Last night my soccer team had their first practice of 2012 -- the others have been cancelled due to some ill-timed bad weather (I know, is there ever a good time for bad weather? I guess that depends on who you're with...). The last time I was at the practice field, the parking lot was a construction zone and we had to park in side streets and "legal enough" alleys. When we arrived last night the parking lot was restored and the new community centre situated very nice and shiny with active classes. We had a good practice, although after two days of soccer I think I need more core work, and as we headed off the field it happened again. My teammate drives a silver SUV and in the dark silver looks a lot like cream and well…
Kirsten: (Walking straight off-field towards a SUV.)
Teammate!MR: (Walking diagonally off-field towards a different SUV.) Kirsten! Where are you going?!
Kirsten: Uhhhhh…dammit! All SUVs look the same in the dark. (Joins Teammate!MR at other SUV.)
Clearly what I need to do is start memorizing my friends’ license plates for future reference; reducing embarrassing moments and handy for paying parking meters too!
Showing posts with label strangers with candy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label strangers with candy. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Haste makes for awkward table conversation...
Recently at soccer practice one of the girls got a concussion from blocking a ball. The girl who kicked the ball drover her to the hospital to get examined for the ringing in her ears and her boyfriend picked her up. This meant that her car would be stuck at our practice field which, while not in the worst part of town, is still not the most ideal place to leave a car overnight. As I know how to drive standard I offered to drive the car back to her apartment for her that evening. I got a ride to meet my friend and her boyfriend because, as I said, I have a history of getting into the wrong car and she drives a popular model. While there is practically no chance of her alarm keys working on another vehicle I’d hate to press my odds. She came with me in her car and her boyfriend shadowed us in his car.
The next day, I was meeting soccer!S to attend bootcamp at Kitsilano Beach. Soccer!S had arranged for a co-op car for the evening and we agreed to meet at the parking location where we often met when she arranged for a co-op car. I was running fairly close to on time, or so I thought until I saw two people sitting in the co-op car with the engine idling. I broke into a jog for the last block to the vehicle considering the filled passenger seat and assuming that soccer!S’ husband would be joining us that night unexpectedly. I ran up to the back passenger door and, with my hand lifting the door handle, realized that the man sitting in the front seat had no hair. Soccer!S’ husband has thick, shoulder length curly hair. Less than twenty-four hours after referencing my troubles with cars, I had bewildered and no doubt scared another innocent driver.
I scurried to the far corner of the parking lot and called awesome!S to let her know that my carjacking instinct had struck again before calling soccer!S to make sure I was in the right place. She laughed and reminded me that there were TWO co-op vehicles in that parking lot. With chagrin, I went to await soccer!S next to the other vehicle.
The next day, I was meeting soccer!S to attend bootcamp at Kitsilano Beach. Soccer!S had arranged for a co-op car for the evening and we agreed to meet at the parking location where we often met when she arranged for a co-op car. I was running fairly close to on time, or so I thought until I saw two people sitting in the co-op car with the engine idling. I broke into a jog for the last block to the vehicle considering the filled passenger seat and assuming that soccer!S’ husband would be joining us that night unexpectedly. I ran up to the back passenger door and, with my hand lifting the door handle, realized that the man sitting in the front seat had no hair. Soccer!S’ husband has thick, shoulder length curly hair. Less than twenty-four hours after referencing my troubles with cars, I had bewildered and no doubt scared another innocent driver.
I scurried to the far corner of the parking lot and called awesome!S to let her know that my carjacking instinct had struck again before calling soccer!S to make sure I was in the right place. She laughed and reminded me that there were TWO co-op vehicles in that parking lot. With chagrin, I went to await soccer!S next to the other vehicle.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Red car, blue car
The second instance of my fascination with strangers’ cars occurred a few short months after the first. The joke of it still ruminated amongst my friends and I did not expect to live the story down any time soon. My second year participating in the Haney to Harrison relay with the same crew of people, I suppose with the antics of the weekend I could take the fifth, were we in the United States, for the way events unfolded. H2H is a 100 kilometer relay that begins at 6 AM which means that you are awake before 5 AM and running until the late afternoon. The race is split into two segments with a team car for each segment. Following the completion of the race, everyone goes to the hotel to shower, have a few snorts and then go to dinner…and keep drinking there. So you have a town full of sleep deprived and dehydrated runners that are now all rehydrating with alcohol.
