Originally posted December 29/2006 on "Allison Wonderland"
So close! The part is in. The car is in. The mechanics are, in fact, working today. It's going to cost twice what we thought it would, but at least we're going to have a car tomorrow.
And no, it's not Canadian Tire's fault about the money... not this time. Due to circumstances I'm not going to go into here, we also have to get the transmission flushed and the filter replaced. But hey, we're going to have our car back.
So that will be that, I guess. I hope that'll be all for a while, anyway. Can I write about something INTERESTING now?
Showing posts with label car. Show all posts
Showing posts with label car. Show all posts
Thursday, February 4, 2010
OK, Now It's Just Getting Stupid
Originally posted December 28/2006 on "Allison Wonderland"
I give up. I just... give up.
The service departments of both Ford dealerships in town are, in fact open today. That's good. What's not quite so good is the fact that neither has the part our car needs. It'll be in tomorrow.
Am I on TV? This is a joke, right?
Anyway, since I'm not sure whether I should laugh or cry at this point, I'm going to laugh. It's just too ridiculous not to. And hey, I'll live. I was going to be taking the bus to work today, anyway, so that's no big deal, and at least I don't have to do the 2 1/2 hour trip to pick up the car after. I'll get a taxi to my doctor's appointment tomorrow morning (what's $20 between friends?) and see if the car's ready then; if not, I'll people-watch on the bus again.
We're supposed to be going to a party tonight, but we might not make it. We'll see if we can hitch a ride with anyone who's not busy actually HOSTING the party...
In other news, last night was great. I was on cash at work, but it was OK. The store was pretty quiet, and there weren't many people around to mess the place up. We actually got out at 9:20! That's a record for me (at this store, anyway). I got a guy at work to give me a ride over to the grocery store that's closest to our house, and I picked up the essentials that we had run out of while waiting for the car: Simon's milk, baby cereal, butter, bread, eggs. Then I walked home. It was an incredible night- cold, but not freezing, and there was hardly any wind at all. The snow was crunching under my feet, and I enjoyed the Christmas lights on the pretty houses on the way home. Sooooo nice. It's a walk I'll be taking again any time the weather's nice and we only need a few things from the store.
So things with the car are still on hold, but I'm trying to be philosophical about it. You can't control what you can't control, que sera, sera and all that. Living in the moment, blah, blah, blah. It's working for now, anyway.
I give up. I just... give up.
The service departments of both Ford dealerships in town are, in fact open today. That's good. What's not quite so good is the fact that neither has the part our car needs. It'll be in tomorrow.
Am I on TV? This is a joke, right?
Anyway, since I'm not sure whether I should laugh or cry at this point, I'm going to laugh. It's just too ridiculous not to. And hey, I'll live. I was going to be taking the bus to work today, anyway, so that's no big deal, and at least I don't have to do the 2 1/2 hour trip to pick up the car after. I'll get a taxi to my doctor's appointment tomorrow morning (what's $20 between friends?) and see if the car's ready then; if not, I'll people-watch on the bus again.
We're supposed to be going to a party tonight, but we might not make it. We'll see if we can hitch a ride with anyone who's not busy actually HOSTING the party...
In other news, last night was great. I was on cash at work, but it was OK. The store was pretty quiet, and there weren't many people around to mess the place up. We actually got out at 9:20! That's a record for me (at this store, anyway). I got a guy at work to give me a ride over to the grocery store that's closest to our house, and I picked up the essentials that we had run out of while waiting for the car: Simon's milk, baby cereal, butter, bread, eggs. Then I walked home. It was an incredible night- cold, but not freezing, and there was hardly any wind at all. The snow was crunching under my feet, and I enjoyed the Christmas lights on the pretty houses on the way home. Sooooo nice. It's a walk I'll be taking again any time the weather's nice and we only need a few things from the store.
So things with the car are still on hold, but I'm trying to be philosophical about it. You can't control what you can't control, que sera, sera and all that. Living in the moment, blah, blah, blah. It's working for now, anyway.
Down We Go Again
Originally posted December 27/2006 on "Allison Wonderland"
Grrrr.
