On the Bright Side, I'm Feeling Much Better

The good news is my car is ready and I can pick it up tomorrow morning which means I can head up north to visit family for Thanksgiving like I'd planned.

The bad news is it cost $1438.12 to fix it.

Well, at least I have friends willing to fight over my pancreas...that's something to be thankful for...right?

F**k My Life

So, I came down with a nasty cold a week ago and it's still lingering and absolutely refuses to depart.  Now I'm at the coughing-up-my-pancreas stage and it's rather painful and fully annoying.  I've decimated the better part of 4 boxes of "Puffs Plus with lotion" and I've single-handedly ensured stock holders in whatever company makes "Halls" get a nice dividend this year.  Not to mention passing the virus on to countless hapless individuals with whom I've come into contact over the last several days.  You're welcome.

And the cherry on top of the sundae?  The clutch went on the car today.

I've always suspected the clutch was on its last legs but I've had more than one mechanic assure me it looked fine.  Clearly that was not the case.  As I type this, my car is sitting in the parking lot at my place of work, unable to budge without assistance from what will assuredly be a very expensive tow truck.  A tow truck I'm going to have to call tomorrow morning to come pick it up and take it to a mechanic who will hold it ransom until I pay up.  And pay I will.  Dearly.

Anyone want to buy a kidney?

Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow

Today I said goodbye to a trusted friend.

We had traveled down countless roads together, had even been in a few scrapes and jams.  And boy had we weathered our share of storms. But whenever I needed her she was always there for me and I knew I could count on her to never lose her cool.

She came into my life at a time when I really needed her, and today it was time for her to move on.  It was hard for me to admit that I didn't need her anymore, but as fate would have it, I knew someone who did.

That someone is My Honey's cousin and now she's the proud owner of my old Mazda.

Treat her well, Kath, and she'll never let you down.

It's a Marshmallow World In the Winter

These videos were taken Saturday around 2pm near Bracebridge, Ontario. Isn't it purty? Apparently about a meter of snow fell over the course of 36 hours. Fortunately only a couple of kilometers were like the nasty driving conditions you can see in the first video--I didn't film the worst of it as I need both hands to drive (good call!). Sadly the trip took about two hours more than it should have due to the highway being closed for an overturned tractor trailer. But overall the driving wasn't bad and with the sun shining out of a bright blue sky I actually enjoyed all the snow. Shocking, I know!

By the way, that's a 4-lane divided highway. It's hard to tell with all that snow...

There Are Somethings Money Can't Buy. For Everything Else There's Mastercard

Oil change and Engine System Flush: $75
Transmission Fluid Change and Flush: $170
Power Steering Fluid Change and Flush: $80
Coolant Change and Flush: $100
Full Tank of Gas and Car Wash: $33

Not having my 12 year old car break down on me during this weekend's roadtrip: Priceless.

This is Why I Shouldn't Be Allowed Out Alone

I locked my keys in my car at the mall today. I got a bit confused--I meant to put my keys in my purse and leave my gloves on the passenger seat and instead I left the keys on the passenger seat and put my gloves in my purse. Whatever, don't judge me. Normally this wouldn't be a problem since I typically carry a spare car key in my purse, but I let My Honey use it the last time he was here visiting and ever since then it's been hanging out on my bookshelf.

So I went into the mall and asked the nice lady at the customer service desk if security knew how to jimmy open the door on a very basic, no power locks, no alarm system kinda car (I've always held this theory about people in law enforcement-type jobs having a "troubled" youth so I was hoping they'd have someone "experienced" if you know what I mean.) She called someone on her little two-way radio and along came Zach.

Zach was very young, very good looking and very eager to break into my car. So eager in fact, he had forgotten his jacket. This would turn out to be a bad idea. I had briefly considered taking the bus home and getting my building's super to let me into my apartment so I could get my spare key, but they were out when I had left and I was skeptical they'd be there now so I thought my best option was to let Zach have a go.

What followed was a good 15 or 20 minutes of my biting my tongue nearly to the point of drawing blood because of Zach repeatedly saying things like:

"I think it's too short."
"I can feel it!"
"I want it to go up, not out."
"If I could just get it in there..."
"It keeps moving on me."

