Viking Automotive

Tuesday morning started off fine until the car wouldn't start. There's always a surreal quality my morning as I try to shake off dream-fog. I have a tendency to wake up, fall back asleep but dream I'm awake, and then wake up again confused as to why I'm still in bed or the alarm clock is ringing again. I had to pinch myself to double-check my level of alertness in between failed starts. The VW's original battery had finally kicked the bucket after 7 years and 128k miles, may she rest in piece. Luckily, Carrie was going to work late so I successfully bummed a ride.

The plan was to switch batteries when I got home. However, it turns out Carrie was worried about the car and took matters into her own hands. Our neighbor jump-started the car since her Prius is apparently incapable (Weird, huh? It's half battery), and then she drove to first one and then two Advance Autos to get the right battery. When the cashier rang up the battery ($150), my wife spotted a big warning/reminder on the screen to "not install the battery for the customer." Thankfully, the people behind the counter knew a pregnant women when they saw one and felt like being good Samaratins. They installed the slightly too-large battery for Carrie and sent her merrily on her way. The first I heard about her endeavors was when I got an email somewhere around lunch or science saying "All done!"

The story doesn't end there.

The next day I drove the car to work. No problems. On the way back, things got funky. I was nearing home when I noticed a few warning lights on my dash had lit up. ABS and a picture of an airbag shined up at me. Strange. For the life of me, I couldn't recall when the lights came on. I don't know if I caught it immediately, or if they'd been shining for a while longer. Perplexed, I kept driving down the road when the engine started to sound off. The rattle was higher pitched than normal and why was my speedometer pointing at 0? It made the warning light easier to see, but I was still driving! I pressed down on the gas, but stopped as I listened to the strange sound of the engine. That's when I noticed my tachometer was dead. Praise God, I was almost home at that point. I pulled the car in to my parking space, and shut down the engine. I let it sit for a bit and then when I tried to turn it on again: nothing. The car was dead, and so was my alternator.

I know more about cars than your average joe by dint of hanging around John and Bill. They got me into the car scene for a while until I decided it was too much work. I still remember John drawing a diagram of an engine on a napkin in the break room at the library to show me how it worked. Anyway, new battery dying while driving meant that it wasn't being charged. Alternators charge batteries while you drive, so it was a simple diagnostic.

Repairs were pricey. First, Carrie suggested the place we'd used a coupon for a maintenance checkup on her car (she didn't want to void the warranty). They quoted $880. Ouch. I wanted to call a stealership (dealership) for a price comparison. Carrie told me there wasn't any point, but I figured I'd feel better knowing how much I wasn't being overcharged and a little research doesn't hurt when you're spending a lot of money. The dealership quoted $890. Hmmm. I started making more calls. The next dealership said $1100. A bit discouraged, I was searching around on google maps when I came across a small specialty shop for VWs Volvos, and BMWs called Viking Auto. There were next to no reviews but I clicked on it anyway (partly due to the name...I mean, vikings!). They quoted me $600 + or - $50 and I was sold. Carrie called up AAA (they are awesome) and we were set to go....minus the fact I would have no car.

Irony of ironies, I ended up borrowing the car I'd just sold my sister. I haven't even cashed the payment check yet. Megan was in Chicago and she told me to take the car for the day. All I had to do was change the plates. I forgot. (sorry, Megan!). The cavalier got me to my training in the morning and back again, so everything worked out fine. The viking automotive guys ended up replacing a worn drive belt and removing some corroded/fried wires that half melted the plastic cover of my fuse box to the tune of $712 after tax. It was funny walking in to the shop and having Watson, the owner's dog, run out from under the counter to greet us. Watson even came out with us when the owner took me out to explain what they'd done to my car. I didn't actually ask if the guy talking to us, David, was the owner, but he was running around with a dog at the place so it's probably a safe assumption. Bottom line: I liked the shop. They gave me a "it's not pretty fix, but it's permanent and the alternative is damned expensive" fix on the fuse box, cost hundreds less than the next guy, and I can live with that.

On a side note: Is it just me, or is complaining online the dark side of blogging? It's easy to think of, tempting to do, a quick release if done, and in the end airs out all your crap for anyone to see. Not smart! I chose this story, because I thought it was interesting (being the main character) and wanted something not whine-worthy to talk about. I haven't written too much about writing lately have I?  Maybe this weekend.

