Joyriders

MTTS 2010

"On the road with Julie and Neo.

8/11/10

Just arrived in Grand Junction after a long day of driving. Stopped in Helper, UT to photograph "Big John" and at Papa Joe's to buy some beef jerky, or other meat based jerky.

Bummed to have missed out on the Salt Flats but apparently the salt can really mess up your car. Neo doesn't regret missing that. Some rest and a calm night here in Grand Junction, then off to Winter Park in the morning."

That was my lone journal entry during the trip. I couldn't even manage to write in complete sentences. I thought I'd have more time, being a co-pilot instead of a driver. But I ended up being pretty useless in that capacity too. Misinterpreting instructions and failing to make sense of maps. But Julie, she was doing it all. She was actually texting and posting on Facebook while driving. Every now and then, I looked at the live feed and saw posts from her, which she had somehow managed to type out and post while driving, while I was sitting there next to her. I could hardly manage to post one update a day, and when I did it was only stuff like, "has just arrived in Denver" etc.

One good thing about being a co-pilot, I got to look around at stuff. It's hard to do when you're driving. I didn't really manage to take more pictures than I normally would. I was still pretty forgetful and had hopelessly bad timing when I did get some shots. But otherwise I got to see a lot. The twisty roads, the scenic bits, lots of other MINIs.

The first overnight stop for me was Salt Lake City. It was kind of cool being back there, since I'd lived just south in Provo for 5 years. And I got my MINIfir at the dealership there, 7 years ago. The party they had at MINI of Murray was a bit disappointing. Partially because we arrived late, and it was mostly over, and then also because we missed an announcement about the change in the Salt Flats drive-off time. We left over an hour late the next morning, and ended up turning back with a small crew of minis we ending up traveling with for most of the rest of the journey. We stopped at a truck stop on the route back towards Salt Lake and had a nice breakfast. Mike made a little Salt Flats on the table, using salt and a tiny model mini.

Then we began the long road to Grand Junction. Eastern Utah was pretty dull. And it was peppered with state troopers. It was nice to be back in Colorado though. It had been a while. Since I went back to Colorado Springs to give that paper I think. Or maybe it was for the Teach for America interview, I can't remember which came first now.

The hotel in Grand Junction was nice. Then we met up with our motoring companions; DB from California, Mike and Scott from Arizona, Jim from Nebraska, Suzanne from Seattle (who was originally from Long Island and a Mets fan too!), me and Julie and this guy Markus and his son Ryan (forgot where they were from). We ate at the RockSlide Brewpub, where I got to watch the Mets blow a lead to the Rockies in the 8th inning by giving up a grand slam. Nearby Rockies fans cheered, and I sighed. The Mets did with that series though :)

Then we walked down the street to a gelato place to get some free ice cream compliments of MINIUSA. After a stop in a nearby bar for a drink, or two we headed back to the hotel. We met up with Gert Hildebrand, the head designer for MINI and a few guys who were apparently his handlers, looking after him. We hung out for a bit in the hotel lounge area and listened to some stories. I mentioned to one of the handler guys that I didn't have my Mini with me and explained about her tranny. He repeated my situation to Gert, and he said, you know the guy you need to talk to is Vinny.

The next morning we gathered in a nearby parking lot and did our check-ins and lined up to go. We managed to keep a pretty good sized group of Minis together, but eventually we ended up back in our little group. We stopped in Frisco for lunch and some photos, then got back on the road toWinter Park. It was a beautiful little town, at high altitude, the effects of which took me by surprise. MINIs in the Mountains was based here, and coincided with MTTS. We did a cool drive through town, we even had our own lane, and then we ended up in a park for some entertainment and relaxation. Mark and Ross had joined us by this time. Then we had dinner in another local pub. The hotels there were shocking. Mine was simply rustic, when I asked about cooling off the stuffy room, the guy just told me to open a window. It didn't get very hot there, but still this was an eye opener. Julie and some of the others stayed in the hotel across the street which according to them was nightmarish. It was likened by more than one person to the hotel in The Shining. We stayed in Winter Park most of the next day for MITM activities including a lovely Bar-b-que lunch up at the top of the moutain. We had to get up there by ski lift. After a group photo, we were off to Denver.

