This weeks started out like normal. Monday morning wake up, hit the snooze a few times, get out of bed, curse the night for passing too quickly and race to work, cause I am down to the wire and nearly late for my first meeting.
The beginning of the week was status quo, no problems but no real triumphs either.
Until Tuesday. As I drove home from work I had to stop and get gas. As I returned from paying I noticed a river of yellow water flowing out from under my car, and then say the last of the waterfall dripping from the engine. I had blown out the water pump and was still 25 miles from home. I limped home and called the dealer and ordered a new part.
As a younger man, this would not have bothered me in the least, as I was accustomed to working on my own cars. The last few years however I have lost my acute mechanical skills as well as the ability to crawl underneath the car. Oh I can get my head under the car but my belly now scrapes on the oil pan. And the bumper.
When I was in my twenties, I would pull an engine in a hour, fix what was needed and have it back on the road the next day. 5 years ago, I went to replace an engine on on my SUV and it took me 5 tries and about 2 months. Still I am too cheap to pony up the cash to have a professional do the job in a timely manner.
The repair will eat up the rest of my evenings this week and all of my Saturday. But my wife is happy, because with me out in the garage all that time, she has one less child to look after.
Now that the sedan is parked, I had to rely on my backup vehicle, the same SUV that took me five tries to fix. It has been sitting in my garage for 3 years, I only drive it if the snow is deep enough to warrant using 4 wheel drive. It is pretty much a refrigerator on wheels, so it sucks gas pretty fast. That will provide me with a good incentive to fix the other one quickly.
Wednesday morning I get up in my usual fashion and race out the door five minutes late. As I check the SUV for fluids and all that, I notice the tags expired 2 months ago. Crapola. I would have to be extra careful and not get caught. Luckily the county clerks office was on the way so I could stop and renew them.
As I was driving down the highway, sure enough I get followed by the Highway Patrol. Fortunately for me someone else must have been infracting the law in a more conspicuous manner because he passed me by to go get them.
I stopped to get the new tags, and then noticed the car was out of gas. That will make me 10 minutes later, but you do what you have to do.
As I got about 5 miles from work, it started to drizzle lightly. No problem, I have an umbrella. I parked and thought, it i not so bad, I will just book on into work and not get wet. Bad call. I got to the first security gate and badged in which must have been what the gods were waiting for. The heavens opened wide and drenched me for the last 100 yards to the building. Sure, I could have stopped and pulled the umbrella out of my pack, but I thought that if I stopped to get the umbrella out, I would get wetter than if I just kept walking. Moot point as it turned out. I ended up looking like a fat drowned rat. As I entered my office area, a cube farm, some of my coworkers audibly snickered. They piped down when I shook like a dog to rid myself of the excess water. The laughing stopped altogether when I undressed and hung my shirt and pants on the desk to dry. I think it may have been because my socks smelled like a wet dog. That or because I forgot to wear underwear.
After my pants dried and I had returned to conforming to office guidelines concerning proper attire my team lead came over and mentioned that it was going to be rainy the rest of the week and then offered me the option of working from home for the rest of the week. I think it was nice of her to understand that the SUV cost me so much in gas, and let me avoid the extra expense.
As nice as her offer was, I still wish she would get my name right. When she walked away I heard her call me Mr. Frank n Beans.
The beginning of the week was status quo, no problems but no real triumphs either.
Until Tuesday. As I drove home from work I had to stop and get gas. As I returned from paying I noticed a river of yellow water flowing out from under my car, and then say the last of the waterfall dripping from the engine. I had blown out the water pump and was still 25 miles from home. I limped home and called the dealer and ordered a new part.
As a younger man, this would not have bothered me in the least, as I was accustomed to working on my own cars. The last few years however I have lost my acute mechanical skills as well as the ability to crawl underneath the car. Oh I can get my head under the car but my belly now scrapes on the oil pan. And the bumper.
When I was in my twenties, I would pull an engine in a hour, fix what was needed and have it back on the road the next day. 5 years ago, I went to replace an engine on on my SUV and it took me 5 tries and about 2 months. Still I am too cheap to pony up the cash to have a professional do the job in a timely manner.
The repair will eat up the rest of my evenings this week and all of my Saturday. But my wife is happy, because with me out in the garage all that time, she has one less child to look after.
Now that the sedan is parked, I had to rely on my backup vehicle, the same SUV that took me five tries to fix. It has been sitting in my garage for 3 years, I only drive it if the snow is deep enough to warrant using 4 wheel drive. It is pretty much a refrigerator on wheels, so it sucks gas pretty fast. That will provide me with a good incentive to fix the other one quickly.
Wednesday morning I get up in my usual fashion and race out the door five minutes late. As I check the SUV for fluids and all that, I notice the tags expired 2 months ago. Crapola. I would have to be extra careful and not get caught. Luckily the county clerks office was on the way so I could stop and renew them.
As I was driving down the highway, sure enough I get followed by the Highway Patrol. Fortunately for me someone else must have been infracting the law in a more conspicuous manner because he passed me by to go get them.
I stopped to get the new tags, and then noticed the car was out of gas. That will make me 10 minutes later, but you do what you have to do.
As I got about 5 miles from work, it started to drizzle lightly. No problem, I have an umbrella. I parked and thought, it i not so bad, I will just book on into work and not get wet. Bad call. I got to the first security gate and badged in which must have been what the gods were waiting for. The heavens opened wide and drenched me for the last 100 yards to the building. Sure, I could have stopped and pulled the umbrella out of my pack, but I thought that if I stopped to get the umbrella out, I would get wetter than if I just kept walking. Moot point as it turned out. I ended up looking like a fat drowned rat. As I entered my office area, a cube farm, some of my coworkers audibly snickered. They piped down when I shook like a dog to rid myself of the excess water. The laughing stopped altogether when I undressed and hung my shirt and pants on the desk to dry. I think it may have been because my socks smelled like a wet dog. That or because I forgot to wear underwear.
After my pants dried and I had returned to conforming to office guidelines concerning proper attire my team lead came over and mentioned that it was going to be rainy the rest of the week and then offered me the option of working from home for the rest of the week. I think it was nice of her to understand that the SUV cost me so much in gas, and let me avoid the extra expense.
As nice as her offer was, I still wish she would get my name right. When she walked away I heard her call me Mr. Frank n Beans.
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