driving home tonight, I knew I had to get gas again (already). I considered stopping at the Arco on 85th, but decided it would be better to hit the one at 105th, on the theory that it was late at night and I was less likely to run into weirdos there. This theory was false, because the gas station was crowded with weird people, and I was immediately approached by some kid who wanted money. He mumbled something about needing to get downtown and/or renting a place to spend the night, something like that. I'm pretty hard-line about never handing out money to people like this, since I can never really know if they need it for food/shelter or really just want to buy drugs or booze.
So anyway I pumped my gas and headed to the grocery store, wondering if I really should have helped the kid out and if he really needed it. As I was paying for my groceries, I was thinking that here, at least, I wasn't likely to run into people begging for money. But when I went out to my car, a middle-aged woman approached asking for money. She said something about needing food and needing to get her kids to the shelter. I could see that she had a truck and someone was inside it, and she seemed more desperate and honest to me; I was pretty certain she needed the money for real and wasn't just looking to get high or scam me or anything. I really wanted to give her something, but all I had in my wallet at that point was a $20 and a $10. I might have handed her a five, but I didn't want to hand over $10 to some stranger. So I said I didn't have anything to spare.
As I drove away I was thinking about this, wondering why I'd been approached by two people on the same night, and then I realized, it's midnight and it's going to be at or below freezing for the first time this year. People who might normally sleep outside were now desperate to find a warm place to stay. Once I realized that, I really regretted not giving the woman at the grocery store money, because I realize she really did need help. I can only hope someone else was able to help her.
I made a "Mostly Accoustic" cd earlier this week to listen to. My !#$@#$ car stereo wouldn't play it. This is a sore point with me, because my Pioneer stereo that got stolen last year played things just fine, but the crappy Panasonic that they replaced it with (they no longer carried the Pioneer model) is finicky and often won't play cd-r's. All my other cd players have no problem, but that Panasonic car stereo is a pain in the ass.
So anyway, I was listening to my cd at work instead. One of the songs on my cd is "The Cuckoo" by Hem. This is an old bluegrass song, and the chorus goes:
Oh the cuckoo is a pretty bird
And she warbles as she flies
But she never says cuckoo
Until the Fourth day of July
I've never really thought much about these lyrics, but then I realized that another song on my cd also talks about July 4th. This song is from Nirvana's MTV Unplugged cd, and is a cover of the Meat Puppet's song "Lake of Fire":
Where do bad folks go when they die?
They don't go to Heaven where the angels flie
They go to the lake of fire and fry
Won't see them again 'till the Fourth of July
Suddenly, I realized that these two songs were trying to convey a message to me.
Imagine: You're in Seattle. It's the anniversary of the founding of our country. Seafair Pirates are roaming the streets. Ivar's crew is getting ready to light up the sky with a spectacular fireworks display.
Suddenly you hear the cry of a cuckoo, and at that moment, the dead begin to rise. Not just any dead... all the really bad people, back from their visit to Hell. Like Ted Bundy, and George Argyros. Well, except George Argyros isn't dead, he's currently the American Ambassador to Spain I think it is... but you get the general idea. Bad people, here to wreck your Fourth-of-Jul-Ivar's celebration.
It could happen.