Saturday, October 23rd

Today was the baby shower for my firstborn, Shane Malcom. Granted, he hasn't been born yet, but it's still something to look forward to! The reasons for the name were simple.

1) The name should sound like it's spelled.

2) The name shouldn't have some weird pronunciation that everyone is going to butcher the kids whole life.

3) It should not rhyme with his last name (though it's acceptable for a girl). For ex: Shane Wayne is a no-go.

4) It shouldn't be hard to spell. Let the kid have an easy kindergarten and first grade.

5) Carrie and I wanted something Irish/Scottish sounding that wasn't typical american. I like being a mike, but I have so many friends with the same name we just call each other by our last names.

6) No family names. There was no sense to pick one side over the other. Let the kid make his own name.

Honestly, I'm still partial to Finnegan, but that's more something you give a kid as a middle name. It's the kind of name that a person with a personality will dominate and make the best of....or it's the kind of name that could make someone the target of ridicule the rest of their lives. That's why it's best as a middle name where if it's not a fit for the kid it would remain 'secret.'  I don't know half of my friend's middle names or I just tend to forget them if I don't dredge my memory for them!

Anyway, there was a bit of drama today. Carrie had a panic attack, and she spent the entire baby shower upstairs in the room we stayed at when we lived with my parents. We were late getting there and it was a boatload of stress, but I'm still glad I got to see everybody. The day was filled with work until around 6. Upon waking there was lots of cleaning, followed by house maintenance, diplomacy, the baby shower (fun), and then back home for cutting the bottoms off doors so that they can swing free. When the plumber finally came to install the new toilet, I was cleaning up and dragging in gifts from the baby shower. He was taking his time, so I dug out the shovel to cover the 'skunk hole' in our front yard. On an odd note: the plumber asked for a little extra cash after he was done because of needing to replace a broken flange. When I started to look for my check book he started saying "nevermind, nevermind." I gave him the five bucks I had in my wallets (minus the 2-dollar bill), and he sped away. It's like he was seeking a bribe of some sort.  

The sad thing is, youtube taught me exactly how to do the whole install a month ago. I watched part of the process and it's definitely something I could've done myself. Oh well. You live and you learn, and frankly I was exhausted at that point. Tomorrow, I plan to write! I have a "surprise" IEP meeting that I almost wasn't told about that I need to have a draft for. Plus, there's that whole "I want to write a book" thing.

I'll just have to wait and see how much I get done. Back to watching Big Trouble in Little China.

Sunday, October 17th

Not much writing productivity to report lately. The only writing I've been good about lately is the filling out of forms for work, posting on the journal, and the occasional vent log that gets deleted instead of posted. As of this Friday, there's a brand new time-killer: Puzzle Quest 2. Carrie and I are both addicted.

After I write this, I'm going to sit down and force myself to do some writing. During the work week, I work, come home, clean and take care of Carrie. In between, we watch an episode or two of SG-1, and I may have time to play a LoL game with the boys online. The weekend is when I should be writing. I had the opportunity to write before Igor's party yesterday, but I've totally binged on Puzzle Quest 2.

Right now, Carrie is bouncing and shouting on the couch about how excited she is about a new spell. I love my wife. Plus, since she's playing puzzle quest, I can't! Time to write.

Moving along...

Things are moving along. It's been tough lately, but we'll get there yet. I'll be thrilled to finally see Shane and I know Carrie will be thrilled to be on track for her body getting back to normal.

Lately, we've been doing a lot of work on the house. The in-laws surprised me last week with beginning an onslaught of home improvement. My father-in-law and I have so far replaced four of the interior doors, and only a closet door and two bathroom doors remain on the docket. Also, to take advantage of the 30% tax rebate and prevent the extra $100s our winter heating bills cost, we have contractors scheduled to give us a new front and back door (the front door is the one I ended up basically laying on as we drove it home).  I sold my old car to my sister, so that's going to cover the cost of both of the doors. It should pay off in the long run and make the house warmer for the baby without breaking the budget.

I thought this article was pretty interesting. http://articles.cnn.com/2010-10-13/tech/apple.sexting.patent_1_text-messages-sexting-apple?_s=PM:TECH  It's not so much the "no sexting" as the parents enforcing grammar and practicing foreign languages on their kids phones I thought was hilarious.

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...