A Desk Job

Wednesday December 5th, 2007 - Lake Villa, IL

Lots of running around today. I got a notice from the state saying I needed an emissions check for the Mitsubishi. Why I got it now I don’t know but I did so I took it in to have it checked. I was really surprised when it flunked because that car has been a great runner. It has made me way more than I paid for it at the auction and I have put a lot of miles on it.

I took it to Arkansas and Oklahoma last week and there were no problems and I drove it about ten thousand miles before that without a hitch. I’ve flunked emissions before and the whole process is a scam if you ask me. You can’t tell me that cow farts around here aren’t worse for the environment than my little ’93 Mitsubishi but it won’t do any good to fight.

My friend John Perry who runs WIIL in Kenosha recommended a place not far from me that fixes emissions problems so I took it there. He said he would have to keep it for a day and I wasn’t thrilled with it but I know if I ignore it now I’ll get my plates suspended and I don’t need that. My car is my life blood and I left it with him and called the rental place he recommended and they came and picked me up. Better to just get this all taken care of.

The only thing available to rent was a cargo van so I took that as a sign to use it to haul some furniture that I’ve been needing for a while now. There’s a thrift store on Route 132 in Waukegan that is one of the best I’ve ever seen anywhere. I’ve been coast to coast but I have never seen a thrift store that has as consistently good merchandise at this place. They always have decent used furniture so I took the van over there to look for what I needed.

If I’m going to start my business I need a desk. Period. I like a workspace and a place to get organized. I don’t have that now and it’s driving me nuts. I have been wanting to get a desk for a while now and today was the day. They had a nice artist’s table that was easy to move and it was only $20 so I took it. There were also a few nice wooden tables to use to organize papers etc. and a solid book shelf too. They also had a nice desk chair as well.

I packed the van full of stuff and it cost me a total of $137. What a deal! I now have the furniture I need to get started in my business. I have a desk and shelves and I also bought a nice chest of drawers mini dresser too. They even matched the tables. This was all well worth the cash and I’m glad I took the van and did it. It made productive use of the day.

By the time I got all this done I didn’t have time to go home and unload the furniture. It would have cut it way too close to show time so I headed downtown to make sure I’d get there in time for the show. The van was a behemoth and I was worried about parking it on the street or even in a valet lot. The snowy weather made it even tougher but what could I do? This was what I was driving and I had no choice. I wanted to at least be there on time.

When I pulled up to the club I noticed there was a lady leaving a meter space at exactly the time I needed her to. It was a space I could fit the huge van into as well and I was just blown away by the perfect timing. Mr. Lucky doesn’t get breaks like that but today Dobie did. Or was it the King of Uranus? I have to learn to keep all these personalities separate.