Mood: sleepy
Listening to: nothing
Reading: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Book 5)
Eating: nothing yet
Watching: nothing
Some people just write “Wash Me” on the window of a dusty car. This guy does artwork. Very good artwork.
via Rocketboom
Mood: grateful, relieved, superblessed
Listening to: Jennie calling Keisha inside for dinner
Eating: spaghetti with grilled veal steaks
Watching: (later) the series finale of ‘Alias’
Jennie’s maternal uncle came by this afternoon and fixed our car. All that needed replacing was a fan belt, and apparently it was really easy (for him) to fix. Yay! Our car runs even quieter than it had been. And he charged us a really really really good rate for his service.
I just came back from testing it out on Colerain to Ronald Reagan Highway to Blue Rock, back to Galbraith. No problems whatsoever! YEE HAA!!!!
Mood: slightly surrenedered, tired, and still a bit congested
Listening to: 11 o’clock news
Reading: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Book 4)
Eating: bbq turkey, dressing, carrots and broccoli – water to drink
Watching: season finale of Desperate Housewives – The Complete Second Season
Our car, the 1993 Saturn we bought back in January, is broken. Fortunately, it’s in front of our home. One of the fan belts has frayed and is broken, which explains why the car got overheated so quickly and the battery light was on.
So, Jennie’s got a cab ride to work tonight and probably home tomorrow morning. Her uncle is a mechanic, and he said he’d call us tomorrow morning. Hopefully he can diagnose what’s best for the car, and even more hopefully, it won’t cost a lot to get fixed.
Earlier today Jennie and Keisha were about to go to church, when Jennie decided to come back home, too tired to make the drive. I was in bed, still feeling ill. We see that as a blessing.
Mood: alert, but with tired eyes
Listening to: cars driving on wet pavement outside the window
Reading: see below
Eating: spaghetti with sauce, mushrooms, and chicken steak, and steamed broccoli, with some Miller Lite to wash it down
I went to the library on my way home from work. Going to a different branch than I normally go to from time to time is nice. Different surroundings and different selections.
I’d called the branch when I was still in the Dayton area to see if they had a DVD of Mr. Holland’s Opus
I dropped off
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Book 3),
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2-Disc Full Screen Edition) (Harry Potter 3), and
some other children’s book Keisha had checked out
I then browsed the non-fiction section for a book on personal finance for dummies, idiot’s guide to personal finance, or K.I.S.S. guide to personal finance, but didn’t find anything like that.
Instead I wound up checking outMr. Holland’s Opus
Cats for Dummies
Time Management for Dummies, Second Edition
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Magic Tricks
KISS: Behind the Mask – Official Authorized Biography
The movie, as I mentioned earlier, was one I had the librarian pull for me. The books I found while browsing the shelves. Here’s why I picked each book:
Cats for Dummies – we know our cat Zoe talks to us and communicates to us with meows and purrs and other actions, but we’re not exactly sure if we understand what she’s saying
Time Management for Dummies – in the past I’ve gotten really into this kind of thing, but I got it this time more for browsing, not sure if I’d make the time to really read it. Who knows?
Idiot’s Guide to Magic Tricks – one of my recurring hobbies, maybe I’ll find something simple to do to thrill Keisha or one of her friends
KISS: Behind the Mask – when I was 7-9 years old, I was a KISS fanatic. I remember tracing the album cover of “Rock And Roll Over” on some notebook paper. My friends and I would pretend we were members of the band whenever we’d play together and listen to the music together. I remember Jamie was Gene Simmons, Rob was Ace, Gary was Paul, and I was Peter Criss. We were so good. I think David, who actually DID play the drums, doubled for me as Peter Criss sometimes.
