I ran 2 miles this morning and then went for an 8 mile bike ride. It felt great. When I got home, I had some leftover gazpacho for breakfast. Gazpacho is a Spanish, tomato-based soup that is served cold. We had it as a side dish last night and, I’ll tell ya, it is SO refreshing (especially in this heat). The day was shaping up to be pretty great. I planned to visit two accounts that both had emergencies come up. My original plan had me driving for about 8 hours today, so I was pleased as pie when I found out that I needed to go to these two, closer accounts. When I got home, I was going to do laundry and clean out my drawer of athletic clothing.
Plans are made to be broken…
I headed out to Malakoff, TX which is about a 1.5 hour drive from Arlington…or it should be. Somehow, my GPS had me go the back route and it took 2.5 hours. Once I got to the dealership, I found that the people who owned it had done nothing that we asked them to do with their leftover inventory and, essentially, the whole trip was a waste of my time. I did end up staying there for about an hour just talking to the owner. She had a very sad story and you could just tell that she wanted to share it with someone. I listened and it was a good reminder (especially on days like today) that I really have nothing to complain about.
Well, I hit the road and got about 30 minutes toward Mesquite (my next stop) and a light came on in my dash. It said “Left Front Tire Pressure is low.” I pulled off the highway and checked the tire…nothing, but I did hear this hissing noise. I checked the right front tire, the left back tire and when I got to the right back tire, it was flat as a pancake. I sighed. I still had an hour to go. I filled it up with air and got back on the road. I watched the dash as the pressure dropped from 44 to 40 in 2 minutes. It dropped and dropped until I had to pull off again. I ended up filling up that damn tire 4 times before I got home and the places that I had to stop will never be featured on lifestyles of the rich and famous.
At one point, was coming into East Dallas. My pressure had dropped to 23 PSI. I needed air badly. I pulled off on Bexar and almost started crying right then. This is the worst possible part of Dallas. I mean, it’s BAD. I had no other choice. I made my way to a gas station, off of Malcolm X blvd (lovely), and pumped air into the tires as inconspicuously as I could. I took my phone and my wallet out of the car as I filled up the tire so, in case someone wanted to just take the car, I would at least have my phone. It was easily the low point of my day.
Somehow, I made it all the way back to Discount Tire in Arlington. I ended up getting all new tires ($515). Thank GOD it’s a company car. The tops of my feet are burnt from me kneeling down on the pavement so many times, I have more grease and dirt under my fingernails than the guy who changed my tires and I haven’t even eaten lunch. I’m exhausted. This day won. I lost. Better luck tomorrow.
Again, this is nothing compared to the story I heard to today. I am truly blessed and thankful for what I have.
Blessings.