OK, so the money for fixing the car coming in just when we needed it? Still the Miracle on Cornwall Ave. But there are still obstacles to getting it done, and I can't help being just a little upset by it all... mostly because AJ seems like he's about ready to have a nervous breakdown- and he doesn't even know how to cry.
He put more transmission fluid in the car this morning (using our makeshift funnel- half a Coke bottle) and got the car to Canadian Tire, no problem. Yeah, I know, it's Canadian Tire, but he called Ford this morning and the service department is STILL on holidays. I guess the weekend wasn't long enough... anyway, CT was pretty backed up, but they thought they'd be able to get it done by 5. Good thing, since I have to be at work by 6. Too bad they have to get the part from FORD... which is CLOSED...
No car fixin' for us today.
Thank God (once again) for good friends. C or J will be picking AJ up at work tonight, bringing him home and taking me to work. We're giving them gas money (though J said not to worry about it), and it'll be way cheaper than the $40 it would have cost us to take taxis tonight. I don't know what we'd do without them, or without our other friends (JP squared) who have also helped us out with the car thing. I hope we can repay the favours some time, though I'm NOT hoping that their cars break down. No-no-no. Some other favour, maybe. House-sitting, cat-sitting... slashing the tires of people who piss them off... that kind of thing.
I'm working 11-4 tomorrow, so I'll take a bus in, then get one from the mall to Mount Pearl after work and pick up the car.
I hope...
Grrrr.
OK, so the money for fixing the car coming in just when we needed it? Still the Miracle on Cornwall Ave. But there are still obstacles to getting it done, and I can't help being just a little upset by it all... mostly because AJ seems like he's about ready to have a nervous breakdown- and he doesn't even know how to cry.
He put more transmission fluid in the car this morning (using our makeshift funnel- half a Coke bottle) and got the car to Canadian Tire, no problem. Yeah, I know, it's Canadian Tire, but he called Ford this morning and the service department is STILL on holidays. I guess the weekend wasn't long enough... anyway, CT was pretty backed up, but they thought they'd be able to get it done by 5. Good thing, since I have to be at work by 6. Too bad they have to get the part from FORD... which is CLOSED...
No car fixin' for us today.
Thank God (once again) for good friends. C or J will be picking AJ up at work tonight, bringing him home and taking me to work. We're giving them gas money (though J said not to worry about it), and it'll be way cheaper than the $40 it would have cost us to take taxis tonight. I don't know what we'd do without them, or without our other friends (JP squared) who have also helped us out with the car thing. I hope we can repay the favours some time, though I'm NOT hoping that their cars break down. No-no-no. Some other favour, maybe. House-sitting, cat-sitting... slashing the tires of people who piss them off... that kind of thing.
I'm working 11-4 tomorrow, so I'll take a bus in, then get one from the mall to Mount Pearl after work and pick up the car.
I hope...
Miracle on Cornwall Ave.
Originally posted December 26/2006 on "Allison Wonderland"
Thanks to Hayley for that title!)
Well, we had a good Christmas in spite of everything. Christmas eve day we went to C & J's house for brunch. Of course, we didn't have any way to get there on our own, but J was a generous taxi service for us. It was raining that day; we didn't get our white Christmas after all, because the rain melted all that snow we got. Oh, well! We had a great time at brunch. Some other friends were there, including Simon's little friend Raya. She's 2 weeks older than he is, and they used to have trouble playing together because she was crawling and walking long before he was, so he couldn't get away. Now that they're on more equal footing (so to speak), things are way better. They chased each other around, laughing their little heads off. It was hilarious, and I realized while I was watching them that I was really, genuinely happy. That might not sound strange to you, but it was a bit of a shock for me to realize that it's been a long time since I felt that, mostly (I think) because of my meds. I just don't usually feel a whole lot either way, even when I'm "happy." In any case, my heart felt like it was going to explode, and I was laughing along with the kids. It was great!
J dropped me off at work that afternoon, and it was a pretty good shift. My wrist was bothering me, but we got out at a decent time and I got a ride home with my supervisor. I made hot wings and mashed potatoes (with tzatziki- yum!) for supper, and we had a quiet evening after we each opened a present. AJ got new pajamas, and I opened a charm for my link bracelet- Superman! Simon got a stuffed Mandrill to go with the animal theme in his bedroom, and he hugged it. So cute!!!