And then those runners get driven to a town hall in the middle of nowhere where a beer garden takes place. The evening unfolds in a predictable manner from that point onward. Last year, as people were slowly dragging themselves out of bed to check out and get some breakfast, I had packed up my things and decided to take them out to amazing!T’s car for the ride home. Just to make life easier you understand. I went out to the parking lot which is full of little sport utility type cars and approach where I thought we had parked the night before. Amazing!S and amazing!T are at the window of one of the hotel rooms and pointing to the car as I had wandered a little aimlessly to begin with. (Their conversation at the time: “Should we tell her she’s going to the wrong car?” “Nah, she’ll figure it out – it won’t open.” “Oh wait, no, she’s going to put her stuff in.” “Should we tell her to stop?”)
I opened the trunk of the car and threw a bag in. I reached for my other bag and as I turned, my mind dully registered that the items in the trunk did not look familiar to me as those from the previous day. Looking at the car again, I saw that it was not amazing!T’s car at all. Feeling the blush rising on my cheeks, I grab my bag and shut the car again. Amazing!T and amazing!S are now in the doorway laughing their asses off and pointing to where the car actually is.
The real problem? I still don’t remember exactly what amazing!T’s car looks like….
And then those runners get driven to a town hall in the middle of nowhere where a beer garden takes place. The evening unfolds in a predictable manner from that point onward. Last year, as people were slowly dragging themselves out of bed to check out and get some breakfast, I had packed up my things and decided to take them out to amazing!T’s car for the ride home. Just to make life easier you understand. I went out to the parking lot which is full of little sport utility type cars and approach where I thought we had parked the night before. Amazing!S and amazing!T are at the window of one of the hotel rooms and pointing to the car as I had wandered a little aimlessly to begin with. (Their conversation at the time: “Should we tell her she’s going to the wrong car?” “Nah, she’ll figure it out – it won’t open.” “Oh wait, no, she’s going to put her stuff in.” “Should we tell her to stop?”)
I opened the trunk of the car and threw a bag in. I reached for my other bag and as I turned, my mind dully registered that the items in the trunk did not look familiar to me as those from the previous day. Looking at the car again, I saw that it was not amazing!T’s car at all. Feeling the blush rising on my cheeks, I grab my bag and shut the car again. Amazing!T and amazing!S are now in the doorway laughing their asses off and pointing to where the car actually is.
The real problem? I still don’t remember exactly what amazing!T’s car looks like….
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Just one post in the fence....
Last year I planned a surprise birthday party for a friend and in the process of renting a karaoke machine, well the event occurred subsequent to the rental, I started myself on a path that I continue to walk now. I have to say it was not one of my most shining moments. Essentially, it was a case of mistaken identity. I went out to Main & 16th to pick up the karaoke machine for the party but due to leaving work later than planned and serious issues with Translink, I just walked out of the store shortly after 5pm. This was when I had hoped to meet the amazing!C* at my apartment to pick up all the food and drinks and continue on to pick up the ice cream cake and then proceed on to the party venue. (I had also hoped to get a stop in at the nearby Safeway for chips and pop.)
Amazing!C had emailed that she had to pick up amazing!T before coming over to my house so I called her to see where she was at when I got out of the karaoke place. Fortunately, she was just at Cambie & 16th after picking up amazing!T! A great stroke of luck I thought, she can just pick me up and I’ll coordinate with others to pickup the stuff we didn’t have time for anymore. I arranged to meet amazing!C just in the loading zone on 16th after she crossed through the Main intersection and then I called amazing!P to have her pick up the ice cream cake. Although the traffic on 16th was horrible, I was coordinating with amazing!P (and spazzing slightly due to the ever greater time crunch) when I saw a black SUV with a tinted windshield and an Asian woman driving.
