02.19.2002 - A Band-aid Solution

In the hopes that I might save some money on repairs, I woke up far earlier than should be permissable by law and rushed down to the auto shop whose parking lot my car decorated this morning where I met the mechanic who changed my belts last week. Much to my surprise, the mechanic popped my hood, looked inside and told me he'd have the car towed back to his shop where he'd replace the belt for free.

Rock over, London. Rock on, Chicago.

Since his diagnosis took far less time than estimated, I showed up to work about fifteen minutes early rather than a half hour late like I expected. This afforded me enough time to get my column wrapped up before it was due.

Do you think it's bad that I get suspicious when two good things happen to me before noon?

Since my manager was out on sales calls all day, I had some of my first alone time in the office since the changing of the guard. Surprisingly, I actually kind of like having the company now. Remind me I said this when I get an actual co-worker in March.

Around noon, the mechanic called me to tell me what was going on with my car. He said that there were a couple things that could have caused the belt to break. It could have been faulty or the alternator could have heated to the point that it damaged the belt. The alternator is overcharging for one reason or another, and as a result, it's producing an inordinate amount of heat. If I want to drive it, I'll either need to replace the voltage regulator and/or the alternator. In addition, he couldn't repair the flat tire. There's a spare on it now, but I'll have to replace that and the two front tires before I get the van.

Bummer, dude. This is why I get suspicious.

I had to stew in that news for the rest of the day before I had to go pick up my key and thank the mechanic for being a stand-up guy and fixing the problem. When I got home, I reluctantly asked Jackson, who had already done more than enough by letting me borrow his car for the day, to give me a ride back out to Woodland so I could get my car back home. He agreed, and we trekked back out to Wood-town in the rain.

The drive back was a slow and cautious one. I didn't want to risk blowing my spare tire or hydroplaning because of my two bald fronts. Thankfully, I made it home in one piece, and I didn't even have to bargain with any dieties this time.

Completely worn out, I barely made it an hour before I got in bed and slipped into a deep, deep sleep. This was the kind of sleep where you could have slipped into my room, dressed me up like Phyllis Diller and taken illicit pictures with me without waking me.

So it was good.

And I want those pictures, fuckers.

-- Jeffy