For this part of the journey I rode with Kerry, who I didn't really know at all before this. He turned out to be pretty cool with good taste in music. After hitting some traffic in Denver, we made it to my hotel. I waited there for Julie who was staying with me once again. She got into her Trinity outfit and we headed for the owners garage party at the Infinity Park events center. Unfortunately we took a long and unnecessary detour being mislead this time by google maps. We had actually been just a few blocks away from the venue, but we got there eventually. Pedro had arrived in town by then and we happily greeted him and added another number to our party of SCMC members. The party was pretty fun, basically a showcase of the new Countryman and some photos and video from the trip so far. Also this was our first time meeting up with those who rallied from the East Coast locations, New York, Chicago, and Atlanta.

We called it an early night so we could be rested up for the Red Rock run the next morning. For me it was the highlight of the trip. We first gathered at the Red Rock amphitheater where U2 had filmed their "Sunday Bloody Sunday" video years ago. We made our way down the steep steps to get a briefing and a bit of a cheering section going. We did this YMCA like action to awkwardly spell MINI. And there was a sing-a-long to "I Got a Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas. It kind of fell flat due to the MINIUSA crew not having a way to amplify the music from the boom box they had brought. There were some break dancers that did their thing on stage and then we all climbed back up to the cars. It was a huge effort for me and I was glad to have made it without dying. They took some cool photos of what seemed like a sea of MINIs. Then we headed off to Estes Park via some of the coolest, twistiest roads anywhere. We left Red Rock in a massive group and stayed together quite a lot of the way. We took one wrong turn which was mostly my fault. Then we righted ourselves and got back to Denver. We arrived at the MTTS Festival which was on a rugby field at Infinity Park. We met up with Stormy, one of Julie's friends from a previous job. And he asked if I was the co-pilot who had shamefully never seen The Matrix. It was one of the funniest moments when I had to admit after riding all that way with Trinity and Neo that I'd never actually seen the movie. Julie posted it on Facebook, and then I was known as "the girl who'd never seen The Matrix."

The festival was cool. It was pretty similar to the one in Pasadena at MTTS 2008. Vendors and displays, food and music. There was a MINICross on the road out in front of the center. I got to try out a silver convertible on the slalom course. They had 3 MINI "e"s and I had to wait in another separate line to drive one of those. After a long wait, including an unspecified delay on the track, I finally got in to the electric MINI. The MINIUSA rep who rode with me gave me tips on how to drive this unique Mini. The accelerator was used for both accelerating and slowing down. The brake was only for stopping. It took getting used to. I went through the slalom again, doing a bit better than the first time. The MINI "e" was just as spunky as any other mini, and navigated the turns like a champ. The who rode with me introduced himself as Vinny, and I realized that this could be my guy. I told him about my MINI and that Gert had suggested I speak to him. He said he'd try to help and that I should find him inside the festival later.

I told everyone I could find to keep an eye out for him. Db, who knew him well, said he'd let him know I was looking for him. I finally found him on a picnic blanket getting ready to watch Blues Traveller with other MINIUSA folks. He took my information, and said he'd see what he could do.

Having achieved one of the main things I'd hoped to do on this trip, I felt some relief. I had done all I could to get some help with MINIfir's problem. Now I just had to wait.

Blues Traveller were great as usual. And it was nice just to end the whole trip relaxing and watching a great band. When it was over, Julie dropped me back at my hotel. She had booked a special hotel for this second night because her boyfriend had planned to meet her there. It turned out he couldn't make it due to work, but she spent the night in the hotel anyway. A nice treat for her after the Winter Park experience. I was in the same hotel two nights in a row, which was a welcome change for me after a different stop every night.

The next morning we packed up for the long drive back to Las Vegas. I had told Julie early on in the trip that if she got tired, I could drive while she got some rest. But it turned out on that last day, when she did kind of hope to have me drive a bit, I got incredibly sleepy and didn't manage to help out. Another boo for me as a co-pilot. One good thing that came out of the trip was that I got to know Julie much better. We decided to have a movie night some future weekend, so I could finally see The Matrix.

