PACKING!
And feeling a little edgy, I don't know why, but watch out.
My sentiments today, unfortunately minus the "done" part...
13 November 2011
11 November 2011
RIP Dextie
Dear Dextie,
May you rest in peace. You came to us new in 1998, making you 13 (close to 14) when you passed. For the grand total of about $13,000, we got a brand new car with no upgrades to be seen. A Civic DX (I keep wondering if this is how I came up with Dexter) 5-speed, you were driven so carefully by Uncle Bob, and I know he cringed when he signed you over to me in 2006 for only $1,000! I learned to drive stick with you, which until the age of 19 was a huge point earner with the boys for me.
I'm sorry I didn't treat you better, as I have no doubt that you could still be running today. From the first time I crashed you, I took you for granted, and the oil changes and car washes got further and further apart. You turned into a traveling storage locker and I'm sure the added weight of all of my crap took a toll on your suspension. After your hood was shut too hard last June, your stitched on bumper proved to be the least of your problems. I wasn't too worried about not being able to give you an oil change - you HAD lasted over 17,000 miles once - but I also knew that once something went wrong, we couldn't crack your chest another time.
I'm sure giving you a rest from May until October was not my finest idea (you poor, neglected beast), but you really came through when I needed you these past few weeks. You held back your tired sighs and dutifully started and delivered me safely to work when I forgot my keys to the truck in Pat's car. Then, when the Beemer died on us and I needed you again, you got me where I needed to be - and back - before switching your check engine light on and throwing the towel in. I respect that you're tired, and you will be cleaned out before we move and donated to charity, where I am sure they can use you for parts. Think of it as organ donation, my friend - an honorable way to go.
(Don't think there haven't been tears shed, or that there won't be more when he gets towed away. Dextie has been an institution in this family, and this feels like the end of an era. Moving into a house that we own AND saying goodbye to my teenage car at the same time is a big "hey you're an adult now" wake up call and I don't like it!!)
May you rest in peace. You came to us new in 1998, making you 13 (close to 14) when you passed. For the grand total of about $13,000, we got a brand new car with no upgrades to be seen. A Civic DX (I keep wondering if this is how I came up with Dexter) 5-speed, you were driven so carefully by Uncle Bob, and I know he cringed when he signed you over to me in 2006 for only $1,000! I learned to drive stick with you, which until the age of 19 was a huge point earner with the boys for me.
I'm sorry I didn't treat you better, as I have no doubt that you could still be running today. From the first time I crashed you, I took you for granted, and the oil changes and car washes got further and further apart. You turned into a traveling storage locker and I'm sure the added weight of all of my crap took a toll on your suspension. After your hood was shut too hard last June, your stitched on bumper proved to be the least of your problems. I wasn't too worried about not being able to give you an oil change - you HAD lasted over 17,000 miles once - but I also knew that once something went wrong, we couldn't crack your chest another time.
I'm sure giving you a rest from May until October was not my finest idea (you poor, neglected beast), but you really came through when I needed you these past few weeks. You held back your tired sighs and dutifully started and delivered me safely to work when I forgot my keys to the truck in Pat's car. Then, when the Beemer died on us and I needed you again, you got me where I needed to be - and back - before switching your check engine light on and throwing the towel in. I respect that you're tired, and you will be cleaned out before we move and donated to charity, where I am sure they can use you for parts. Think of it as organ donation, my friend - an honorable way to go.
(Don't think there haven't been tears shed, or that there won't be more when he gets towed away. Dextie has been an institution in this family, and this feels like the end of an era. Moving into a house that we own AND saying goodbye to my teenage car at the same time is a big "hey you're an adult now" wake up call and I don't like it!!)
03 November 2011
Cars.
I just highlighted half of a completed post about the story of the last 2 nights and pressed backspace. It was longwinded and honestly just a big whine about how much I hate cars right now.
