The Circle of Safety

During my volunteer days, we volunteers had a required task every time we went to drive one of the non-profit's vehicle. We were to circle the vehicle, checking for children, animals, nearby obstacles if we needed to back up, and, of course, damages such as leaks or flat tires.

I was never very good about remembering this task. I got a lot better after I backed a car out and realized it had a flat.

I need to remember to start doing it again and I highly recommend that you start doing it too.

Yesterday morning was exceptionally dewy here. I got into the Blazer and used not only the front but the rear wiper too.

(Sidenote: Remember how I went to Pep Boys a week and a half ago? One repair I ordered myself. A new rear wiper blade as the old one was looking rather shabby.)

Back to my dewy Blazer. I noticed something odd as I looked into the rear view mirror. The wiper wasn't removing the dew. I got out to investigate. On the end of the wiper armature, there was nothing. No nice shiny new wiper blade. Excuse my language, but I was pissed.

Today, receipt in hand, I went back.

Turns out that, oops, they forgot to install it. So I now have a new rear wiper and a coupon for my next visit.

The Funniest Thing I've Seen All Day

	Crime doesn't pay ...unless it's called 'politics'

Billy's Weird...cat...thing tells your fortune!

Dinner Conversation

The boyfriend and I aren't ones for dinner conversation while dining out. Once the food comes out, the feedbag is on and there is no talking. I focus on the food while he is much more adept at eavesdropping on the conversation of neighboring diners. But Saturday night, there was one conversation that I caught a bit of an fell in love with.

A woman was tell her fellow diners about a female co-worker was in the habit of putting a napkin on her shirt when they would go out to lunch and how it was the only time her chest was ever covered. You have to love how catty some female co-workers can be.

A Sense That All Is Right in the World

It might seem simplistic, but I'm in a good mood due to 2 simple facts:

1) It only cost me $260 to get a buttload of work done on my vehicle.

2) ND 21, Michigan State 7 at the end of the half.

:( (:

I'm spending my day by the phone and they still haven't called about the Blazer. They said it would be an hour. It's been an hour. With my luck, they pulled it into the garage and major parts started falling off.

Oh wait. They just called. They have found 3 things that need repaired, the heater core, the thermostat, and the radiator cap, all to the tune of $260. I gave them my blessing. Then I call my dad because even though it seemed good, I know relatively little about vehicles (I learn more every time something breaks on one of mine) and there are few things I hate more than the thought of a mechanic screwing me over on auto repairs.

But my dad says it's all good. The heater core and radiator cap could have been causing a loss of water and the thermostat I had already been warned was most likely in need of repair. Plus, the price seems pretty reasonable.

So I am happy. Until the damn thing overheats again.

A Walk for the Blazer

Well, I drove my Blazer to PepBoys to get the radiator checked out and the oil changed. Actually, I went to set an appointment to have these things taken care of.

Well, it almost overheated on the way there, and it's not even a mile away. So when they said they could get it in almost immediately, I said "Sign me up." Problem was, it was going to taking roughly an hour, and that would only cover the diagnostic on the overheating problem. I can only spend so much time in a crappy waiting room, even with a good book. So I decided to hoof it home. Being out of shape, the walk made the distance seem so much longer than the drive.

Now I'm just biding my time waiting for the Pep to give me a call to tell me what the problem is, and more importantly, how much it is going to cost me.

Ahhhhh!

Imagine a contented sigh.

I walked outside this morning, laundry basket in my arms, and it was cool and overcast. Now I know it won't rain. It's only the marine layer, which I do appreciate for keeping the temps down. It's just not the same.

I think I prefer to sit outside this morning, close my eyes, and pretend it's a fall day out east. My first thought when I walked outside was that it was a perfect day for football. Maybe I could pretend I'm back on the Notre Dame campus and that the sound of wind in the trees is rustling leaves that have turned a variety of warm tones. I love fall. I hate fall in California.

For any of my readers in places that live in places that do have 4 seasons, do me a favor and spend some time outside enjoying the weather and read a good book.

I am happy to report that I am over my cold. It only took 3 weeks. But I no longer need to endure the unpleasantness of my sinuses draining, all day, every day.

I am not happy to report that the Blazer from hell is having issues. It's been running unusually warm despite the break in the heat. This culminated in it overheating on the 10 mile drive home from work. I had to pull over just 3 lights from home and let it cool off for 30 minutes before I could make it home. Even then it was acting tempermental and kept threatening to overheat again.

I do not relish taking it to a mechanic this weekend. I do not relish the thought of putting a new radiator on it when in 6 weeks, I will be unemployed again. Especially when I'll be moving in roughly 2 months, though I'm not certain when or where, thanks to waiting to hear where the b/f will be sent to work next. Does my b/f really expect me to drive this beat up SUV across the country again?

The one bright side is the chalupa of warmth. Last night, my b/f was all cute snuggled up in bed. When I tried to snuggle

Uncle

I give up. I'm never going to get through 1001 Arabian Nights. It just isn't going to happen. So last night, I downloaded My Man Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse from Project Gutenberg. Lighter and shorter, plus I love the Bertie and Jeeves stories. And to think, I am bought one of his books on Saturday. Then I got to thinking and realized they were probably old enough to be in the public domain and therefore available on the Project Gutenberg website. So not only did I save $8, but I won't have to lug the book when I move this fall.

Though I did buy some books. The entire Lord of the Rings trilogy for only $8.60. I have wanted to read these books for ages, but as a former bookstore employee, I was too cheap to pay what they were asking. I knew there were eventually be remainder books left of all the editions published when the movies were released. My patience paid off.

My Boys in Blue

I am so, so happy. My Fighting Irish beat Michigan today. This is important to me for 3 reasons.

1. I'm a Notre Dame alum who is very loyal to her alma mater. It doesn't bother me too much when we lose because I like the team regardless of the record. I do like to see them perform to their potential however.
2. I really like Coach Willingham as opposed to former coach Bob Davie who always stuck me as being akin to a used cars salesman. I think Willingham has integrity and enhances that aspect of the ND football program. As such, I'd like to keep him around for as long as possible.
3. I really, really hate Michigan. This stems to my freshman year, 10 years ago (has it really been that long?) A bright eyed freshman, I went to the first home game, against Michigan. (Notre Dame games are amazing. Go if you get the chance.) ND was ranked #1 in the nation. The game was exciting. All was well. Then Michigan took the lead at the last moment and won. I have hated them ever since.

So congrats to the team, coaches, and students at Notre Dame. May the beer flow freely at the parties tonight.

Random Odds & Ends

The Misc Family is broken down. Dad is still recovering from knee surgery. Brother is having major back issues. Mom took a nasty spill at the grocery store landing hard on her side. Turns out her elbow is fine but her back and neck are all out of whack. And I am entering week #2 for the head cold that would not go away. Last night I was worried that it was moving into my chest, but luckily, it's stayed in my sinuses. Now that I've finished Harry Potter, I should be getting more sleep.

I'm starting to worry about finances again. My job ends at the end of October. The b/f's job will having him moving again in November, but we won't know when or where to until, well, until they decide to tell him, which I guess will be mid-October. It makes hunting for the next job a bit tricky.

This also leads me to my next question to ponder. Taking Misc Karen to the next level and making my own website like I had originally planned. I've got JenLyn offering to help me with the design. I've got a webhost I'm considering. I just don't know if I'm ready. Any advice from my regular readers would be greatly appreciated.