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Early Friday Walking: Valero
Oct. 31st, 2008 06:46 amI'm voting today! GET OUT AND VOTE, TOO!
Valero is a Texas (I think only Texas) chain of gas/convenience chains. They're nice and clean, with good selection of stuff inside, and horrifyingly overlit outside. I call the outside lighting "turtle killers," referring to atrificial lights that confuse turtle hatchlings, so that they head to an Italian restaurant (or over busy roads) instead of the sea.
Summer and I decided to walk to our nearest turtle-killer at about early AM. I wanted coffee, any coffee, and Summer had a jones for blue Doritos.
As we crossed the road to the station, we saw two black tow trucks pulling a car and a truck. The drivers were stopping for gas. I could not resist talking to them. (They were clean and friendly.) I was sort of hoping they were towing abandoned cars, but they were repo men.
I asked how they managed to do their work. They shrugged and looked sheepish. I asked if they'd ever been shot at. They laughed, because they'd been shot at multiple times each, their trucks have been damaged.
Neither had ever been hit, but the older one of the two said, "Unless a cell phone counts!" His friend leaned back and pointed and laughed. "Yeah!" Someone unhappy about him taking their vehicle (has anyone ever been happy to see a repo man?) was on their cell, and trying to stop the repo man at the same time. When he pulled away, the unhappy ex-owner flung his cell phone into the truck's cab, hitting the driver in the temple.
We told them good night and went into the store. I got coffee and a hot dog, Summer got a Dr. Pepper Icee and the aforementioned blue Doritos. I tried putting cheese on my hot dog, the dispenser gave it up in chocolate-chip-sized drops. The chili, on the other hand, came out like, well, an accident.
A cop was in the store, and won $20. on a scratcher. The counter guy tried to get him to use his winnings to buy a $20. ticket. I wondered if the cop would ask why I had a teenager out at early AM. He eyed us, but didn't say anything.
I noticed a woman had come in, with a girl of about four with her. The little girl was wearing a fake fur coat. I was wondering why anyone would have a preschooler out at that time. I looked at the woman. The first thing I noticed was her stockings: misty white with silver snowflakes on them. She was wearing a black coat and shorts, big-heeled shoes, a Halloween shirt, and a lot of makeup. Well, duh. She was a dancer or waitress who'd just finished for the night, and had picked up her daughter from a sitter's. I had not reason to linger and see if her cash had vertical creases in it.
Summer and I hoofed back home. I got back to work, she played Guild Wars.
Now we are going out for a grocery run, when we're done, I'm going over to Medical City to hang out and work until my doctor's appointment. I've been in a funk and sorted out it was because I've not been moving forward on Rumble Girls, so it gets back on the front burner with commissions on the burner beside it. Gotta break them blues!
Valero is a Texas (I think only Texas) chain of gas/convenience chains. They're nice and clean, with good selection of stuff inside, and horrifyingly overlit outside. I call the outside lighting "turtle killers," referring to atrificial lights that confuse turtle hatchlings, so that they head to an Italian restaurant (or over busy roads) instead of the sea.
Summer and I decided to walk to our nearest turtle-killer at about early AM. I wanted coffee, any coffee, and Summer had a jones for blue Doritos.
As we crossed the road to the station, we saw two black tow trucks pulling a car and a truck. The drivers were stopping for gas. I could not resist talking to them. (They were clean and friendly.) I was sort of hoping they were towing abandoned cars, but they were repo men.
I asked how they managed to do their work. They shrugged and looked sheepish. I asked if they'd ever been shot at. They laughed, because they'd been shot at multiple times each, their trucks have been damaged.
Neither had ever been hit, but the older one of the two said, "Unless a cell phone counts!" His friend leaned back and pointed and laughed. "Yeah!" Someone unhappy about him taking their vehicle (has anyone ever been happy to see a repo man?) was on their cell, and trying to stop the repo man at the same time. When he pulled away, the unhappy ex-owner flung his cell phone into the truck's cab, hitting the driver in the temple.
We told them good night and went into the store. I got coffee and a hot dog, Summer got a Dr. Pepper Icee and the aforementioned blue Doritos. I tried putting cheese on my hot dog, the dispenser gave it up in chocolate-chip-sized drops. The chili, on the other hand, came out like, well, an accident.
A cop was in the store, and won $20. on a scratcher. The counter guy tried to get him to use his winnings to buy a $20. ticket. I wondered if the cop would ask why I had a teenager out at early AM. He eyed us, but didn't say anything.
I noticed a woman had come in, with a girl of about four with her. The little girl was wearing a fake fur coat. I was wondering why anyone would have a preschooler out at that time. I looked at the woman. The first thing I noticed was her stockings: misty white with silver snowflakes on them. She was wearing a black coat and shorts, big-heeled shoes, a Halloween shirt, and a lot of makeup. Well, duh. She was a dancer or waitress who'd just finished for the night, and had picked up her daughter from a sitter's. I had not reason to linger and see if her cash had vertical creases in it.
Summer and I hoofed back home. I got back to work, she played Guild Wars.
Now we are going out for a grocery run, when we're done, I'm going over to Medical City to hang out and work until my doctor's appointment. I've been in a funk and sorted out it was because I've not been moving forward on Rumble Girls, so it gets back on the front burner with commissions on the burner beside it. Gotta break them blues!