At one time I owned a lot of their albums, including a blood-red Dressed to Kill
Mood: content
Weather: Overcast, 41 degrees F
Listening to: Griddlecakes Radio
Reading: BorgBlog
Eating: Arby’s Reuben sandwich, curly fries, large order of jalepeno bites, and a Diet Pepsi (brown and bubbly)
Watching: GeekBrief.tv
Fortunately for me, I’ve found a wi-fi hotspot at this Arby’s in Reading, along Reading Road, just south of Galbraith Road
Our car is currently being serviced. As one of the conditions of our purchase, they are fixing the window mechanism for the front driver’s side door. The car has nearly power-everything, and, as we test-drove it last month, we noticed that the window gets stuck and won’t budge without patience and coaxing.
Patience and coaxing are not something we have a lot of during the cold winter weather. And during the rain. And whenever we want to park the car someplace where the car should be locked. You understand. So does the dealer.
Today was the best day we had to have them look at the car and work on getting the mechanism (hereafter called “thingy” because mechanism takes too long to write) fixed. I needed some lunch anyway, so while they’re looking and and fixing the thingy, I’m sitting in Arby’s, enjoying the wi-fi connection.
When I was in college, I co-oped for a civil engineering consulting company whose office was just down the street. This was about 12 to 13 years ago. At that time there was this Asian restaurant called “Happy Garden” that we’d often go to for lunch.
As with a lot of the area, I’ve noticed it’s gone out of business, and, while I can still see the sign, the lettering has been painted over with red paint.
I mention this because I knew I’d need to give the dealership some time to work on the car, and, since I hadn’t been a pedestrian in these parts for some time, I strolled up and down the area, about a quarter of a mile in each direction, before settling here at Arby’s.
I think I chose Arby’s because, if I wanted to buy something else, other than my meal, it wouldn’t cost as much as if I’d gone to say, a family style restaurant.
So it’s been about 2 hours since I’d dropped the car off. I’ll probably call in a little while to see what’s going on. For now, I’m thankful that I have the wi-fi connection and can do some work.
Mood: hard-pressed, but not beaten down
Listening to: 6620 West Kidcast
Reading: lots of used car ads
Eating: Smooth and Bumpy, a snack that Keisha created for us
It has been a very trying week for us, as we’ve been on the search for a different car. You may recall that our other car – our only mode of transportation – died last week. I thought I’d provid an update here:
More than anything, it’s a faith-building experience, an experience in surrender before the Almighty God. Some may say that’s a little bit or a lot over the top, but we believe that God is able to do for us things we cannot do ourselves.
To be true, we need to do work for this ourselves. But, at least for me, I’m so prone to stress and anxiety in this situation. I know that God can help with that. I believe that God is able to work certain things that are beyond our control out for our good.
We’ve looked at a few cars, and checked a lot of other cars out on the internet via CarFax, which I highly recommend.
We’ve been renting a vehicle during this time, and that is the equivalent of more than filling up the gas tank every day. This big drain on our bank account is a cause for stress, and it’s overflowed in my interactions with Jennie, Keisha, and our pets.
I’m so prone to frustration, and the anger and rage I feel from not being in control of these aspects of our circumstances has led to sinful behavior; namely, angry outbursts, impatience, and episodes of self-harm.
Please keep us in your prayers. The podcast episode will probably be delayed at least a few days, until we get the car situation straightened out.
Mood: tired
Listening to: peace and quiet
Reading: this post I’m typing
Eating: nothing since lunch
Watching: the screen and the window outside
… but I’m safe at home – finally. Here’s kinda what happened:
I left work around 5:50 PM EST. As I continued south on Interstate 75, I noticed that the dashboard lights were not lit anymore. I thought that had something to do with the battery thing from before.
Once I got past Interstate 75 and Interstate 675, however, I realized that there was something more going on. For some time, the “low coolant” light has been on. I’ve kept a good eye on the temperature gauge to know that it wasn’t really a problem. Then the battery light came on this morning. I also noticed the alternator light on for some time, too.
