I took the car in today to get a diagnosis on some problems that have cropped up in the last couple of weeks. When I went to get my oil changed a couple of months ago the technician (I guess they have to call them something other than mechanic sometimes and it sounds a lot better and more plausible than “automotive scientist”) indicated that I should probably have my transmission looked at because he saw a few things that could be problematic in the future. The mechanic-on-duty was, conveniently, off duty at the time so I mentally filed it away for a later date. That date came early last week while driving my car to class.
The car was running a bit louder than usual and it seemed like it was taking longer to change the gears in my automatic transmission. Like most people, I am quite in tune with my car and don’t hear the noises it makes until there’s a problem. Leanne drove my car once last week and she also noticed that it was running and sounding different. Due to my school and work schedules the only day I could take it was a Friday and last Friday I was already booked up with activities that needed to be done. So I figured that it would give me a chance to listen to the car for a full week and understand the problem as well as I possibly could.
So today I decided to skip my French lab and class because if I didn’t get it checked out and have something fixed that needed to be fixed ASAP then I wouldn’t be making to many classes all next week anyway. I took it to our local Goodyear, where I have a credit card, and gave them all the info I had to go on. It was pretty much the same though the shifting problem seemed to have disappeared completely. It took them about 45 minutes to diagnose the problems. The myriad problems.
The good news is that none of them are damaging my car in any way and their repair isn’t going to do anything for me other than make it less noisy. The reality of the situation is that my car is now 12 years old and has over 140,000 miles and I’m currently putting an additional 85 miles per day on there because of my commute. I have several leaks (exhaust, head gasket, etc….) and I had an oil pan leak. The total amount to repair all the leaks, including the labor, is more than the car is really worth so I decided to forgo them. I fixed the oil leak but the others are ones I can live with. I should be able to drive this car for another couple of years, until I graduate is the plan, and then trade it in for a nice new one. The technician said that as long as I keep an eye on my oil and transmission fluid levels then I shouldn’t have any real problems.
At least the engine isn’t falling out. At least the car starts up when I need it to. At least I have a garage in which to park it every night. At least there’s no major leak or repair needed. I actually do consider myself lucky.
In other news, Leanne and I were going to have some couples over for dinner or dessert and a game night tonight but the car thing put the kibosh on that. We rescheduled for next Friday night before we found out that my car wasn’t going to be laid up in repair but I think it’s for the best anyway. This place could use a nice cleaning before we have company and I hate trying to rush and clean the day before I have people over. When we do entertain we always have a good time and we have a much better home for it now than we did back in the apartment. With over twice the square footage and a better layout for eating and relaxing, not to mention a place for the kids to play and stay in earshot, this place really is a great place for us. We’re very happy here even though we’ve seen evidence that these were hastily put together and we now look forward to full home ownership in the very near future.
School is going well. Leanne was running around the last two weeks stressing about her classroom observations but she has worked it all out and was able to observe at the elementary school behind London’s middle school on Wednesday. She actually ran the lesson and did a great job, I’m sure. She’s working on being more forceful with the kids when she needs to and realizing that even though she’s a visitor there when she runs the lesson then she is in charge. She’s going to be a great teacher and I’m very proud of her and all she’s accomplished so far.
I had another test in my Radio/TV class on Thursday and I got my first French test back on Tuesday. I got an 83 on it. I’m pleased with that score and now I know what and how to study for the next one. I’m really enjoying the language and it’s starting to come together in my head. I’m starting to remember verbs and adjectives by memory and I don’t have to look up nearly as much as I did before. It’s all starting to click.
Life in general is pretty good right now. We’re settling into a routine and Leanne changed her schedule at work so that she can be home in the mornings with London and, if the need arises, she can drop him off at school when it’s raining so he doesn’t get soaked riding his bike. I’m behind on my movie watching, both on DVD and in the theaters, but I’m going to try and catch something next week or this weekend maybe. We’ll see. There’s a lot of good stuff coming out soon.
