*breathe, breathe*
Ok so its not one huge thing but all these little things are starting to make me a certifiable crazy person. Where to start . . .
1. Car issues. If you are confused please go back and read recent posts about my adventures with Chrissy & Mike (fiance's vehicle). We are ok (for now) Shhhh don't say anything too loud, I think she can hear me. . .
2. I'm getting married. . .like soon o_O. Which at the beginning was very smooth and easy. These last few months have tested my patience. I am a VERY laid back person. I usually take others opinions and advice and figure out what I want to do. I'm non- confrontational and if you have a better idea than me, I can accept that. So what I am saying is people aren't used to me having a STRONG opinion. . . much less saying, No. Well its our wedding and we have an idea of how we want things to look and be. Well apparently we are wrong and that's NOT what we want. . . who knew I didn't know what I wanted. Long story short, I pissed off many people by sticking to what I want and not what they want and saying, "no sorry we want ____". My dad is 100% supportive of, "this is our wedding and we can do what we want" (nothing tacky). Just because you like something, doesn't mean it is something I like or picture in my wedding. It doesn't mean its not nice/pretty/a good idea BUT its not ME. I am not preppy (not by any means) so doing anything preppy would not scream NOLA Girl. . . it would seem fake. So I am having a lot of you shouldn't do this, you just CAN'T do that, etc. I had few upturned noses at my color choice for my Bridesmaids. . . its deep purple. . . WTH is wrong with deep purple?! Its not like hot pink or electric blue .. .Anyways in the midst of all my 'decision making' I am pretty sure my nephew was pulled from the wedding and some other important peeps are not participating as much as before (like not coming to events and not having good excuses). The budget got way outta control which I am confused because last I checked we were under so WTH was added????? Its not all my fam either...just saying. Me and my fiance are so NON DRAMATIC so this is really testing our patience.
3. I'm going to Vegas!!!!!!!! For another wedding. . . right before mine. . . which is soooooooooooooo exciting but just means I have that much more to do. Oye Vey.
4. I still haven't sold this STUPID house so I am STILL linked to my ex via this STUPID house. Now I am stressing out because come wedding day new husband is moving in with me come hell or high water and I cannot pin down my ex to explain this to him and why I cannot be tied to him any more!!!!! I was REALLY hoping it would sell before the wedding. But contrary to the media. The housing market still SUCKS! People are making offers. . . but they are offering $10,000 LESS than what I still owe. Sorry I am not taking a loss . . . that is DUMB! So as of today its not sold :( And I know its not just me. I have 4 friends that are selling houses in different areas and none can get a bite. . .so depressing.
5. Job DRAMA! Mine is always drama but its tolerable. . .usually. Its depressing now because a few months back we got rid of 4 people and we had 1/3 of our customers pulled from us because of new laws, etc. So we shrunk and cannot add much new business easily so its scarey. Again contrary to the 'media' the economy is NOT recovering. Business is FAILING, prices are rising and just living costs so much its not even funny. So its constantly in the back of my mind I will show up one day and the doors will be boarded up with a sign that says "out of business". Or that they'll decide I am no longer needed because they need to cut back more. . . I'm so nervous all the time! Then my fiance's job is taking a toll on him. He has a boss that doesn't always take the professional route. I mean he was called an "oversized paperweight" and they keep threatening him . . . and said boss walks in and screams at him in front of everyone . . .insulting his intelligence and just being a bully almost. But he was never really trained on how to do anything so if he's not doing something its because he was not aware that he was supposed to be doing it. Regardless you should NEVER do that. . . its so unprofessional. Plus other people mess up MUCH worse than him but they always target him. . . its almost like they are trying to pin something on him. Its really stressful for him and me because we don't know when the hammer will drop, ya know. Ugh, I hate drama!
So that's my rant. Its nothing huge . . .yet but its enough to stress me the heck out!
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Sunday, October 9, 2011
I think I've gone insane. . .
. . . but it gives me good stories to tell
So today we ran our 3rd 1/2 marathon since October 30th 2010. The first one we ran there was 3 of us and our "coach" had a respiratory thing that irritated her asthma and I dropped an entertainment center on my foot like two days before the race so we were not in the best shape. But we finished in a little over 3 hours, whoo hoo go us!
