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September 18, 2004Don't shoot people on the freeway, okay?
Somebody got shot and thrown out of a car yesterday evening on the 60 East, which led to the freeway being completely shut down. I was on the 60 East when this happened, and a drive from Venice to Riverside that should have taken me two hours (for that time of day) turned into a 4.5-hour epic that included my car overheating, me worrying constantly that my ex-girlfriend's cat (which I was driving back to Riverside for a week of cat-sitting) would die of heatstroke and/or fright, and an hour-long break from the traffic that the cat and I took in an El Pollo Loco/Foster's Freeze right off the freeway at the Nogales Avenue off-ramp.
There's no way I could have known the 60 would be shut down, and having the cat in the car with me was just the luck of the draw, but the issue of my car overheating seemed entirely unnecessary. Considering that I laid down $1,500 on repairs a mere eleven days ago--including all sorts of repairs to the thermostat, cooling system, pumps, etc.--I was not terribly pleased by this.
When I finally got home--thanks for the alternate directions, Missy--my friend Jenny was kind enough to come over and help me wash the cat, who had wet herself during her almost five hours in the carrier. Considering how long she was in there, and how frightened and uncomfortable she was, I don't blame her at all. I was just about ready to wet myself if the evening got any worse.
The upside to all of this is that my simple soft-serve vanilla cone at El Pollo Foster's last night was the best ice cream I've ever had. I think I was pretty close to heat exhaustion at that point. I'd had the heater on full-blast for about an hour, trying to keep the car from dying on the freeway. My face and fingers were tingling as I stumbled into the restaurant, cat carrier in hand, but that one ice cream cone (and huge cup of ice-cold water) set me right again. Man, when you need ice cream, nothing beats it.
Posted by patrick at September 18, 2004 02:47 PM
Commentsbathing a cat is always so much fun. i used to have to lock mine in the stand up-shower and wear rubber boots and gloves to accomplish that task.
you can buy these "cat-wipes" now at pet stores that are like baby wipes or those personal cleansing towels you get at the hospital if you can't bathe. much easier, although probably not quite at thorough.
glad to hear you're ok. :)
you overheated over the weekend, and i froze. i went hiking/camping/raving in yosemite at 8000 ft. and it snowed on us sat. night thru sunday when we left. a tent in the snow is *hardcore*...especially when you don't pack expecting snow!
Posted by: Jennifer Stetson at September 20, 2004 11:54 AM
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