Sunday, October 3

Well, the Redskins somehow managed not to lose. I'd feel pretty gypped if I were a Philly fan, though. My fantasy team pulled through, too!

My mother-in-law, Nancy, drove up Friday and stayed with us until Sunday morning. She did a lot of running around with Carrie which enabled me to do some car repairs. I replaced the rear brake pads on my Jetta and I was going to replace the rotors too until I came across a bolt I could not physically turn. I thought I was on a time limit for when the wife and mother-in-law would return home, so I went ahead and left the old rotors (thankfully not that bad looking) on the car. Also, changing the brakes took longer than I had expected due to a nuance to Jettas.

I am morally opposed to cars where manufacturers create parts that require unique tools to service. Apparently, the only way to compress the rear brake cylinders on a Jetta is to turn the piston while you push it in. You either buy a fancy gadget or you sneak into your sleeping younger brothers room and have a random stuffed animal assault him so that he can help you. Thankfully, Patrick had a camouflaged teddy bear in his room I was able to throw at him.I had him turn the c-clamp while I used a set of pliers to turn the piston. Go, go cheap alternatives! On another Jetta note, I'll never forget trying to use the car manual to change a light bulb. It literally said that the task "should be left to a qualified mechanic." A LIGHT BULB. Google came to the rescue and I learned all I had to. Two pulled plugs, no tools required, and ten minutes of enjoying the weather gave me a brand new headlight bulb.

The other odd note of the weekend involves a new front door. Due to our winter heating bills being $100 more than our summer cooling ones (Winter: set at 63. Summer: 72), Carrie and I are looking at replacing our doors which leak like sieves. Home Despot had a high quality door on clearance when we were there Friday, but when we called on Saturday they said they were out. Instead, they pointed us to the Reston location. When we arrived, the doors we were told were there were not. Then when we called back to Fairfax, they found one! Thankfully, Reston managed to find the missing door at the same time. We ended up getting a door that was going in the 400's at Lowe's for $222 minus Nancy's husband's 10% military discount. Throw in the 30% tax credit and you have a fantastic deal. The only catch was driving it home. I ended up half-sprawled on top of the door holding the flopping back door of Nancy's Subaru closed with twine in one hand and holding the "oh shit" handle with the other. I'm proud to report the door is resting peacefully in our front hallway and we all went out to Outback for a victory dinner.

Now, if only I could write more and manage to win a LoL game. I keep ending up on the wrong side of a four on five or with a pair of lobotomized teammates...