Well, since my last post my car has died. She's not really dead, but she's on life support and it's no longer safe for me to drive her back and forth to Austin.... so I have a new car! Jay found a really great deal on eBay last week and I am now the proud owner of a 2007 Jeep Compass. My mom drove down to Houston with my Uncle Page to pick it up on Monday, so I will meet the new car when I get to Lufkin this afternoon.
It should be interesting to note that there was not a leak in my water pump. However, I did blow a head gasket at some point and the mechanic didn't seem to notice that?!? Blowing a head gasket means replacing the engine. My dad could have gotten the work done for about $800, but the car is only worth about $900, so it was time to call it a day. Jay is going to turn the Civic into some kind of Derby car.... I'm just happy that she's getting a second chance at life. I'm going to have a wake for her while I'm home for Thanksgiving.
So I've started thinking about what I'm thankful for with Thanksgiving tomorrow. I am naturally thankful for the usual suspects: family, friends, health, employment. I think what I am most thankful for this year is the journey my life has been on the past year. There have been difficult times, but I've grown and found strength during it all. I am also very happy with how things have worked out. I loved my time at my last job, and I'm loving my new job. I've learned so much more about the legislative process and will only continue to do so. Plus I'm meeting some pretty neat people along the way.
Hope everyone has a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Friday, November 6, 2009
Terminal...
It's been a rough week! I'm starting to come to terms with the fact that my 11-year-old Honda Civic, with 268,000 miles is terminal. She may have two weeks, two months, or a year left... but the end is coming. I've signed a DNR and we will let her go off quietly into the night when her times come. No more heroic measures will be taken.
It all started on Saturday afternoon when I was driving downtown to meet Bunker and friends at Third Base to watch the Texas/OSU game before all of the Halloween festivities. Over the last few months, my car has occasionally run hot. Usually on road trips, and usually all things were fine once water was added. I had noticed that my car was starting to run hot earlier in the day, so I had filled up the radiator with water before leaving my apartment. About 5 miles away, the temperature gauge suddenly spikes. I end up exiting Mopac and pulling into an Extended Stay America parking lot to put water in my car. I pour the water, and the temperature doesn't drop. Deciding that 5 pm on a Saturday (Halloween, too), is not the time to find a mechanic, I call Bunker and they come pick me up. The temperature spiking continued for the rest of the weekend anytime I tried to drive my car.
I decided to take my car to the mechanic first thing Monday morning. I arranged for my friend Michelle to meet there so she could drop me off at the Capitol, since she works across the street. I get to my mechanic, as my temperature gauge is spiking, to find out that he has retired and gone out of business! It's vacant! Not knowing where the nearest mechanic is, I leave my car at the gas station across the street and have Michelle bring me to work so I can figure this out. This is where the tears started. And continued for most of the day. I called the mechanic's number, and it turns out he had forwarded his phones to another auto place that he did a lot of business with. Tony takes me to my car and follows me to the shop so they can take a look at it.
The guy runs a diagnostics test to see what's wrong with the car and he determines that there's a crack in the RADIATOR, of all things. Do you know how annoying it is to know that you could easily have the problem fixed in about an hour if only you were in Lufkin? I call my dad and have him call the auto shop because I don't make any decisions about my car without him, seeing as he has been a radiator mechanic for over 50 years now. The guy wants to charge me $345 dollars for the repairs, and my dad is outraged. He calls the guy a cheat, but ultimately we decide that this is going to be the cost of repairing my car in Austin. Made me miss small towns just a little.
The guy puts a new radiator on and then calls to tell me that there is a leak in my water pump and it needs to be replaced as well. He also says that while he's replacing the water pump he should go ahead and do the timing belt and a whole list of other things. I ask him how much this is going to cost and he says with the radiator, about $1250. The blue-book value of my car is currently around $950. He says if he just does the water pump it will be about $850 total. I tell him not to touch another thing on my car, and that I'm coming to pick it up. I couldn't justify spending that much money on my car. I love my car, but it's just not worth it. My parents and I had many conversations about my car that day, and decided to just get the car out of the shop and see what kind of condition it is in.