The the alternator light went off. So the battery light was on and so was the low coolant light. Driving a little bit further, I saw the “air bag” light flicker on and off. Shortly after that the “brake” light, that signals that the emergency brake is engaged, flickered on.
Soon all 6 lights were on, and, by that time, I noticed it appeared to be dark in front of me. At least not as light as it was. So my headlights were going out, and all these dashboard lights were on.
I had just passed exit 36 and came to a short hill. That’s when the car conked out. I felt very, very fortunate that there was enough space and time to get over to the right hand side of the highway and let the car come to rest.
At about 6:20 EST, I called Jennie on the cell phone and told her what had happened. Eventually, after several successive conversations, we’d arranged for a rental car at the Dayton International Airport – since all the satellite locations had closed at 6. I’d also arranged for some close friends who live in Centerville – about 20 minutes north of me – to come pick me up and take me to the airport.
Huge props go out to Michelle, therefore, for getting her kids out of bed, driving south to pick me up, driving me up to the airport, waiting 15 to 20 minutes while I got the rental, and for driving me to the spot where it was.
Big – major props go up to God for all the ways he’s provided. It could have been raining really hard or snowing very badly. It could have been freezing cold. None of my phone calls could have gotten through. No rentals could have been available. There could have been a snag in getting us approved to get the rental. I could have been in an accident when the car broke down. It could have caught on fire. I could go on.
None of these things happened. Thank you, God!
I drove our rental – a brand new minivan with so many good amenities and accessories – it probably costs as much as my annual salary – maybe more – home.
Jennie and Keisha were waiting so that I could take Jennie to work. I had to drive, since her name isn’t on the agreement yet. Apparently all we need to do tomorrow is go to a satellite office and have Jennie show her license, and she’ll get added.
So, needless to say, I’m pretty tired.
We’re praying hard for God to provide us with our next mode of transportation.
Last October, some friends from church gave us a ’94 Chevy Corsica. Shortly after we’d gotten it, we noticed that it had this odd way about it. The right front tire area would wobble and “bounce,” creating a lot of noise and shaking the car.
It wasn’t bad enough for us to really do a lot about it, so we just lived with it. Over time, we noticed that the wobble only occurred between 30 and 55 miles per hour. Below and above, the car behaved almost normally.
This past Thursday morning, when my wife came home from work, she said that the car was sounding really bad. A little concerned, I prepared to go to work anyway.
As I began to drive, I could understand what Jennie had meant. Instead of heading toward the highway, I headed for one of the nearby auto repair places. I saw a Midas, and I took the car there.
I handed the owner/manager the keys, and he had a mechanic pull it into a repair bay. After he lifted the car a bit, he checked the right front wheel and called the manager over. After a brief moment, the manager called me over to take a look. The wheel was close to snapping off, and the car was definitely unsafe to drive in its current condition.
It turned out that it needed something called “sway bushings”, which are somehow related to the steering assembly; they had broken and were no longer useful. I told for them to go ahead with the repair and called my work to tell them I would be late by a few hours.
I decided to wait in their lobby, watching television, and thinking about the application I’ve been developing at work.
After the repair was completed, the owner/manager gave me the total cost, and I gave him my driver’s license so that I could use the car to go to the ATM to get the money. We don’t have a credit card, and the Midas didn’t take personal checks.
I withdrew the $240 needed from the ATM, returned to Midas, and paid my bill. As I started driving toward the expressway, I noticed that the wobble was still there. I could tell that something was fixed because it sounded a bit different.
I stopped to get me some breakfast/lunch, and then I returned to the Midas. After I told the owner that the car still sounded bad, he had the mechanic who’d worked on the car earlier go for a short ride with me. He had test-driven the car earlier, but only in the Target parking lot. As I got up to normal driving speed, he heard and felt the wobble. We returned to Midas.
Let Me Axle You About Your Hub
He pulled the wheel off, and took a closer look. The manager returned to the waiting area and told me it looked like it could be a problem with the axle or the wheel hub.
