26 February 2002

Well, there we go. My car is in the shop. I'd noticed that the engine had been running a little warm a while back, but it wasn't red-lining or anything. Two weeks ago, on my way home from K.T. and Kevin's, my "Check Gauges" light came on, and... yup, I was redlined. I almost cursed a lot, but then the regulator kicked in and the needle dropped back down to just above the half-way point. It approached the redline once or twice after that, but didn't cross it.

I didn't ignore it, precisely, but my car is due for inspection in about six weeks - I thought I'd just wait and mention it to the shop when I took it in.

But no, while Matt and I were tooling around this weekend, the "Check Gauges" light came on several times. Each time, the regulator kicked in and dropped the needle almost immediately, but this is not a situation I want to live with for the next six weeks. So I dropped the car off this morning and had Matt give me a ride to work.

The guy at the shop had no idea what to make of me. I told him: It needs a tune-up and an oil change, and please check the tires as long as it's in; they've been wearing thin too quickly lately. And the engine is running hot - please see if it just needs more coolant or if there's something actually wrong. (I can check the coolant level myself, I know, but I kept forgetting to do it when the engine was cold.)

All of those seemed like reasonable requests to me. He looked at me like I'd grown an extra head. The only thing he didn't question was the oil change.

"Why do you want the tune-up?" Because I have a burning desire to fork over eighty or ninety bucks? "Because it's been two years since my last one."

"What's wrong with the tires?" Wearing thin doesn't sound like a problem to you? So I had to explain the whole rigamarole about how last year at my inspection they'd put a new tire on it, and when I'd checked my records, the tire they'd replaced had only been a year old, and that just wasn't right, so I might need the tires balanced or realigned.

"And when you say the engine is running hot...?" Okay, I realize I have boobs, but that doesn't make me a boob. I smiled pleasantly. "Well, it's not usually hitting redline, but it has a few times. The regulator still works, but it might not be calibrated correctly - or I might just need more coolant; I keep forgetting to check, and I figured as long as I had the car in here..."

I could tell, he was perplexed on several accounts. Words like "redline" and "regulator" - and especially "calibrated" - should not be issusing from a woman's mouth. And even if he was willing to grant me some basic auto maintenance information, he couldn't figure out how, if I knew anything about it, I could possibly forget to check my coolant levels.

But it shut him up. He gave me the release form to sign, and I checked my phone number, and I left. With any luck, they'll actually do all the things I've asked them to, and call me back this afternoon with the bad news. Good thing I get paid Friday.

I think the reason Dusk is refusing to talk to me is that he hasn't really decided yet if it's safe to move in. Dawn, I can't shut up, though he won't say anything important. He tells me about jobs he's done - the ones he's proud of, that required skill and cunning more than raw power and viciousness. He's an engineer as well as a mage, so he keeps drawing these elaborate sketches for traps and safeguards and things. Useless stuff. He has told me most of his origin story, though he doesn't care to elaborate on much of anything that happened before he joined the thieves' guild. As soon as I figure out a neat way to end the story, I'll post it. (His version doesn't end so much as stop. And while that's how things go in real life, a story, or even the chapter of a story, needs a neater ending.)

Kevil is still bouncing around, too. He's very pleased with himself these days, but he's not actually saying much. He's started once or twice to tell me this story about when he and Zoya and Darin were all travelling together, and Zoya collapsed and had to be carried for two days to a temple, but he keeps getting distracted right after he gets her there, so I have no idea what the relevance is. Maybe it's just an illustration of their relationship.

He told me about the jewelry he wants this morning, though. That was a little startling, because he doesn't wear any jewelry - not so much as a cloakpin - unless he's going into combat, and he takes his one magic ring off as soon as danger is past. But he tells me now that the reason he doesn't wear jewelry is that he's had a plan since he was about fifteen. (Just what I need. Another forty-year-old thinking the ideas of a fifteen-year-old still matter.) Though actually, it's a very sweet little plan, so I'll probably let him get away with it.

And Tarri is telling me that if I'm not going to give her annoying roommate a name, then could I please at least make her less annoying?

After the Hall last night, I played Kauriss for K.T. and Jeff's session. I was a little worried that she was going to move into my head, too, but it doesn't look like she will. That's a relief. She's beautiful and shallow and selfish and manipulative and not overly bright (though she's not dumb, just disinterested). She's got a few redeeming qualities, but I still don't like her very much.

--Liz