pay it forward

i really need to see that movie, but today i truly understood the meaning of the phrase.

i have a problem with hitting curbs when i drive; so far resulting in 2 flat tires.  today was one of those days.  i was determined to fix this flat tire on my own.  my dad got a flat tire a few month ago, and basically did all the work.  so, i thought i could do this one on my own, even though i just re-newed my AAA account last week.  whatever.

a very nice construction worker saw me getting to work and came over to help.  i responded that i wanted to do it on my own, but he could show me where the jack went.  i began pumping up the tire and my bf called me back from my "i'm doing it all myself" heytell message.  turns out, you loosen the bolts before you jack up the tire.  that was problem 1.  the bolts would no come loose.  i guess i can't do this all on my own, darn it.  so, i got the attention of the next male i saw walking through the parking lot that didn't look like he was in a hurry.  he had trouble with the bolts too, it wasn't just me, but he loosened them up for me.  the tire was jacked up, and i got the bolts all off, success.  no... now the tire wouldn't come off.  really?  so the guy that helped me with the bolts was walking around the parking lot again with a couple of co-workers, so i borrowed him again.  his buddy said kick it.  at this point 3 men and myself have swiftly kicked the tire, and no budge at all.  come on!  the bolt loosening guy came back with a mallet and finally got that sucker loose.  so we took the tire off and i screwed on the donut spare.  as i was almost finished the nice construction worked came back to check on me.  he saw me struggling a bit and wanted to make sure i was okay.  how nice is that?  he really made my day.  i wasn't feeling so annoyed or terrible about my stupid tire and poor driving skills because the nice construction worker was so thoughtful.

after all that, i needed a coffee.  i would have gotten a glass of wine if it wasn't 9:00 am.  and to top off the niceness of the day, the coffee guy complimented me on the bow in my hair.

thanks to humanity and helpfulness, this day isn't going to be so bad.