Twelve hours later, we arrived back at Palace Station so I could pick up the car I'd been lent by John and Pedro. Sunday night it was back home in my own bed, tired but happy I'd been able to join in the fun. It was bittersweet without my MINIfir. But I got home hopeful that I could get her back on the road soon.

Through a Long and Sleepless Night

A few weeks ago, I underwent a sleep study to see if my insomnia had some discernible cause. I checked into a sleep clinic and got wired up before going to bed for the night. It was weird having all these sensors applied to my scalp and my face and body. I must have looked like a cyborg. Then I was plugged in to a unit next to my bed in the little bedroom. Otherwise it was like any other comfy bedroom. A nice big bed with color coordinated bedding and lots of pillows. There was even a nice chair in the corner in case I brought a companion to sit with me overnight. I didn't though, it was just me.

My sleep technician was called Edwin and he talked me through the process after wiring me up. It was probably around 9:30 when I got into bed. And I'd be there until 5:00 when I'd be woken up. Needless to say, I didn't need to be woken up. I was already awake. I did sleep some of the time, I remember because I had dreams. But I think I was pretty restless, tossing and turning the rest of the time. I rang for Edwin at around 2:30 so I could use the bathroom. He had to come and unhook me. I used the bathroom, carrying the harness for all my sensors, it was hanging around my neck actually. When I was done and Edwin was hooking me back up, I told him that I'd thought it was much later than 2:30. And that I'd been awake already for quite a while. He said, "I know." Monitoring me from a computer, he could tell if I was awake or asleep, if my eyes were open or closed, if I was in R.E.M. sleep, how my breathing was and how much I moved around. He said I kicked a lot, and that I woke myself up when I did it. Otherwise he wasn't really allowed to tell me much about the results of the test. It would be a few weeks for the data to be analyzed and sent to my doctor at the VA.

At 5:00 I was groggy despite having been awake for a while. Kind of like when I get up for work in the morning. I was definitely not feeling rested. I know it was partially because of the odd situation, being wired up and having to stay on my back. But it didn't feel that different from a usual night for me. Often awake, restless legs, and a brain that just wouldn't turn off. I remember having songs in my head. The Glee versions of "To Sir with Love," and Bohemian Rhapsody," just over and over again.

When I got up, the sensors all had to come off. The ones in my scalp left a waxy sort of glue in my hair and the ones on my face hurt when Edwin tore them off like band-aids, quicker better than slower. I got dressed and called Mom to come get me. When we got home, I went back to bed, gluey hair and all. I stayed in bed pretty much all of the morning, sleeping a bit here and there, but mostly just resting, glad to be back in my own bed.

I wonder what the data said. I haven't been to my doctor yet for the results. I wonder how much could really be picked up by those sensors of what was going on in my head. I know it couldn't record my thoughts, but just the activity of my brain I guess. I wonder what goes on in there. I look forward to finding out.

Perfect Symmetry

I went to see Keane last Friday night. I posted this review on Ticketmaster.com


"Keane Reward an Enthusiastic Vegas Crowd.

First of all, Fran Healy opened. And he was brilliant as ever. He played some Travis songs, and some of the material from his upcoming solo album. He was modest and funny and it was his birthday! so he could do whatever he wanted, and we loved him for it.

Ingrid Michaelson was new to me, but was very enjoyable. A singer/songwriter with a playful vocal style, and humorous but sweet songs. She bravely led a sing-a-long with a crowd who mostly didn't know her, and pulled it off.

The break before Keane came on was about a half-hour longer than expected. They were having some trouble with their gear. But once they took the stage, an apologetic Tom Chaplin explained the delay and rewarded the audience for sticking with them. He led the crowd in singing great song after great song from their 3 plus albums. Tim Rice-Oxley's dominant piano and added vocals, including lead vocals on Your Love, mated perfectly with Chaplin's passionate singing. I saw them the last time they played House of Blues, on the Hopes and Fears tour, and despite having a lot more material now, they seemed still humbled by the fact that the crowd knew all the songs and sang along. They focused heavily on songs from Perfect Symmetry and Night Train, but played the requisite classics from H&F and a few from Under the Iron Sea. Notable omissions included Lovers are Losing and Spiralling.

