30 April 2001
Saturday morning, Matt and I used his van to go pick up the week's comics. Saturday afternoon, Matt got in the van to go in to work, and it wouldn't start. Not a battery problem, because the engine was turning over. We didn't know what the problem was. He tried for ten minutes. No dice.
So I got in the van and steered while Matt pushed. It was an awful battle, because the bottom of our driveway really is the bottom: from that point, the land slopes up to our house, or up to the middle of the street. But finally we got his van moved over far enough that I could get my car out. I went on to K.T.'s while Matt stayed at home to call a tow truck.
When I called him later that evening to see how he was doing, it turned out that he'd had a terrible evening. The tow truck guy called for directions because Triple-A had given him the wrong street name. Then the tow truck had broken down less than a mile from the house. So he called a replacement tow truck. When the replacement guy showed up, the van started just fine. Matt decided it was better safe than sorry, and had the van towed to the Evil Mechanics (aka Merchant's) anyway. Despite a posted closing time of 6PM on Saturdays, when Matt and the van arrived at 5:30, it was closed. Matt wound up walking home (which isn't quite as awful as it sounds; it was a nice day, and the Evil Mechanics are only about a mile from our house).
I promised that as soon as we got up Saturday morning, I'd take him back up to drop off his key and explain what needed to be done. Instead, I stayed up late, slept late, and came downstairs Sunday morning at about 10 to be told that he'd already dropped off the key, on foot. Boy, didn't I feel like a bad wife?
Despite promising to call, the Evil Mechanics never once called us. Instead, Matt called them when they'd had the car for five hours. "We're just looking at it now," he was told. "We'll call you back in about ten minutes."
An hour later, Matt called back. "We think it's the carburetor," they told him. "We don't do carburetors. But we're working on that other stuff you asked for." (That is, some routine maintenance stuff Matt had asked them to do as long as the car was in anyway.) "It should be ready by about four. We'll call you when it's done."
At four-fifteen, Matt called back. "Oh, yeah, that's done." They were already closed for the day, but they agreed to let Matt come in and pick up the van. I drove him up, and waited to make sure it would start. It started right away, and we went home.
Matt wants to wait until next week to find some place to look at his carburetor. It's his decision, but it's going to be an awkward week for car problems. I've got a doctor's appointment this afternoon, a business day-trip on Wednesday, my car is due back in the shop to have its air conditioning fixed on Thursday, and I've got my annual physical exam Friday morning. I may still wind up renting a car while mine is in the shop, just so we know we have one reliable car...
Karen has lately been having great fun with sending me phone messages. Yesterday, she sent me a running list of things my Meade Hall character Zoya would not want to hear from her apprentice (who happens to be one of Karen's characters):
Word of the Day:
pantheon - a temple dedicated to all the gods; the gods of a people; a group of illustrious persons
Currently Reading:
- nothing
Current Projects:
- Kris' afghan
- garden