I knew from an experience several years ago that replacing the axle was not cheap at all. The manager and mechanic later deduced that it was probably the wheel hub.
After giving me the estimate, I told the manager to go ahead with the work and asked for them to take me home, since I didn’t feel like waiting around. The mechanic said he would take the car on the highway to test it out this time. I called work and told them I wasn’t going to make it in after all.
The driver and I started toward our apartment, and, about two-thirds of the way there, I realized that the apartment keys were still with the car at the shop. As we turned around to head back to the shop, I chuckled at how silly that was. I’m glad I had a sense of humor about it. I left the ignition key with the mechanic, and the driver took me home.
I went inside and went to bed for a nap. Jennie returned home from some training at her work, having gotten a ride from a friend. After a few hours, Keisha came home, and I was able to meet her when she got off the bus. We were home for a short while when Midas called to tell me that the car was ready. I told them to send the driver to come pick me up.
When we got back to the shop, the assistant manager gave me the total. I left my license again, needing the car to head to the ATM to get the money, approximately $200.
Exceeding the Recommended Daily Limit
I returned to the credit union I’d gone to before. They are not affiliated with our credit union, except for the fact that they have the same type of ATM, and we don’t have to pay a fee when we use it.
I drove up to the ATM, and tried to withdraw the $200. I got a message stating that I needed to contact my institution because the transaction could not be completed. I went inside the credit union, and the teller told me that, since they are not in any way affiliated with my credit union, there was really nothing he could do.
I drove home and called the credit union’s toll-free number, and I told the representative about the situation, including my needing the money for a car repair, leaving my license, and so forth. He said that the additional $200 would put me over my daily limit of $300, yet he would set the account up to authorize it for this occasion.
I hung up and returned to the ATM to try again. This time I the message on the ATM slip stated that the “Amount Requested Exceeds Daily Limit”. Perturbed, I returned home and called the toll-free number again.
The rep I spoke with the second time said that it was probably because they didn’t set up the addditional amount on my wife’s ATM card as well. I gave the woman that number and she said I should be okay.
Since we needed to get some groceries, Jennie and Keisha climbed in with me. We drove back to the ATM, and I tried with Jennie’s card, but the ATM wouldn’t even read it. I tried with my card, and I got the same message as before.
Seriously frustrated, I went inside to talk with the teller. I told him that my credit union had supposedly authorized me to get the additional money. He told me again that they were not affiliated with my credit union and that it usually takes some sort of nightly update f
or something like that to take effect.
Deflated, I returned to our car, and we drove to Midas. I went inside and spoke with the assistant manager. I told him that I had a handful of ATM slips telling me that, despite my credit union telling me the contrary, I was unable to get the money at that time.
My biggest concern was that they would think I was trying to steal from them. Since they had my license, all they’d have to do is call the sheriff, and I could get arrested.
I asked them to hold my license until Friday morning, when I could get the money to them on my way to work. They agreed.
On Friday morning, I was able to get the $200 cash, pay for the repair, and get my license back. Isn’t science wonderful?
As I’ve reflected on this series of events, I’ve been able to see how God was blessing me through it all:
And I know there are other ways that God took care of me that I haven’t mentioned.
It’s nice to drive the car without the nasty wobble. It’s gotten so that I’ve nearly forgotten it was there at all.
Car problems of late. Battery is not being recharged as we drive it – perhaps the alternator is bad. We drive a 1994 Chevrolet Corsica that friends from church gave us last October.
They told us the battery is new; I think I need to ask them for sure and check if it’s still under warranty.
Lately we’ve been having to get it jump-started. Jennie had to get it jumped as she left the doctor’s office this morning. When she met me for lunch, the car conked out, and we had it jumped. As we emerged from lunch, we needed to jumpt it again. Three times in 5 hours!
Jennie had planned to run some other errands, but it looks like those will need to be postponed.
Update: Maybe we can get one of these kind of cars!
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