Cliffs:
Got in a trade at work that Pat was interested in. A beautifully maintained 2003 BMW 540i with the M-Sport package and the price was right. Brought car home on overnight test drive. Car battery light came on 10 miles from home, that's not good. Wouldn't turn on when we got home. Charged from truck battery with our brand new jumper cables (not an exciting purchase, by the way) for a while, then again at 5:40am (I get the award for the best girlfriend of Wednesday, even if I couldn't pop the truck hood because the latch was a bit rusty). Bimmer got 100 feet down the driveway and the dash lit up like the 4th of July, damn, not going to make it to work in that.
Pat takes Truck (it's not a badly capitalized noun, Truck is its name), leaving me with the Civic. The Civic had gotten me out of a jam earlier in the week when I left Truck's keys in Pat's car, but this would be 2 trips across state lines after it hadn't run since May, and I was nervous to take it to work. Read more about Dextie here. Oh well. Reup my AAA membership because it obviously expired on 11/1/11, and here we are on 11/2/11. Shower and get to work.
Leave work yesterday, sit in traffic for a good 30 minutes. Dextie is not happy. He's doing this weird rev-then-relax cycle whenever he's in neutral or the clutch is in. Hmmm. Call AAA to come pick the BMW up for its 40 mile journey back to the used car lot at work, get to the 2nd to last stop light on my way home, and the Civic throws its first check engine light in 13 years. That can't be good.
I'm keeping it revved and about to run the red light when it finally turns green and I got into my apartment complex as fast as I semi-legally could. Dextie's next trick was to violently buck front to back whenever I wasn't in neutral (his previously least favorite non-gear). It was ugly, really ugly. I almost gave an elderly neighbor a heart attack when I bucked past him.
AAA called at 5:21pm saying they would be there within 30 minutes, so I didn't start dinner or do anything really except sit and eat Oreos I had left over from the cheesecake crust.
At 7:15pm a very nice man from Herb's Towing showed up to take the pretty BMW to its home, and my night was finally over.
In just 24 short hours, we went from having 3 working cars, to a potential 4th, and then down to 2. What gives!?
Cliffs:
Got in a trade at work that Pat was interested in. A beautifully maintained 2003 BMW 540i with the M-Sport package and the price was right. Brought car home on overnight test drive. Car battery light came on 10 miles from home, that's not good. Wouldn't turn on when we got home. Charged from truck battery with our brand new jumper cables (not an exciting purchase, by the way) for a while, then again at 5:40am (I get the award for the best girlfriend of Wednesday, even if I couldn't pop the truck hood because the latch was a bit rusty). Bimmer got 100 feet down the driveway and the dash lit up like the 4th of July, damn, not going to make it to work in that.
Pat takes Truck (it's not a badly capitalized noun, Truck is its name), leaving me with the Civic. The Civic had gotten me out of a jam earlier in the week when I left Truck's keys in Pat's car, but this would be 2 trips across state lines after it hadn't run since May, and I was nervous to take it to work. Read more about Dextie here. Oh well. Reup my AAA membership because it obviously expired on 11/1/11, and here we are on 11/2/11. Shower and get to work.
Leave work yesterday, sit in traffic for a good 30 minutes. Dextie is not happy. He's doing this weird rev-then-relax cycle whenever he's in neutral or the clutch is in. Hmmm. Call AAA to come pick the BMW up for its 40 mile journey back to the used car lot at work, get to the 2nd to last stop light on my way home, and the Civic throws its first check engine light in 13 years. That can't be good.
I'm keeping it revved and about to run the red light when it finally turns green and I got into my apartment complex as fast as I semi-legally could. Dextie's next trick was to violently buck front to back whenever I wasn't in neutral (his previously least favorite non-gear). It was ugly, really ugly. I almost gave an elderly neighbor a heart attack when I bucked past him.
AAA called at 5:21pm saying they would be there within 30 minutes, so I didn't start dinner or do anything really except sit and eat Oreos I had left over from the cheesecake crust.
At 7:15pm a very nice man from Herb's Towing showed up to take the pretty BMW to its home, and my night was finally over.
In just 24 short hours, we went from having 3 working cars, to a potential 4th, and then down to 2. What gives!?
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