I am sure that there is a leak in the water pump, I can't imagine that this guy (who also has East Texas roots), would have made it up. But, since I've gotten my car out of the shop, the temperature has run even, minus running a little hot when I was sitting in traffic.
So, it looks like the end is coming soon. My mom has Jay scouting out cars for me. I was absolutely distraught on Monday (Tony thought someone had died, I was that upset when he came into the office), but I'm coming to terms with the situation at hand. This has been weighing on my so hard that I've had dreams about my car two nights this week!
For the good news, I have a new baby cousin! William Seth Siegling arrived last night at 6:21 pm weighing 8 lbs 2 oz, and 20.5 inches long. Mom Kathryn and Dad Noel are excited and everyone is healthy. Can't wait to meet the newest edition to the Durham family!
It all started on Saturday afternoon when I was driving downtown to meet Bunker and friends at Third Base to watch the Texas/OSU game before all of the Halloween festivities. Over the last few months, my car has occasionally run hot. Usually on road trips, and usually all things were fine once water was added. I had noticed that my car was starting to run hot earlier in the day, so I had filled up the radiator with water before leaving my apartment. About 5 miles away, the temperature gauge suddenly spikes. I end up exiting Mopac and pulling into an Extended Stay America parking lot to put water in my car. I pour the water, and the temperature doesn't drop. Deciding that 5 pm on a Saturday (Halloween, too), is not the time to find a mechanic, I call Bunker and they come pick me up. The temperature spiking continued for the rest of the weekend anytime I tried to drive my car.
I decided to take my car to the mechanic first thing Monday morning. I arranged for my friend Michelle to meet there so she could drop me off at the Capitol, since she works across the street. I get to my mechanic, as my temperature gauge is spiking, to find out that he has retired and gone out of business! It's vacant! Not knowing where the nearest mechanic is, I leave my car at the gas station across the street and have Michelle bring me to work so I can figure this out. This is where the tears started. And continued for most of the day. I called the mechanic's number, and it turns out he had forwarded his phones to another auto place that he did a lot of business with. Tony takes me to my car and follows me to the shop so they can take a look at it.
The guy runs a diagnostics test to see what's wrong with the car and he determines that there's a crack in the RADIATOR, of all things. Do you know how annoying it is to know that you could easily have the problem fixed in about an hour if only you were in Lufkin? I call my dad and have him call the auto shop because I don't make any decisions about my car without him, seeing as he has been a radiator mechanic for over 50 years now. The guy wants to charge me $345 dollars for the repairs, and my dad is outraged. He calls the guy a cheat, but ultimately we decide that this is going to be the cost of repairing my car in Austin. Made me miss small towns just a little.
The guy puts a new radiator on and then calls to tell me that there is a leak in my water pump and it needs to be replaced as well. He also says that while he's replacing the water pump he should go ahead and do the timing belt and a whole list of other things. I ask him how much this is going to cost and he says with the radiator, about $1250. The blue-book value of my car is currently around $950. He says if he just does the water pump it will be about $850 total. I tell him not to touch another thing on my car, and that I'm coming to pick it up. I couldn't justify spending that much money on my car. I love my car, but it's just not worth it. My parents and I had many conversations about my car that day, and decided to just get the car out of the shop and see what kind of condition it is in.
I am sure that there is a leak in the water pump, I can't imagine that this guy (who also has East Texas roots), would have made it up. But, since I've gotten my car out of the shop, the temperature has run even, minus running a little hot when I was sitting in traffic.
So, it looks like the end is coming soon. My mom has Jay scouting out cars for me. I was absolutely distraught on Monday (Tony thought someone had died, I was that upset when he came into the office), but I'm coming to terms with the situation at hand. This has been weighing on my so hard that I've had dreams about my car two nights this week!
For the good news, I have a new baby cousin! William Seth Siegling arrived last night at 6:21 pm weighing 8 lbs 2 oz, and 20.5 inches long. Mom Kathryn and Dad Noel are excited and everyone is healthy. Can't wait to meet the newest edition to the Durham family!
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