2004-10-18
the good ol' hockey game | is the best game you can name
the best game you can name | is the good ol' hockey game

10:42

Let's start with Friday. And somehow ending up on NASA Rd 1 (heading west towards the freeway) at 5:15 p.m., the worst possible time to be on the road, unless one is a glutton for punishment and actually enjoys going three miles in half an hour. I can walk faster. I really don't know how that happened. Last time I looked at my computer it was 4:30ish, which would put me just barely ahead of the worst of the traffic. Instead, I was in the thick of it.

I went to Academy and bought socks, shinguards, and soccer cleats. Actually, I am quite pleased with my cleats. They are black and yellow and fit (in all senses of the word). Debbie said I made a good choice in picking black/yellow over white/blue. Sorry, all you Boilermakers, but the school colors didn't actually cross my mind. I *did* think of my high school, colors of which are black and gold. But the deciding factor was pretty white soccer shoes stay pretty and white only for the first second they're on. Then, not so pretty or white. That would have been especially true on Friday, as the field was really muddy.

I then ran to the soccer game, where I proceeded to show just how much I'd lost in the last year by letting a girl score twice, and in co-ed, that counts for two where a guy scoring only counts for one. Go me. So, of course we lost. My feet don't hurt despite the new shoes, but my legs do. I'm so incredibly sore. Still.

Saturday was looking up. I joined Debbie, Jason, and Jo for the Aeros' (Houston's American Hockey League team) home opener against the Cincinatti Mighty Ducks, whom they (the Aeros) proceeded to trample. It was a great game. I love hockey. Love it love it love it. We even got a free puck! Cool.

Saturday night - things started to really go sour. Driving back from Debbie's, about 10:30 p.m., my car decides it's had enough. I discover that I have no defrost heat, then test and realize, no heat at all (not an immediate concern, given it's still pretty warm out). I turn the air off completely so I don't screw things up. I decided to call my dad when I got home, ask his advice, and then take it in. However, my little truck had other plans; it decided it was going to quit right then and there. Fortunately, I nursed it about a quarter of a mile to a gas station, parked it, and walked home. Later, I fended off accusations from not only Nick and Becca, but Gavin, too, for not calling and having them come get me. Well, did I mention that my cell phone had been cut off and I was without one until my new one arrives (hopefully today)? I did have some change, so I called home to see if Becca/Nick were up/home. Answering machine; okay, could have left a msg to see if they were listening, but really, I was less than a mile away so I just walked. Got home, called my parents and talked to my dad; he said probably the heater core. Next morning, Becca and I went over to the gas station, I called AAA, a tow-truck came and hauled it off to the dealer's, and we left it there (they were closed). I called my contact at Bay Area Ford and told him the situation; he thought it sounded like the heater core, too. (He also said that I did the right thing by having it towed because loads of people just drive it in and do more damage.) I talked to him again this morning and he didn't have any more details, but would get back to me when he did. So much for trying to save money. Ah, well.

Sunday afternoon, after dealing with my truck, Becca and I went and volunteered at the Wings Over Houston Air Show. She saw the Thunderbirds, and I saw Mustangs, Zeros, Corsairs, Lightnings, and heavy bombers (i.e. B-17s, B-26s, B-25s) all do bombing runs, with the smaller single-engine fighters dog-fighting some as well. It was amazing.

On the way home from the Air Show, I called my parents to let them know the status of my car, and found out that my grandmother fell and broke her hip and is to have sugery today. She's a month shy of 90 so this is a really big deal. If any of you are the praying kind, send a little one my grandma's way, please.

Last night, I also read some work e-mail that made me really frustrated and definitely not look forward to coming in this morning. In fact, I was so upset that I didn't sleep well at all, and even had bad dreams about work. Fortunately, that at least has been somewhat resolved. It was all due to a lack of miscommunication on all parts, inexperience on my part, and lessons learned all around.

Did I mention that I didn't have a good weekend?

I wonder how long it would take me to walk home from here. My greatest desire at the moment is to go home and go to sleep. After I eat my left-over Mely's. Mmm, Mely's.

17:01 p.m.

Ergh. I just received a phone call from Brian, the guy at Bay Area Ford who told me that it wasn't pretty - they have to replace the heater core, which means pretty much dismantling the dashboard, and thus, high labor cost. The final number: 900-odd dollars. Ouch! He said the mechanic told him that there was very little coolant in it, and that's why it was overheating. Oops. Guess I should have paid more attention to the smell that had started permeating the cab. I couldn't figure out what the heck it was. But before any of you jump on me and say it would be loads cheaper if I'd taken it in when I first noticed the smell, it wouldn't. The heater core was leaking, and that's that,;no "if you'd only brought it in sooner" deal with that. There's no additional damage because I stopped as soon as I could after it started overheating. It's not like I cracked my radiator by driving without coolant, although that would have happened if I'd kept going. Anyway, for all you out there, if your car starts to smell like day-old tuna left out in the sun, it's coolant. Now you know.

Still no word on my grandma, though.

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