The friday night drive was a little longer than usual. I ended up on Exposisition, and then on Figeroua. As i headed north, i noticed there was a LARGE event at the Staples Center, and traffic was a little more hellish than usual. So i turned on Washington and figured i'd try something different that i had not done in awhile. I was just going to head all the way over to Soto and take that north into South Pasadena. Soto eventually turns into Huntington Drive and passes a couple blocks from my house. So east on Washington it was. On washington between Santa Fe and Soto you cross over a lot of railroad track garbage. I get to this area, and there are no street lights, but there are 2 railroad crossing warning signs that are blinking. I come to a stop with a few other cars and we all look around perplexed. There are no gates on these railroad signs, and there is NOTHING around us for a half mile. I figure better safe, so i sit there making sure nothing is coming. The guy to the right of me makes a stop, and then proceeds through the intersection. I keep looking around, and still nothing is coming. The guy on the other side of me stops waiting as well and goes. So i finally just proceed through the crossing. I cross the first set of tracks. Bump bump. i start to accelerate. I get up to only about 35 miles per hour, and then BOOM. I hit the second set of tracks HARD. Now looking back there must have been a pothole right in the road directly before the track. Anyway, my car dropped a little and then hit the steel track directly. I think, HOLY FUCKIN SHIT what was that? And i immediatly slow down thinking i have a flat tire. I sway the car back and forth just a little to see if i still have all four tires, and my allignment is still good. Everything checks out, so i keep moving. I turn left on Soto in the next block and i go under another one of the railroad tracks. This one has a freight train on it, and must have been the reason that other crossing light was going off.
I keep moving on soto and cross under what is the nightmare freeway intersection of the 5, 10, 60 and 101. At this point i am about a mile past where the pothole and track was. Then my right rear tire starts to make a faint thump. My eyes squint, and i start to raise my voice at my right rear tire. "don't you fuckin start with me!" The thump starts to grow louder, and i don't waste any time pulling over and finding a nice little spot to change the tire. I end up pulling over on Terrace Heights in the rain. So i pop the trunk, set the emergencey brake and jump out to change the tire. I call Jen in the rain and tell her i'm gonna be a little late
I get all the stuff out of the trunk, and get the car up on the jack. Then i start in on the lug nuts. This is the tire that was brand new after an ass clown rear ended me while I was parking. So the lugs must have been put on by a fuckin body builder. I sit there for 10 minutes trying to get a single nut off the tire. I finally give up and call AAA. The guy on the phone sets me up with a tow truck and the truck gets there in 10 minutes. When he shows up, i say all i need is to get the spare on, and i'll drive it home. So he walks around the car, and then i realize the front right tire is now flat as well. Well that settles that. He's in a flatbed tow truck, so it works out fine. We're both wet, so i help him get the car on the back and we get in the cab as quickly as possible.
He drives me home and drops the car in front of my house. I figure i'll just pop on the spares when i get a chance on Saturday. So all in all i was only an hour late. After that though i needed some good food and a drink. We went to crown city brewery for dinner and watched the lakers game. The same gave that i had avoided on the road home.