AJ always has a hard time sleeping on Christmas eve; he's like a giant kid at Christmas. I had a sleepless night, too, but not because I was listening for sleigh-bells. Simon is teething, with at least 4 teeth coming in right now, and he was up 5 times that night. I was ready to sleep in Christmas morning, but we started opening our stockings at about 8:30. We had the video camera set up- it's the same one they used when AJ was younger. The sound didn't come out very well, but Simon looks- you guessed it!- adorable. He found the whole present thing a bit overwhelming. He was just checking out one new toy when another one would come, and he looked like he was going, "Hang on- I just got this one!" We saved some of his presents for the evening.
AJ loved all of the gifts we got for him, which made me very happy. I got lots of great stuff, too! My BIG present is an iPod, which AJ and his parents went in together to get for me. It's a refurbished one that should arrive in a few days, and I'm SO excited! I also got a "Get Fuzzy" page-a-day calendar, my annual planner book, the hair stuff I asked for, new slippers, gloves and socks, a HUGE Lindt milk chocolate bar, Lindor chocolates, another bracelet link (a monkey, like Simon!) and a subscription to Chatelaine. SO spoiled! Our present from my parents came a few weeks ago- our new BED (whoopee!!!). And we still have another "Christmas" coming when the in-laws come up from Florida in a few weeks!
After all that, I was ready for a nap. When I woke up it was almost time for our Christmas dinner. Now, I don't cook the turkey- that could very well be a waste of an expensive bird! Neither set of parents lives nearby, so we would be on our own for Christmas dinner if J's mom didn't take us poor orphans in every year. She and a friend put together an amazing feast, and we joined the family for a few hours. Actually, I think Simon's the one who really gets the invite- we just tag along. :) I have a thank-you card to send...
But you're probably still wondering about that "miracle" thing... unless I've already told you. Last night we remembered that we hadn't opened the card that my grandparents sent with Simon's present. We opened it, and the card said, "Use this for whatever you want or need," and there was a cheque inside for enough money to get the car fixed! Hooray! Every time we think we won't scrape by this time, someone comes through- an anonymous friend sends us grocery store gift certificates just when we can't quite afford groceries, a mysterious card gets dropped in the mailbox with a gift card for Shopper's when we need to get diapers, or a Christmas present comes that will get us back on the road. Some days it's hard to trust that God won't let us starve, but He hasn't failed us yet, and neither have our friends and family.
Merry Christmas!
Thanks to Hayley for that title!)
Well, we had a good Christmas in spite of everything. Christmas eve day we went to C & J's house for brunch. Of course, we didn't have any way to get there on our own, but J was a generous taxi service for us. It was raining that day; we didn't get our white Christmas after all, because the rain melted all that snow we got. Oh, well! We had a great time at brunch. Some other friends were there, including Simon's little friend Raya. She's 2 weeks older than he is, and they used to have trouble playing together because she was crawling and walking long before he was, so he couldn't get away. Now that they're on more equal footing (so to speak), things are way better. They chased each other around, laughing their little heads off. It was hilarious, and I realized while I was watching them that I was really, genuinely happy. That might not sound strange to you, but it was a bit of a shock for me to realize that it's been a long time since I felt that, mostly (I think) because of my meds. I just don't usually feel a whole lot either way, even when I'm "happy." In any case, my heart felt like it was going to explode, and I was laughing along with the kids. It was great!
J dropped me off at work that afternoon, and it was a pretty good shift. My wrist was bothering me, but we got out at a decent time and I got a ride home with my supervisor. I made hot wings and mashed potatoes (with tzatziki- yum!) for supper, and we had a quiet evening after we each opened a present. AJ got new pajamas, and I opened a charm for my link bracelet- Superman! Simon got a stuffed Mandrill to go with the animal theme in his bedroom, and he hugged it. So cute!!!
