Carlson the Clown (though he doesn't mean to be):
He's been studying animals in science ('studying" and "science" being relative terms. he's five.) tonight he was talking about being a meat-etarian or a veg-etarian. He told me, "I like meat. I'm a carnival."
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
bad Car-ma
As Dave Barry would say, "I am not making this up."
So The Dealership (see previous blog) did call and said, basically, "We will charge you almost as much as the van is worth to fix it for you. Or if you buy a new car from us, you can trade it in for about a third of what it is worth. OR, if you buy a used car from us, we'll just keep your van for no extra charge." I decided to have it towed back home until I could decide what to do. (it makes a pretty good storage shed, actually.)
So the declarer of it as healthy (see previous blog) feels REALLY bad about having done so, even though he drove it, like, 500 miles (I'm still not making this up) before giving it back to me, just to be sure it really was healthy. So...feeling as bad as he does about it, he is going to replace the transmission for me for about 1/3 of what the dealership wanted. O-K. good news. Just the logistics of getting it back down to the shop three hours away, but he can handle that, too. With a minimum of grovelling at his boss's feet, he hopes.
So...just gotta juggle cars with Mom and sister until the other sister leaves Sunday and I can use Mom's Geo until the behemoth is fixed and I can get some financial wrangling done around the divorce settlement so I can get something a little more economical to drive. >sigh< Good-enough news.
So sister juggles cars with her husband to get us all down to Monterey in one vehicle to spend a "Night at the Museum" (see future blog). Works out fine. comfortable car, though I am not allowed to help drive because its a company car....
Monterey with kids & cousin and sis. Beach, playground, beautiful weather, sunburned nose, cool aquarium overnighter...phone call from Mom. Stranded on the highway. Geo is dead. Bad news.
(I am not making this up.)
So The Dealership (see previous blog) did call and said, basically, "We will charge you almost as much as the van is worth to fix it for you. Or if you buy a new car from us, you can trade it in for about a third of what it is worth. OR, if you buy a used car from us, we'll just keep your van for no extra charge." I decided to have it towed back home until I could decide what to do. (it makes a pretty good storage shed, actually.)
So the declarer of it as healthy (see previous blog) feels REALLY bad about having done so, even though he drove it, like, 500 miles (I'm still not making this up) before giving it back to me, just to be sure it really was healthy. So...feeling as bad as he does about it, he is going to replace the transmission for me for about 1/3 of what the dealership wanted. O-K. good news. Just the logistics of getting it back down to the shop three hours away, but he can handle that, too. With a minimum of grovelling at his boss's feet, he hopes.
So...just gotta juggle cars with Mom and sister until the other sister leaves Sunday and I can use Mom's Geo until the behemoth is fixed and I can get some financial wrangling done around the divorce settlement so I can get something a little more economical to drive. >sigh< Good-enough news.
So sister juggles cars with her husband to get us all down to Monterey in one vehicle to spend a "Night at the Museum" (see future blog). Works out fine. comfortable car, though I am not allowed to help drive because its a company car....
Monterey with kids & cousin and sis. Beach, playground, beautiful weather, sunburned nose, cool aquarium overnighter...phone call from Mom. Stranded on the highway. Geo is dead. Bad news.
(I am not making this up.)
Thursday, April 17, 2008
May I please whine
or throw my head back and scream?
I've been playing musical cars since September when my mini van was scrunched (see a previous blog). I borrowed mom's and sister's cars for a while and then flew to Memphis (ostensibly to get divorced; see a previous blog) and brought Evelyn's car back, taking over payments, and she started using Louise's (paid off) car that had been left there in hopes of selling it. (see a previous blog)
I just had the big van looked over, some repairs done, bill of health declared clean a week ago. I got it back Monday (due to procrastination and logistics as it was worked on three hours away), registered it today (well... provisionally registered, at least; "his" name is still on the title so I need his signature to actually get registered and THEN we can take his name off.)
In the meantime, Louise's old car (which is Evelyn's new car) has had to have some major repairs done, nonetheless dying a gasping death Wednesday at the intersection of Germantown and Trinity. At rush hour. We discussed it and came to the conclusion that Evelyn really needed her reliable car back. So she flew out here Friday and left with her car Saturday morning at the Crack of Dawn for a bat-out-of-hell drive (see a previous blog) back to Memphis in order to not miss too much school.
Somewhere between here and Phoenix, she called to ask about the "humming sound" coming from the rear. I was unfamiliar with it, and she wondered if it was just the newer tires. But it got louder the further away she got.... So in Phoenix she stopped and had it looked at. The mechanic could hear it, but had no idea what was causing it, and gave her the go-ahead. But it got louder. So in Oklahoma City she had it checked at the dealership, and it required several hundred dollars worth of repair. Wheel bearing in very BAD shape..."turning purple with the heat" is what the guy said. So she got it fixed, had an appropriate meltdown, and went on home.
