August 2006 Archives

This is what was wrong with our car.

Spread across the large majority of the back door, this beast was hanging upside down, waiting for prey. The thing that amazes me is that Mendon didn't notice it in the rearview mirror and I didn't see it until we were out of the car. It is, to say the least, huge for these parts.

PS. Regarding the actual problem with the car, we don't know. It didn't act up for any of the guys at the shop and it's fine now. Katie, our resident car non-expert, reports that this funny condition happened to her as well. In that case, the problem was with a temperature gauge that adjusts the gas mixture that goes to the engine. So she reports.

This means that 1. I do not feel relieved. 2. We paid Barry $60 for a towing and a spider of death. Great. Just great.

Today's an adventure!

It is.

Today involves a trip to the Juvenile Detention Center, and then a night shift for the Rape Crisis Program.

Today also involves a complete "I'm not working for you!" attitude from the car. In that, "I'm not working for anyone" sense of the attitude. In that Most Inconvienant sort of way, the shutting off right after you leave the for Juvey Jail and right after you've driven just far enough so that you can't relocate it to a legal parking spot sort of way. Hmhmhm. High blood pressure Adventure it is!

So, I've played the scramble game, the getting someone to cover for me at the Jail, the alerting our Rape Crisis advisor, the panicking about funds and getting home next weekend to Maman and Papa game. I've also made a quick detour to the "Ah! Mendon's going to flip out" level, too. (Although, that was a mistake... the level is completely fantasy- Mendon isn't like that).

The other fun detail is that not only did the car go just far enough to keep me from being able to park legally, but it went just far enough to land me in MIAMI PARKING TICKET TERRITORY. Nothing else (ever, really) is as fiercly guarded and patrolled as the MIAMI PARKING TICKET TERRITORY. Nothing else (for the most part) is as unforgivingly priced as a ticket in the MIAMI PARKING TICKET TERRITORY. The dread. The frustration. Had the car died only 20 feet sooner, we would be in Oxford, where the parking tickets are a mere $15. Instead, o-ho, instead it has traversed all the way to parking tickets of $55- $60!!! Ah-ha-ha-ha.

The really odd thing is that, right now, I feel just fine. No tension. No stress. Only a little tired. The guy who came to rescue the car and call off the MUPD was quite gregarious, and even more so for suggesting an affordable repair price. I just talked to the Rape Crisis advisor and she has everything covered. We're good to go. It just was not AT ALL the day that I had planned on having.

That is all.

How lovely it has been, this break from blogging, from work, from life in general.

Two weekends ago, Mendon and I were visiting his parents for the family reunion. We played board games, colored, and I dyed a bunch of cotton yarn. Kinda sounds like girl-scout camp, huh? Regardless, it was really wonderful to be back and visiting.

These are the things that I finished / started while I was there:

The back to this is a little bit.. funny... still. That will be my project to correct over the next 3-4 weeks, or whenever I finally get around to it.

OoooOOOh.

This past weekend, my mommy came to visit. Which was also great fun. We played board games and made bead necklaces. Girlscout camp, the sequel.

Today, I made my final summer run for the all-girls' most-campy of them all. I took a bizillion pictures of jewlery that I've made (and actually, some that my momma made) so that I can get rid of the crap- it's piling up sell it. In addition to a load of earrings and a modest collection of bracelets, I also have (the star of the show) 3 silk necklaces. They're so soft next to your skin; it's fabulous. I feel guilty trying them on. (Hey! A lost Catholic theme in the 500-words or less "what I did on my summer vacation" essay!) They're so plush.

So, I suppose, wish me luck as I contact the local store owners. It will be interesting. (Also: I'll need to be locking down prices for the silk necklaces in the next few days, so if you've any suggestions, I'd love to hear them).

PS. You might have noticed that girl scouts are always selling their cookies, too. Those freakin' cookies provide over 1/2 of their total income (http://www.old96girlscouts.org/page6_4.php). Oddly enough, because I'll be leaving my job shortly, my jewlery could also... well, never mind.