This was a very eventful day. It really started last night when Mechanic and I went to Michael's new apartment for the night. Mechanic was scheduled to leave the SeaTac airport at 7:00 am and was advised to be at the airport two hours early. Michael's place is a lot closer to the airport so we stayed there.

Mechanic had a round-trip airline ticket in hand for a vacation in Ohio to meet one of his online friends and to visit relatives while back east. Since he's never been that far east, this is going to be quite an adventure for him. In a way it's kind of ironic that he's going to that state because that is where Rex lives, and he and I have wanted to see each other again.

So early this morning we woke up... well, Mechanic only slept about 15 minutes out of nervous energy. He had garlic-seasoned scrambled eggs and mushrooms ready and waiting, which Michael thought was just about the most evil idea someone could have at 4:30 in the morning. However, when I wake up each day I am hungry for breakfast so I thought it was a fantastic idea.

We dropped Mechanic off at the curb-side check-in and gave him goodbye hugs. My heart was torn in about a million pieces, a little out of worry, a little from knowing how much I would miss him. However, I knew this was going to be a wonderful trip for him and I wished him a safe flight.

Michael and I returned to his place and went promptly back to sleep. When I woke up a few hours later, he was still asleep, so I tried to work on some outlines for my upcoming novel writing next month. Michael woke up and scared me good, silently walking into the living room and then saying something loud with the intention of making me jump. He was not disappointed.

We spent a pleasant few hours in each other's company while I finished my laundry and drew some pictures. Then I packed up and headed out. He had a date that night and I wished him well.

Going home, I took the Seneca Street exit as usual but promptly got caught in a traffic jam between 5th and 6th Avenues due to a protest march. It seemed like this parade went on forever, with floats, signs and people chanting against Bush taking us into war. Most other vehicles turned off their engines so I did, too.

When the police motorcycle escort brought up the rear of the march, people started turning on their engines and I tried to as well. The keyword there is "tried." Nothing happened. It just went rrr-rrrr. I knew the battery was dead. Cars were moving around me and I was terrified of being caught in the middle of this extremely busy street.

I tried to wave down a police officer and when one finally stopped, I asked if he would help me. He said he could not because he was assigned to the parade detail. He suggested I ask a nearby cab driver for help with a jump. What the heck, I thought, it's worth a try. I approached the cab driver and he told me he'd give me a jump for $15. I told him I only had $10. He said he'd have to take my money even if the jump didn't work. I did not really like that idea but was caught between a rock and a hard place.

The one good thing about this is that the parade had apparently turned one block north and was now going by on 6th Avenue behind us. The busy traffic normally flowing down that street was stopped cold. The street was empty except for my Lumina smack dab in the middle.

The cab driver and I could not get the hood open, though. I remembered that everytime Mechanic worked on the car he had to crawl underneath the front and pop it from there... somehow. I didn't know how. So the cab driver suggested we move the car to the curb out of the way before the traffic started again. He pushed while I steered into a tow-away zone in front of the YWCA.

After that, he got into his cab and drove away. Seconds later the heavy traffic resumed. I was stuck and scared and couldn't stop the tears that started streaming down my face. I didn't know what I was going to do... and Mechanic had just left for an entire week. I feared my car getting towed. I feared huge fines and tickets. But then it occurred to me that I could call Opera, and perhaps she could think of something.

It turns out that Opera was able to help me more than I imagined. She got underneath the car and finally got the hood popped. The side-mount battery was blocked by a metal bar that seems to hold the car together. She realized she could not jump the car with her van but perhaps the battery could be removed and taken to an auto parts store and recharged.

More than likely, she said, the alternator was not working anymore. If we could get the battery to start the car, though, there'd be enough juice to get home and park. Then, when I get paid late next week, we could get the car fixed. I was so very thankful for her presence that I cannot even describe it. Her calm reactions to everything helped me to stop panicking.

We got tools from the trunk (thanks, Mechanic, for keeping them there) and removed that metal bar and removed the battery. She put it in the back of her van and took off to find the closest Schuck's. I stayed with the car so the police would hopefully not tow it off. Several motorcycle and car cops drove by, looking closely at me, but the hood was up and I was nearby and they did not stop and harrass me.

Opera returned and put the battery back, and the car started up again on the third try. We immediately hightailed it back home and found parking. Opera told me that Mechanic had already called twice to check on me and was worried that I was not home yet. I told her at least he did not know what trouble I was in while he was on his airplane flights. I'm sure he was nervous enough flying without worrying about me.

He did call soon after and I told him everything. It all spilled out so fast I couldn't stop it. Then he told me about his flights and that he had already taken 54 pictures. He took the digital camera with him and a big stack of disks. One thing I really love about that camera is that it uses regular floppy disks for storing images once they're taken.

Later on we were chatting online and he sent me a few photos from his flights out there. One of the odd characteristics about his trip out there is that from Seattle he was flying to Atlanta to catch a connecting flight to Columbus. Why he had to go all the way to Atlanta in order to turn around and go back to Ohio was beyond us. But one of the funniest things ever is that when he got into the Atlanta airport, the first thing he saw was Seattle's Best Coffee. What a hoot!



I ended up taking a bit of a nap and then Michael called later with this cryptic message: "I'm going to expand your horizons." He wanted to set me up on a blind date with a girl he knew. Okay... perhaps this requires a little explanation...

Mechanic, Michael, and almost every gay man I know believes I am a lesbian who just hasn't figured it out yet. Well... I don't know... I really enjoy sex with a man, but how do I know if I enjoy sex with a woman if I have never tried it? I'm thinking to myself, go meet this girl and if nothing happens, at least you've made a new friend. She might not even like me. It's a night out, with other people buying my drinks, I'll see a new club, and it'll help keep my mind off of the fact that Mechanic is gone...

Well, I told Michael I'd go and he told me to "dress hot." Ha! Okay, um, sure. I did my best with some black slacks and a red blouse, makeup and jewelry. When he picked me up shortly after 9 pm he seemed to appreciate the efforts I had gone through. There was a young man with him who I guess might have been his date. We drove to a club called ReBar, and on the last Saturday of every month they call it "Pandora's Box" because it is geared towards a lesbian night out theme.

The long and the short of it is that I met this gal, and her friend, and thought they were both quite nice. We talked and learned a little about each other. Her friend was the one who asked me to dance, though, and when we were out on the dance floor it was like we were having sex with clothes on. She was all over me! I described it to Michael as if we were doing the dirtiest dancing I'd ever seen. I had to hang on to the girl to keep from falling because she was knocking me off balance whenever she was grinding up against me.

Later when Michael was taking me home he told me that the gal I was supposed to meet had asked him to find out whether I liked her. Kinda reminds me of high school. LOL Well, I told him to tell her that I thought she was nice and I would like to spend more time with her. We'll see what happens.

So I get home just moments before midnight and I'm wired so I decide to work on the journal. I can't believe all the things that have happened today. Wow. Life is full of adventures for me, that's for sure. I hope Mechanic is having fun. I miss him.

~Paisley Blue