Last Night Standing
06/21/08 12:51 AM
| Up ChucksFriday came and went with even more car concerns and costly costs, but I think that may be the last major non elective auto-rehab for a spell. At least that is the optimistic hope.
My friday morning post with the lizard was a bit vague on the workings of that old black magic "Pace Luck!" Here is a bit more detail.
It started on Tuesday, the day (way early in the morning) that Meredith and Michael arrived. I got just enough sleep to be punchy all day at work, and looked forward to a nice collapse. Instead after sleeping the majority of the sunshine hours off for "road-cuperation" Meredith and Michael decided to come downtown. They picked Jenni up from work and we caravanned from the parking lot to the Chatterbox. I introduced Meredith and Michael to LeAnne L-Train bailey, Kristofer Bowman and Chris West, we made short work of a couple grain-barley concoctions and then hopped into Luna to see Maggie H. for a split second. Just long enough for me to purchase the latest Portis Head CD for the loving and lovely daughter. Home and discussions of eat. Eat was to be accomplished in the convertible with a jaunt to New Palestine's Frosty Boy drive-in. Packed it was with moms, dads and little leaguers from half pint to quart sizes, and one truly great great dane. Consumption happened to the food stuffs and a ride back was in order. I chose Gem road out of New Pal towards U.S.
40 and the roads namesake berg, Gem. Not three miles out of New Pal the car decided to jump into 2nd gear from a full on trot, and we experienced what is known in automotive parlance as "limp-mode." I got us home at 40 MPH the rest of the 7 miles and parked the car in the drive. A dark cloud had positioned itself over my reunion with daughter and a 'glorious only' week of happiness. No little blue pill solution would bring the White stallion Sebring out of limp mode. Jenni did what all super hero geek-types do in a time of crises. Searched message boards for failures like ours. Darkness followed the dark in the form of night.
Jessica and Alex joined Meredith and Michael in the gardens with copious amounts of "The Captain" and I Jenni and I took our leave of the day in slumber.
Wednesday I drove the Bimmer. I sulked and moped at work until lunch time when Meredith and Michael again joined us (the Wife and I) for lunch at the Claddagh. Jenni had more news on the probable problem that limp-ered the Sebring. A solution part might exist for under $30.00. After work ended I drove Jen and I home, stopping briefly at O'Reilly Auto to find that the note from lunch was now vapor ware and that the remembered name of said solution was an error, and no such thing existed. I dropped the maiden off at the World HQ where she reproduced the information and item by merely placing hands beside the keyboard of her computer. I then hopped back into the Bimmer again to try an procure part. It was there under its real name and under $20.00 then it was not (for it was now in my possession, my precious). Apparently in the under-construction to and from drives I damaged my rear drivers side tire. It failed to do its primary design function, hold air, and I had brought another dark cloud to bear on my world.
Thursday the long awaited day off. Thursday I was ordered to be up and cogent at 7:00 AM. A cruel thing to do to a man's day off. But it was for the arrival of the cable company commandos that the order was so given. They arrived at 7:11 (and didn't bring slushies or hot dogs) determined that which I already knew. My in-house cable receiving equipment was tip top and the signal strength was aces. I, like my wife before me (even though she was on her way to work and not at all before me) recommended a look in the junction box outside where twice in our digital storied past comcastic commandos had put some sort of signal filter in for denizens of the cul-de-sac further down the road. Twice before this filter or filters disrupted our signal and caused us untold grief (can you say Colts Playoffs 2006?). Twice before a technician had danced with my A/V equipment and found it a worthy dance companion and then found the culprit to be lurking inside the junction box outside. I said such to the dynamic duo. Yes they sent two on to subdue the angry customer who was lacking digital cable for a fortnight, and one to repair the problem I suspect. As I proposed the box solution and filter tampering they looked on with curious and circumspective gaze. They must have thought the consumer of a querulous nature but after about twenty minutes they came back in to announce, "Well there is a problem with that box (junction) and someone will be out later today or tomorrow to look at it, you do not have to be home and they don't need to come in." I took note of the us of look at it instead of fix it, and signed their silly paperwork.
To Be Continued...