House of Blues Las Vegas - Las Vegas , NV - Fri, Jul 23, 2010
Favorite moment: For me it was Perfect Symmetry. And any time Fran Healy spoke to the crowd.

Setlist: (not in order) Stop for a Minute, Back in Time, Clear Skies, Your Love, My Shadow, Somewhere Only We Know, Bedshaped, This is the Last Time, Crystal Ball, Is it any Wonder?, Bend and Break, Bad Dream, Playing Along, Perfect Symmetry (I might have missed one or two)

Opening act(s): Fran Healy of Travis, and Ingrid Michaelson "

One thing I didn't mention in the review, Tom gave some background on what some of the songs were about. As beautiful as they sound, it was interesting to hear how thoughtfully they were written. A nice show altogether. Also I got a few pictures and even some video which was a welcome bonus.

Keep the Car Running

Just two weeks ago, my beloved MINIfir was laid low with a bad transmission. We were just pulling out of the garage, and then slowly started up our street to set out for Utah and Zion National Park. But something was wrong. She was jerking and revving really high, and stopping and creeping. It was definitely trouble. We turned around and came home and I cancelled my trip to Utah.

The rest of the weekend was spent in worry and frustration. I had just taken her to the DMV for registration renewal the day before. And it was only 4 days before her 7th birthday. That Monday I stayed home from work and had her towed in to Kensington. Marc had a look at her and pinpointed the problem right away. He wanted to try an adaptation of the transmission to see if clearing out some of the programming glitches would fix the problem. They had to keep her overnight. Then Trish called with the news I most feared. The adaptation didn't help and MINIfir would need a new transmission. The cost would be somewhere in the neighborhood of $7000.

Then, the network of the MINI community went into action. My friend Larry called to say that there might be hope that MINI would replace the transmission for me at the dealer. Turns out the transmission (CVT) in the early model year MINIs was made by Nissan, the problem was known and Nissan extended the warranty on the CVTs in their own cars. MINI had yet to prescribe the extension for its owners, but there was a chance that perhaps they could be convinced. Larry said that Xiek from Canada said there was a dealer in California that had honored Nissan's extension and replaced some CVTs. He also gave me the number of a customer relations rep at MINIUSA. Trish called back and said she'd do some research into it, checking for service bulletins, etc.

By Saturday, I had procured a rental car and went up to Mark and Kathy's house for the club's post-scavenger hunt gathering. As soon as I walked in the door, Ross was there to tell me all about how when he had his overheating problems on the way to MINI Takes the States (MTTS) in '06, he was able to talk to Jim McDowell and some other big wigs at MINIUSA and they made sure his car was taken care of. Perhaps they'd do the same for me. I spent most of the party recounting the details of MINI's and my woes.

Back to work on Monday, having to face more questions from the nosy guy at the busstop, and my colleagues, it was starting to really sink in. It might be months before I had my MINI back, if at all. We wouldn't be going on MTTS. Talking to the rep at MINIUSA didn't help. He wasn't optimistic that MINI would be extending the warranty like Nissan did. At least not in the immediate future. I told Larry the news and he was disappointed. His Rocket had the same problem, but he'd been smart enough to get an extended warranty which would pay for the replacement. He said I could ride with him to MTTS. It's very kind of him, but small consolation.

I worked overtime this weekend in an effort to start earning/saving up some more money. I wasn't able to visit MINI at Kensington as I had last Friday. I'm tired and sad and basically mourning. I made the decision though to bring her home and keep her safe until we can get the work done. It's akin to waiting for an organ transplant. And she's my baby; it pains me not to be able to help her right now.

After MTTS, I should be able to borrow a car from a friend for a while. Then things are uncertain. Will I end up getting a new car? Another MINI perhaps, or something else I wouldn't be as emotionally attached to? I don't know. But I haven't given up on my girl yet.