AJ always has a hard time sleeping on Christmas eve; he's like a giant kid at Christmas. I had a sleepless night, too, but not because I was listening for sleigh-bells. Simon is teething, with at least 4 teeth coming in right now, and he was up 5 times that night. I was ready to sleep in Christmas morning, but we started opening our stockings at about 8:30. We had the video camera set up- it's the same one they used when AJ was younger. The sound didn't come out very well, but Simon looks- you guessed it!- adorable. He found the whole present thing a bit overwhelming. He was just checking out one new toy when another one would come, and he looked like he was going, "Hang on- I just got this one!" We saved some of his presents for the evening.
AJ loved all of the gifts we got for him, which made me very happy. I got lots of great stuff, too! My BIG present is an iPod, which AJ and his parents went in together to get for me. It's a refurbished one that should arrive in a few days, and I'm SO excited! I also got a "Get Fuzzy" page-a-day calendar, my annual planner book, the hair stuff I asked for, new slippers, gloves and socks, a HUGE Lindt milk chocolate bar, Lindor chocolates, another bracelet link (a monkey, like Simon!) and a subscription to Chatelaine. SO spoiled! Our present from my parents came a few weeks ago- our new BED (whoopee!!!). And we still have another "Christmas" coming when the in-laws come up from Florida in a few weeks!
After all that, I was ready for a nap. When I woke up it was almost time for our Christmas dinner. Now, I don't cook the turkey- that could very well be a waste of an expensive bird! Neither set of parents lives nearby, so we would be on our own for Christmas dinner if J's mom didn't take us poor orphans in every year. She and a friend put together an amazing feast, and we joined the family for a few hours. Actually, I think Simon's the one who really gets the invite- we just tag along. :) I have a thank-you card to send...
But you're probably still wondering about that "miracle" thing... unless I've already told you. Last night we remembered that we hadn't opened the card that my grandparents sent with Simon's present. We opened it, and the card said, "Use this for whatever you want or need," and there was a cheque inside for enough money to get the car fixed! Hooray! Every time we think we won't scrape by this time, someone comes through- an anonymous friend sends us grocery store gift certificates just when we can't quite afford groceries, a mysterious card gets dropped in the mailbox with a gift card for Shopper's when we need to get diapers, or a Christmas present comes that will get us back on the road. Some days it's hard to trust that God won't let us starve, but He hasn't failed us yet, and neither have our friends and family.
Merry Christmas!
Wishing You a Merrier Christmas Than We're Having
Originally posted December 23/2006 on "Allison Wonderland"
Just when we thought that as much of he proverbial shit had hit the fan as was going to this Christmas season, on came just a little more- just in case we weren't splattered with enough of it already. The icing on the cake. The cherry on the sundae. The kick to the kidneys when we were already down.
We paid $350 that we don't have yesterday to get the wheel on the car fixed. They said that the transmission, the tires and the other stuff could probably wait until January, when AJ's bonus comes in (and don't think I'm not picturing a Jelly Of The Month Club membership arriving by courier, 'cause that has crossed my mind many times). What a surprise, then, when today AJ left work to find transmission fluid leaking all over the f^*&ing parking lot. So now there's that to deal with, but no one's going to be able to work on it until at least Wednesday- and then there's the trouble of paying for it.
So no, it's not shaping up to be the merriest Christmas ever. Did we piss someone off somewhere? Are we cursed? Did we unknowingly break a whole lot of mirrors at some point? I don't understand. But whatever...
Just when we thought that as much of he proverbial shit had hit the fan as was going to this Christmas season, on came just a little more- just in case we weren't splattered with enough of it already. The icing on the cake. The cherry on the sundae. The kick to the kidneys when we were already down.
We paid $350 that we don't have yesterday to get the wheel on the car fixed. They said that the transmission, the tires and the other stuff could probably wait until January, when AJ's bonus comes in (and don't think I'm not picturing a Jelly Of The Month Club membership arriving by courier, 'cause that has crossed my mind many times). What a surprise, then, when today AJ left work to find transmission fluid leaking all over the f^*&ing parking lot. So now there's that to deal with, but no one's going to be able to work on it until at least Wednesday- and then there's the trouble of paying for it.
