| | I'm not sure how I ended up being the daughter in the family that suffers with both problems, but I am. I decided to move to an area of the country that has a pretty high pollen count. Now that I'm sitting here coughing, nose stuffed up and congestion dripping down the back of my sore throat, I have a hard time remembering why. More importantly, why did I stay; especially when each spring we look forward to a few weeks worth of "yellow snow".
Also, I've never owned a car that was brand new or has ever come close to it. At least 2 out of 3 have previously been my parents cars, and the other was my friend's old car. But I started with a '92 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, then a '95 Ford Taurus, and lastly a '95 Toyota Corolla. I think that I replaced the battery twice, the starter twice, replaced all 4 tires, replaced the alternator, the driver's side window was replaced along with the motor for the window, had the lights and the turn signals repaired, and called AAA for towing, jumps, and tire fixes more times that I'd like to admit for the Oldsmobile. The Taurus had a short life, and I won't talk about that now. But the Toyota has been virtually indestructible. So far, I've only needed to replace the battery. So when it wouldn't start the other day, I was just freaking out, especially since I had to go to work.
I've gotten it to start since then, so I thought it was the connectors from the battery cables being too loose on the battery. I bought new connectors, which were not the right ones. Terry managed to get at least one on there anyway and it made a much tighter fit. So I turned the car on, and then it made a sound that I hadn't heard for many years. That's when I knew it was the dreaded alternator. I double checked to see how old it was with my parents and sister, since she was the most recent driver of the car. And my suspicions were confirmed. I was dreading it, mainly because it was such an ordeal with the Oldsmobile. The part alone, cost around $200, but I was lucky having friends that were mechanics. They pretty much fixed it for free, I treated one of the guys to a steak dinner and the other guy's daughter to a steak dinner as well. I'm not going to be this lucky this time. Jim, my sister's fiance, thinks Terry and I can fix it ourselves. And after looking at where it is, I think that may be possible. I'd rather not take it to a mechanic right now, mainly because they're going to charge me for the time and the part, and I just don't have that much money to spare right now (haven't gotten my Bush Bucks yet).
On a side note, tonight we had some nasty weather which coincided with my drive from Cary all the way to North Raleigh during 5 o'clock traffic. No one in the Triangle, who owns a car, understands the concept of carpooling, or mass transportation. So everyone is RUSHING home....did I mention that in North Carolina, when you get behind the wheel, it's time to pretend your in the Indy 500? Okay, so everyone is RUSHING home or to dinner or wherever and now it's raining, and hailing, and lightning outside. I've got to go approximately 30+ miles in about -30 minutes. It's not looking good for me. I tried to take a short cut, and then just sat in more traffic. The other thing I'm thinking about, is with all the car problems, I took Terry's car to work and left him to walk in the rain. On the way to North Raleigh for the 2nd Spring Celebration for work, I hear a tornado warning. Now all I can think about until I got home was Terry walking home from work and getting swept up in a tornado. I was close to panicked by the time I heard his voice. I kept checking on the phone to see if he would call for a ride, that I had a very hard time concentrating on anything else. Thank goodness I didn't have to play with anyone today! Luckily Terry made it home in between rain and more rain. I was so relieved that I went to get Bojangle's for dinner.
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| | Posted 5/21/2008 12:06 AM - 319 Views - 0 eProps - 0 comments
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