I stopped by my aunt's house today to pick up some tickets for a performance tonight she can't attend -- a night of Mendelssohn at my favorite cathedral this side of the Atlantic.
As I drove away, a strange rumbling sound came from under the car.
I had a flat tire.
I called Mr. A to check if it's safe to drive, even a few blocks, since there's a gas/service station about half a mile away. He told me to stay put and -- my heart is still fluttering -- he came over from work, just before a 2 p.m. meeting, and changed my tire. Then he took my clunker back to work and gave me his safe car so I could run some errands.
Mersi!!! ;)
When I got home, I began researching tire coupons --> tire sizes --> outlet tire retailers. I called one company and asked point blank if they could make me a great deal, and the man said to call him back since he was with customers. But he seemed willing to negotiate. Good start.
Next, I wondered, "Do I really want to spend $120 on tires for a car I'll dump in no time? What about making a move and buying something?" (Background info: my car has been on the fritz for a few months, and various interventions + luck have kept it going. But unsafely. At this point, it has a big bold DNR sticker on it. An invisible one, but still size 24, Rockwell, bold.)So I searched for: cars on craigslist of various years, makes models --> cars on other websites --> online promos at san diego dealerships. snorted. what promos? no wonder people aren't buying when $10-off counts as a promo. onward.
Next, I wondered, "Shouldn't I be looking for negotiation tactics and info about how buying a car works, and not just cars?"
So I searched for: car buying tactics --> how to get best deal on a used car --> tips and tricks at the auto dealerships --> car loans at san diego banks --> car budget calculators.
Next, I wondered, "Can I really sign up to buy a car worth a penny more than my savings if I don't have a job come June?"
So I searched for: jobs --> careerbuilder --> craigslist jobs --> san diego jobs --> and so on -->
Which leads me to today's actual question: Can I see your cover letter?I emailed a few friends and asked if they don't mind sharing their letters.
Who knew a flat tire would jump start my career search?
Gained: TBD
I'm guessing "Mersi" is how it is spelled in Mr. A's language!
ReplyDeletemulti-tasker, great to have you back! =)
ReplyDeleteThere are two camps in his home country -- those who spell it merci and those who use mersi. The "merci" folks are those an exposure to foreign cultures, even within his homeland. The "mersi" folks are the down home locals. Something like that. Most of his friends and family use mersi, where as mine used merci -- so in the blog post, it was a friendly concession, and an inside (now outside) joke, when I spelled it "his" way. =)
I gather you speak a foreign language, and may even hail from a certain rhomboid republic. Is there anything similar in your country -- different spellings of the same word due to political or cultural circumstances?
Thanks for this fascinating response. Off hand, I can't think of an analogue in my language. But you might find it interesting to know that we have the word merci/mersi, and it is spelled مرسی.
ReplyDeleteThere are a lot of borrowings from French (and now English) in my language. There are also lots of indigenous-sounding words that were coined to serve as equivalents of English terms. Interestingly, often these equivalents acquire lives of their own, with meanings that are different from those in the source language. Example:
The word coined for "software" now can mean ideology, ideas, concepts; as against "hardware" which means institutions, social structure, and physical infrastructure. Thus a political movement has both "software" and "hardware" components! This usage is less than 15 years old.