“Ah,” I thought, “Amazing!C must be driving her DH’s car for some reason.” Why she would be doing this when she was coming directly from work, I have no idea but that was my brain’s logic as the SUV came to a stop right next to me. Still talking on the phone with amazing!P, I went up to the back passenger door and tried to open it. It was locked so I tapped on the front passenger window to try to get amazing!C’s attention. I finally succeeded in opening the door and shoved the karaoke machine onto the seat when I saw amazing!C getting out of the car to help. I stepped back to the curb to tell amazing!C that I didn’t need her help, we should just get going when I saw that this was a completely unknown to me Asian woman – with very short hair no less! (Amazing!C has gorgeous long hair.)
She was just heading to the crosswalk and I started babbling apologies, yanking the karaoke machine out of the car and shut the door. “I’m so sorry, I really wasn’t trying to steal anything – I thought you were someone else!” She didn’t say anything, merely got out the alarm clicker and secured her vehicle and ran her errand! I was very sure to stand far back away from the car as amazing!P tried to make me feel better about the whole situation. The woman came back, didn’t appear too frightened of me, and drove off. A short while later amazing!C and amazing!T came up in amazing!C’s car, her bright red car, and I was able to continue on my way.
There you have it! *sighs at self* Hope it made you laugh, it’s probably better with hand gestures. Since that day back in August 2008 there have been other incidents of me getting into the wrong car under awkward circumstances but I’ll relate those some other time.
*all friends will be identified with amazing! and then the first letter of their name to provide better living through internet privacy.
Amazing!C had emailed that she had to pick up amazing!T before coming over to my house so I called her to see where she was at when I got out of the karaoke place. Fortunately, she was just at Cambie & 16th after picking up amazing!T! A great stroke of luck I thought, she can just pick me up and I’ll coordinate with others to pickup the stuff we didn’t have time for anymore. I arranged to meet amazing!C just in the loading zone on 16th after she crossed through the Main intersection and then I called amazing!P to have her pick up the ice cream cake. Although the traffic on 16th was horrible, I was coordinating with amazing!P (and spazzing slightly due to the ever greater time crunch) when I saw a black SUV with a tinted windshield and an Asian woman driving.
“Ah,” I thought, “Amazing!C must be driving her DH’s car for some reason.” Why she would be doing this when she was coming directly from work, I have no idea but that was my brain’s logic as the SUV came to a stop right next to me. Still talking on the phone with amazing!P, I went up to the back passenger door and tried to open it. It was locked so I tapped on the front passenger window to try to get amazing!C’s attention. I finally succeeded in opening the door and shoved the karaoke machine onto the seat when I saw amazing!C getting out of the car to help. I stepped back to the curb to tell amazing!C that I didn’t need her help, we should just get going when I saw that this was a completely unknown to me Asian woman – with very short hair no less! (Amazing!C has gorgeous long hair.)
She was just heading to the crosswalk and I started babbling apologies, yanking the karaoke machine out of the car and shut the door. “I’m so sorry, I really wasn’t trying to steal anything – I thought you were someone else!” She didn’t say anything, merely got out the alarm clicker and secured her vehicle and ran her errand! I was very sure to stand far back away from the car as amazing!P tried to make me feel better about the whole situation. The woman came back, didn’t appear too frightened of me, and drove off. A short while later amazing!C and amazing!T came up in amazing!C’s car, her bright red car, and I was able to continue on my way.
There you have it! *sighs at self* Hope it made you laugh, it’s probably better with hand gestures. Since that day back in August 2008 there have been other incidents of me getting into the wrong car under awkward circumstances but I’ll relate those some other time.
*all friends will be identified with amazing! and then the first letter of their name to provide better living through internet privacy.
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