The Meter’s Running

For anyone who actually reads my weblogs, I want to apologize for yesterday’s. Truth be told, it was lame. I painted a standard picturesque scene of Any College, USA, and threw in a notable mountain. I’m sure much more elegantly spoken people have written about how pleasant Seattle is before me. Perhaps how the mountainous skyline seamlessly thread tree line to Seattle skyline to sea lions… Who cares? It’s nice. And even worse, I threw in some sympathy-seeking, “I’m not feeling well *cough cough*” sentiment with some sentimental garble about going home. Sure, I felt crappy, but I was more concerned about getting on the road to get to the popular Butte (pronounced “booty,” I believe), Montana, before it got too late.

Although I think UW was beautiful, I honestly had the most difficult time getting my rides in here. On day one, I’m ashamed to write, I only got 6 of my 10 rides in. That’s 60%. That’s a D minus! I failed. And from that day on (yes, day uno), I never quite got into a groove. I was hesitant. I doubted myself. I couldn’t stare people in the eyes and will them to take a ride. I found myself degraded: whoring out my free t-shirts to students only interested in using me for a “new workout shirt.” Oh, and they took all my good sizes; leaving me with only the XLs; forcing me to give actual participants t-shirts better suited for table clothes. (This isn’t a knock on anyone who wears XL. I wish I did, because then I would feel more American. Vote.)

Anyhow, I had to make it up for day one. I got all my rides. I would just get a couple more each day. I had all week to do so, but, still, I had a tough time. Then I got sick.

I ended up meeting my ride quota for the rest of the week, each day barely getting in that last ride before it became too dark. I even got in 11 a few times, but I still never achieved my objective of 70 rides (which simply results in better odds for everyone who did go for a ride).

On the tenth ride of my last day, about my 205^th ride, when I dropped off my “last” student at her dorm, I was flooded with a muddle of mixed emotions. Relief: I had gotten in my tenth and final ride! Excitement: I was done! But was I? Uncertainty: Am I done? Should I try to get in another make-up ride? Is there enough daylight to get one? Should I have used my extra daylight saving’s hour to get in rides instead of sleep? (Nahh.) Dread: I’m now, once again… unemployed! (Well, once I arrive back in Michigan, go figure.) Grateful: I had a great time. This was an awesome experience. I would do it again. And I’m truly excited to see what’s going to happen next.

I’ll just take the end on this blog to remind everyone to vote. This is likely the first time you’ve been told this. But it’s important. Yes, even your vote makes a difference. Because of your vote, for the next four years, students will be driving around in a ’09 Aveo5. Actually, even longer than the next four years! These vehicles are built to last. You can even register the day of! I even heard that—today only—if you tell Starbucks that you plan on voting for your favorite Aveo5 College Cab vid, they’ll give you a cup of my favorite Joe: “Joe the coffee.” And, as everyone knows, the Electoral College (you have six to chose from!) vote is the one that matters, not the popular (most viewed) vote.

I’m now off on another 9 hour trip to Bismarck, North Dakota. I heard their pancake mix is delicious.