At this point I made the observation that this was as difficult as finding the G-spot to which he laughed (thank God!) and possibly blushed, although it could have been the cold. He then admitted to me that he had always wanted to do this, "but legally, of course!" I asked him if his fantasy was going as well as he had hoped and he replied, "Not really" to which I responded, "I get that a lot." I thought he was gonna choke.

By this point Zach had determined he was using the wrong tool ( heh heh--"tool") so we went inside so he could find a longer one and also get his jacket before he caught hypothermia. Five minutes later he was back at it, determined not to fail. I admired his tenacity but frankly doubted his ability. He would prove me wrong--10 minutes later I was in my car and he was happily recounting the adventure to one of the other security guys.

But wait! The story doesn't end there. Remember my alternate plan to go home and get my super to let me into my apartment? I discovered when I got home that I had forgotten to lock my apartment door--turns out all I would have had to do is wait for one of my neighbours to let me into the building and I would have been home free.

But then I wouldn't have met Zach and robbed him of his car-breaking-in virginity, so I guess it was all for the best. Oh, and that spare key? It's now in my purse.

Baby You Can Drive My Car

Cars have been a hot topic for me and a couple of my friends this week. Randy and Kiki purchased a "new" car last weekend and I'm taking them to the dealership later today to pick it up. They got a good deal and they're very pleased with the purchase and this is sounding like the impetus Kiki needed to finally get her driver's license. She's got a bit more of a challenge ahead of her with this car--it's a standard!

My car isn't particularly new--it turned 12 this fall--but in spite of that it's in pretty decent shape. The previous owner (whom I know very well and very generously gave it to me 2 years ago) took extraordinarily good care of it and I've done my best to maintain it in a similar way. But due to her age, things are bound to wear out.

This week it was the alternator that gave out. After a few days of a persistently squeaky fan belt, finally all hell broke loose and I had to abandon her at 1 AM on Saturday night (I guess that's actually Sunday morning) in the parking lot of a Muffler Man near Randy and Kiki's place. Conveniently Guy had loaned them his car for their car shopping adventures that day so they were able to drive me home.

It turns out the alternator had seized up and the squeaking was the belt being forced over a wheel that wasn't moving. The mechanic said $470 would clear the whole thing up (gee, thanks) so I gave the go ahead and took the bus after work Wednesday to go pick her up. The guys at Muffler Man were very nice, joked about going on a spending spree with my Honey's credit card (with which I paid for the work) and then after the ransom was paid I went out to the lot to take my baby home. Unfortunately as soon as I started her up the loathsome squeak was still there! I immediately turned her off and marched myself right back to the office. The mechanic seemed surprised but sure enough, when he fired her up to take her back into the bay the squeak was audible inside the closed up office!

After much conferring amongst each other, revving of the engine and whatnot, the mechanics agreed that everything was moving alright and that the belt was just loose. Some tightening of said belt ensued and a half an hour later I was on my way.

The squeak hasn't had the nerve to show it's face since.

Speedy Update:

No change--she's still listless and not eating but miraculously still alive. I want to thank all of you for your well-wishes and positive thoughts. Turtles may not be the snuggliest of pets but I've had these gals for a long time and I've grown quite attached. I was really touched by how sympathetic you all have been and I just wanted to say thanks :)

"She's in the Recovery Room and she's asking to see you"

I brought my car into Mister Transmission yesterday for an oil change and transmission fluid change/flush/filter replacement. I had no idea how expensive that was gonna be! I get a message on my work voice mail from the mechanic: "I just wanted to let you know everything went okay, no complications or unexpected problems." He made it sound like I was some kind of anxious relative and he had just performed surgery on my loved one!

He was a nice guy, though--he even removed my dangling, damaged heat shield which has been rattling in a very annoying way for months now. And he didn't charge me! Nice guy. Sadly, I only have to worry about my transmission fluid about every 50 000 km, so I probably won't be seeing him again. Too bad--he seemed to genuinely care about my car, what with his good bed-side manner and all...