So no, it's not shaping up to be the merriest Christmas ever. Did we piss someone off somewhere? Are we cursed? Did we unknowingly break a whole lot of mirrors at some point? I don't understand. But whatever...
Here I Am Again...
Originally posted December 22/2006 on "Allison Wonderland"
Yeah... Zombie-Robot woman here. I should be depressed right now, but that seems to be impossible. It's good that I'm not having uncontrollable crying fits for no reason, but I think it's a problem when you can't feel anything when you have good reason to be upset. But anyway...
AJ took the car in this morning- and nothing is covered under our Ford warranty. Not a darn thing. Only $350 of the repairs absolutely had to be done for the car to be drive-able- good thing we still have access to overdraft on our bank account. So that's done. We're hoping the rest can wait until his bonus comes in January (though we don't know how much that will be).
Then, of course, there's the power bill. Did I mention that our apartment is a bit drafty? Yeah... I did the test where you hold a candle up by a closed window on a windy day, and the flame was flickerin' all over the place. We're going to talk to H (upstairs) about either getting something done about that or lowering our rent for the winter to compensate for the stupid amount of money it looks like we'll be paying for heat. Yes, we'll qualify for that $200 rebate thingy, but that's not going to cover it.
So that's that. I've got to get happier- Christmas is coming, and it should be a happy time. Not because we're forcing ourselves to be happy, though. We need to start focusing on the good things that we have, and take some time to appreciate all the good in our lives. We're going to a friend's mom's house for Christmas dinner, and that's SO exciting- even though we don't have our own families here, we've been welcomed into another one. We're not having an extravagant Christmas, but we all have gifts to give to each other. We have a warm (if expensively so) home and food to eat. We have a car. We both have jobs that we don't usually hate. And we have each other.
I have this idea that I might try for next Christmas. See, Christmas is my Thanksgiving; I find it's a natural time to reflect on all of those good things that we have. So what I was thinking is that, throughout the year (or even just December) we could write down things we're thankful for on colourful slips of paper, and then make a paper chain out of them to put on the tree. Then, on Christmas morning, maybe over breakfast, we can take turns reading them. Something to focus on besides the presents, you know? Not that presents aren't GREAT! : )
I think I feel a little better already.
Yeah... Zombie-Robot woman here. I should be depressed right now, but that seems to be impossible. It's good that I'm not having uncontrollable crying fits for no reason, but I think it's a problem when you can't feel anything when you have good reason to be upset. But anyway...
AJ took the car in this morning- and nothing is covered under our Ford warranty. Not a darn thing. Only $350 of the repairs absolutely had to be done for the car to be drive-able- good thing we still have access to overdraft on our bank account. So that's done. We're hoping the rest can wait until his bonus comes in January (though we don't know how much that will be).
Then, of course, there's the power bill. Did I mention that our apartment is a bit drafty? Yeah... I did the test where you hold a candle up by a closed window on a windy day, and the flame was flickerin' all over the place. We're going to talk to H (upstairs) about either getting something done about that or lowering our rent for the winter to compensate for the stupid amount of money it looks like we'll be paying for heat. Yes, we'll qualify for that $200 rebate thingy, but that's not going to cover it.
So that's that. I've got to get happier- Christmas is coming, and it should be a happy time. Not because we're forcing ourselves to be happy, though. We need to start focusing on the good things that we have, and take some time to appreciate all the good in our lives. We're going to a friend's mom's house for Christmas dinner, and that's SO exciting- even though we don't have our own families here, we've been welcomed into another one. We're not having an extravagant Christmas, but we all have gifts to give to each other. We have a warm (if expensively so) home and food to eat. We have a car. We both have jobs that we don't usually hate. And we have each other.
I have this idea that I might try for next Christmas. See, Christmas is my Thanksgiving; I find it's a natural time to reflect on all of those good things that we have. So what I was thinking is that, throughout the year (or even just December) we could write down things we're thankful for on colourful slips of paper, and then make a paper chain out of them to put on the tree. Then, on Christmas morning, maybe over breakfast, we can take turns reading them. Something to focus on besides the presents, you know? Not that presents aren't GREAT! : )
I think I feel a little better already.
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