On Sunday, Monday and Tuesday I borrowed my mother's Geo as she was driving my sister's Honda, as she was out of town visiting her daughter and is leaving for Columbia soon (the country) and will be leaving her car with my mom. But she got back Tuesday evening.
So, as I said, I got California registration for the big van today, (having let the TN registration lapse at the end of March, due to procrastination and the logistics of it being 3 hours away for the last month or so...) I drove it maybe 50 miles today, at the most, and it died on the freeway. At rush hour. I happened to be on my way back to work to get my cell phone, which had apparently slipped out of my purse. And I had two barefoot twins with me, cuz they wanted to come see where I work, and there was no reason to wait around for them to find/put on their shoes as I was just running in to get my phone.
So we were near an exit but not near enough to walk with barefoot twins, and did I mention I did not have my phone? So I said an out loud prayer: "Oh PLEASE just let us go three more miles to work and let me get my PHONE." I started the car up, and it moved forward!! About ten yards. So I said another, little bit louder prayer: "o KAY then, can we at least get as far as this next exit so I can call Triple A, please." Wilbur echoed "please" in a reprimanding tone and I said. "I said please." He replied, "yeah...but your tone was......"
So I started the car back up and it went! And I did it again, and again, and again, and...well, you get the gist. We made it to the Jack-in-the-Box parking lot and called the wonderfully "worth it" roadside service club, who sent a tow truck post haste, and we dropped the behemoth off at the Dodge Place, which was closed but had a lovely little 'early bird/late bird' key drop thingy. And Mr. Triple A was kind enough to drop us off just a block away from home on his way back to the shop (which he did not have to do). I imagine in the morning The Dealership will give me the prognosis, and I'll have to make a decision whether to euthanize or revive. >sigh<
And I'll take mom to work early in the morning so I can get the kids to their school state testing site...then get her again in the afternoon so she can get to her Dr. Appt.... and I'll use the Geo till I figure out what my next step is.....(or possibly many steps, or maybe pedalling?)
I've been playing musical cars since September when my mini van was scrunched (see a previous blog). I borrowed mom's and sister's cars for a while and then flew to Memphis (ostensibly to get divorced; see a previous blog) and brought Evelyn's car back, taking over payments, and she started using Louise's (paid off) car that had been left there in hopes of selling it. (see a previous blog)
I just had the big van looked over, some repairs done, bill of health declared clean a week ago. I got it back Monday (due to procrastination and logistics as it was worked on three hours away), registered it today (well... provisionally registered, at least; "his" name is still on the title so I need his signature to actually get registered and THEN we can take his name off.)
In the meantime, Louise's old car (which is Evelyn's new car) has had to have some major repairs done, nonetheless dying a gasping death Wednesday at the intersection of Germantown and Trinity. At rush hour. We discussed it and came to the conclusion that Evelyn really needed her reliable car back. So she flew out here Friday and left with her car Saturday morning at the Crack of Dawn for a bat-out-of-hell drive (see a previous blog) back to Memphis in order to not miss too much school.
Somewhere between here and Phoenix, she called to ask about the "humming sound" coming from the rear. I was unfamiliar with it, and she wondered if it was just the newer tires. But it got louder the further away she got.... So in Phoenix she stopped and had it looked at. The mechanic could hear it, but had no idea what was causing it, and gave her the go-ahead. But it got louder. So in Oklahoma City she had it checked at the dealership, and it required several hundred dollars worth of repair. Wheel bearing in very BAD shape..."turning purple with the heat" is what the guy said. So she got it fixed, had an appropriate meltdown, and went on home.
On Sunday, Monday and Tuesday I borrowed my mother's Geo as she was driving my sister's Honda, as she was out of town visiting her daughter and is leaving for Columbia soon (the country) and will be leaving her car with my mom. But she got back Tuesday evening.
So, as I said, I got California registration for the big van today, (having let the TN registration lapse at the end of March, due to procrastination and the logistics of it being 3 hours away for the last month or so...) I drove it maybe 50 miles today, at the most, and it died on the freeway. At rush hour. I happened to be on my way back to work to get my cell phone, which had apparently slipped out of my purse. And I had two barefoot twins with me, cuz they wanted to come see where I work, and there was no reason to wait around for them to find/put on their shoes as I was just running in to get my phone.
So we were near an exit but not near enough to walk with barefoot twins, and did I mention I did not have my phone? So I said an out loud prayer: "Oh PLEASE just let us go three more miles to work and let me get my PHONE." I started the car up, and it moved forward!! About ten yards. So I said another, little bit louder prayer: "o KAY then, can we at least get as far as this next exit so I can call Triple A, please." Wilbur echoed "please" in a reprimanding tone and I said. "I said please." He replied, "yeah...but your tone was......"
