Freon, fear, a faux-pimps

Heat exhaustion took on a new meaning last night. I stripped to my boxers, collapsed on top of the sheets, and begged a higher power to knock me unconcious. Three consecutive nights in a tract-home sauna took their toll. I stopped thinking about how selfish I was being…you know, when the homeless don’t have air conditioning and the homebound don’t have money to pay for it. Just as I started feeling truly sorry for myself, I fell mercifully asleep.

This morning Screw-Job Repair guy showed up 45 minutes late but was kind enough to buy me a drink before sticking it to me. At the end (no pun intended), it didn’t cost that much. I just had a freon leak that had caused my AC compressor to overheat. A hundred twenty-five bucks and I now have chilly 59-degree air pumping out of my vents. My dog is about to be quite pleased.

Ah, the minor troubles in life. They can frustrate you so much. A leaky faucet, where I had to contact a plumber like Valley Service to get it sorted. A moldy shower curtain. An unexpected bill. They make you want to just give up and fall asleep, or in the case of the latter, it might bankrupt you. If money is tight then a broken washing machine or sudden medical bill can be the final straw, although it doesn’t have to be a problem if you can get an immediate cash advance to pay for it.

And then you stumble on something that makes you feel like a selfish oaf.

A colleague of mine wrote this. He writes for our local alternative weekly. He usually writes good investigative features and has a lot of freedom because he doesn’t fall under the major media umbrella. This week he wrote a personal story in blog form. And talk about making my problems seem small…

After you take a chance to read it, you might need something to make you smile. It’s pretty heavy. With that in mind, I offer this from my buddy Marty. I’m afraid to ask how he stumbled upon it. But as he instructed me…be sure to check out the BLING section.

Now, on to the more mundane.