Tuesday is the new Monday

Recently, I began a new contest with the City of San Antonio Sanitation Services. It's called "let's see who can fake the other person out first on TrashDay (TM)"

So it begins when I'm lying in bed half asleep and hear what sounds like the distant rumble of the trash truck. Or is it already on my street? Wait a minute - I think it's actually on my street! DID I PUT THE TRASH OUT LAST NIGHT? OH MY GOD! ...culminates with me running out the front door only to find that I DID put the trash out last night and it was no big deal.

or...

the trash can is NOT out and the truck is on my street happily munching through each can with its mechanical loader-arm and I'm running around looking for some pants because running outside naked to wheel your garbage can is probably against the law (and reminiscent of those scary dreams as a kid where you are in class and have no clothes on and hope no one notices while you c-a-r-e-f-u-l-l-y sneak out the door...) Finally getting outside with the can only to discover that there are TWO GARBAGE TRUCKS and they run in opposite patterns and the one rumbling you into consciousness is the 9:30 trash truck - the 7:30 truck - you know, the one that does YOUR SIDE - is long gone.


My favorite fake-out was when I actually got the can out the previous night and watched in the morning as the truck picked up the can, dumped the contents out into its massive belly, and moved on.

VICTORY!

Until I walked up to the can and discovered that half the trash had lodged in the can and nothing really emptied. I spend the next two weeks watching what is no doubt a 4 ton truck pick up a 30 pound plastic trash can with a 1-ton hydraulic arm and not be able to shake loose about 20 pounds of trash from the inside of the can. With no success.

So today is Trash Day (TM) and I'm up at 7am to once again supervise the non-taking of the trash. I've already gone out to confirm the can is still there on the street, but have heard no distant rumbling yet.

This is probably the day the truck arrives at 5pm.