So I started the car back up and it went! And I did it again, and again, and again, and...well, you get the gist. We made it to the Jack-in-the-Box parking lot and called the wonderfully "worth it" roadside service club, who sent a tow truck post haste, and we dropped the behemoth off at the Dodge Place, which was closed but had a lovely little 'early bird/late bird' key drop thingy. And Mr. Triple A was kind enough to drop us off just a block away from home on his way back to the shop (which he did not have to do). I imagine in the morning The Dealership will give me the prognosis, and I'll have to make a decision whether to euthanize or revive. >sigh<
And I'll take mom to work early in the morning so I can get the kids to their school state testing site...then get her again in the afternoon so she can get to her Dr. Appt.... and I'll use the Geo till I figure out what my next step is.....(or possibly many steps, or maybe pedalling?)
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Same old same
This website shows me that folks are checking in. It's nice to see the numbers go up and know that you are thinking about me.
Things are plodding along fine. I just got back from a week of Watsu 2 training, and fell in love with it again. And I received my first Waterdance session, and fell in love with that, too. I'm having the hours from one school transfered to the School of Shiatsu and Massage to consolidate everything and work towards getting certified as an Aquatic Bodyworker.
California has no standard licensing for massage therapists, which makes it sorta crazy to try to practice here. I can't get a massage business license in my own town, because of the moratorium instituted last June. I can get a job working for an already established business, but I'd need a license in that town. The required background check takes 2-6 weeks, and they won't start the background check until I've put in my application for a license--which I can't get until I have an employer---who won't hire me without a license. >sigh< So I'm going to just go ahead and spend the money to get an "outcall" license in my town (and get the background check done), and then spend the $$ again in whatever town I end up working in. Kinda crazy, but I guess we do what we have to do. I'm also looking for a pool warm enough to do Watsu in. The closest ones are too cold. My search radius is widening. Taking the next reasonable step is a good premise. Not holding on too tightly to any one outcome is a good one, too.
In the meantime I am working very part time with an eightyplus year old lady with Parkinsonism. It is rewarding work, and they pay me a more-than-fair wage. I'm only gone two hours a day, so it doesn't interfere too much with the kids' homeschooling.
The children are very happy here. And I am grateful to be near my sisters and mom. And I love the weather now that it has stopped raining. Right now I am sitting by the open patio door and the temperature is PERFECT. There is enough of a breeze to set the windchimes singing, and not disturb anything else.
College is on hold for awhile, I think. I may take one independent study course, but I won't be going to school full time in the fall. I have the younger kids signed up for Montessori school through the charter school program (no tuition or fees), but they get about three times as many applications as they have openings for. (They choose by lottery). We could be chosen as late as two weeks into the school year (or not at all...). So I'm trying to stay open to all my options, and to stay curious about what the outcomes will be....
Namaste
Things are plodding along fine. I just got back from a week of Watsu 2 training, and fell in love with it again. And I received my first Waterdance session, and fell in love with that, too. I'm having the hours from one school transfered to the School of Shiatsu and Massage to consolidate everything and work towards getting certified as an Aquatic Bodyworker.
California has no standard licensing for massage therapists, which makes it sorta crazy to try to practice here. I can't get a massage business license in my own town, because of the moratorium instituted last June. I can get a job working for an already established business, but I'd need a license in that town. The required background check takes 2-6 weeks, and they won't start the background check until I've put in my application for a license--which I can't get until I have an employer---who won't hire me without a license. >sigh< So I'm going to just go ahead and spend the money to get an "outcall" license in my town (and get the background check done), and then spend the $$ again in whatever town I end up working in. Kinda crazy, but I guess we do what we have to do. I'm also looking for a pool warm enough to do Watsu in. The closest ones are too cold. My search radius is widening. Taking the next reasonable step is a good premise. Not holding on too tightly to any one outcome is a good one, too.
In the meantime I am working very part time with an eightyplus year old lady with Parkinsonism. It is rewarding work, and they pay me a more-than-fair wage. I'm only gone two hours a day, so it doesn't interfere too much with the kids' homeschooling.
The children are very happy here. And I am grateful to be near my sisters and mom. And I love the weather now that it has stopped raining. Right now I am sitting by the open patio door and the temperature is PERFECT. There is enough of a breeze to set the windchimes singing, and not disturb anything else.
College is on hold for awhile, I think. I may take one independent study course, but I won't be going to school full time in the fall. I have the younger kids signed up for Montessori school through the charter school program (no tuition or fees), but they get about three times as many applications as they have openings for. (They choose by lottery). We could be chosen as late as two weeks into the school year (or not at all...). So I'm trying to stay open to all my options, and to stay curious about what the outcomes will be....
Namaste
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