Posted 8:01 PM by Ben
I should have realized my happiness yesterday was a sham.....or at least short-lived.

Katie and I were on our way to the car this morning; I was going to take her to her yoga class and then we were going to get produce at Ward's. Exciting!

Then Katie notices that I have a flat tire. She leaves for yoga, warning me, "Call Triple-A -- don't try to change this yourself!" Bless 'er, she knows me well.

I've never changed a tire before, but I've always seen it as some manly right of passage. She didn't want my manly right of passage to fall on me and put me in a manly wheelchair for the rest of my life. Understandable.

But I had to change it. Shrewd CosmicBen fans probably see this as the point where my day starts to go wrong. Anyone who's seen my wobbly CD rack knows I could wreak unimaginable havoc with a two-ton driving machine.

Like I said, though, I had to change it. And it went well! It took a sweaty, greasy hour, but soon the spare tire was on and the flat tire was in the trunk. I am now that much more of a man.

I washed up and went to Firestone and asked them what had happened to my tire. Now the crappy part. There were four nails in my tire, all lined up in a neat row. No accident.

And where had I driven this weekend? Home from Eastside High School. That is all.

I feel mad and betrayed and scared. I've put up with psychological trauma since day one at that place, but now I am losing money and time on my days off. I should not have to put up with vandalism simply because I work there. Apparently there are security guards, but they obviously weren't where they were supposed to be.

If this is the consequence of working at a lower-class high school, then it shouldn't be. It shouldn't be the consequence of working anywhere.

I hope it was random. But I can think of any number of delinquent pissants who might have done this to my tire. And I fucking hate being at their mercy, just because they can't stand being disciplined.

I'll talk to the principal tomorrow. Hopefully he can figure something out. Meanwhile, after months of being yelled at, made fun of, and cursed at, four nails have made me temporarily disillusioned with the teaching profession.

Have a good night, all.