The 2nd one was in February of this year. Our coach turned up preggers which is so exciting but she couldn't run the race sooooooooo it was just two of us. We trained...not as much as last time. And I was just getting over some sort of sick funkyness and she had a hurt knee but we finished in just under 3 hours, whoohoo!!!
The 3rd one was just the two of us. Our coach JUST had said baby and still wasn't allowed to train. . .and we didn't train at ALL. This is why I say I am crazy. I think we thought if we signed up that would get us in the gym. . . ha yea no! I think we may have gone to the gym 4 times between the two of us and we didn't get together for any long distance Saturday/Sunday training. Then last week she comes down with a respitory infection and my knee gives out, just walking and bam I'm on the ground. Her Dr said she could do the 1/2 marathon but doubted she would be able to run, maybe just speed walk. My knee seemed ok but would get weak at random. So we said "we paid for this B***H we are doing it!" We fully expected to die along the way.
Here is how the day began. The half started at 7:00 AM on the Northshore which is a good 30-40 minutes away from her house. And we had to be there for 6:30 because they closed the gates at 6:45 to start the race. This meant I had to be at her house for 5:30...which meant leaving my house at 5:00. I woke up at 4:50. . . need I say more o_O. I rolled up to her house at 5:45 and we left at 6:00. As we are driving across the 26 mile bridge we realize we may not make it and just start giggling. Mind you we BOTH drank beer during the LSU game the day before, I didn't go to bed until 11 or so and she went out with other friends till 11:45PM, oh AND we didn't train. So we were a hot mess.
We pulled up to the gates at 6:55 fully expecting to be turned away, nope (whoohoo). The lady at the gate said "watching or running?" We said running, she said go go go go they are about to start. Crap! We got as far as we could and parked. As we walked into the open field (about 1/2 mile from the car) we see the start line and hear the national anthem, ok cool we made it! The national anthem ends and we hear "*Pow* and the runners are off". Doh! So we start running to the start line (we have to go through it to activate our timing chips) and we see a herd of people running towards us . . . uh oh. So we dart off the track, through the crowd and as we are getting to the start line we hear "and all the runners are on their way". No wait for us!!!!! We literally started DEAD last a good 5 minutes after the group went through. It was not NEARLY as big as the other halfs we've done. The 1st two were 4,000 or more runners. . . this one was about 1,000. So we kept running at least until our picture was taken and then she grabbed my arm, we had to walk she couldn't breathe.
Mind you we were speed walking which she was ok with. And we quickly passed many others that were walking much slower. At mile marker 2 many of the other runners were showing visible signs of fatigue. Some were limping, some were having a hard time breathing and some just looked worn out. Not good, you have 11.1 more miles to go people. We had a good pace, we tried running a few times but she couldn't and honestly I really didn't want to test my knee so I was fine with speed walking. It was a gorgeous course and a very pretty day. We chatted through most of it and just enjoyed the day. Like a REALLY long walk in the park. Around mile 11 we were getting bored, I know how bad is that. I mean we felt a ache here and there but everything was tolerable. We kept saying I hope they still have some Abita when we get there (Abita beer was one of the sponsors). And we were starving even after power bars at mile 8 so we were discussing what food options they may have.
We ran through the finish line 3 hours and 26 minutes after we started. . . not bad for not running almost all of it. They still had beer, whoohoo! But no food. . .boooooo! Our finishers medals were. . . wait for it. . . BOTTLE OPENERS, sweet! So we settled on a ledge with our beers & water and stretched and relaxed for a bit. They were doing the awards which we really weren't paying attention to until they announced the 70-75 yr old age group winners. Wait what??? There were at least 3 because they had a 1st, 2nd and 3rd. And all of their times were around 1.5 hours....holy crap! Well don't we suck for a couple of 30 yr olds. . . hey at least we finished right....and we weren't last, oh yea!
So aside from a little soreness when walking and some trouble with a blister or two we did fine. Especially for doing zero to prepare for it.
Side Note - While we are marathoning it my finace had my vehicle. . . ya know since his is broke and awaiting a timing belt. . . he texted me. He got a flat tire. . .there was a MASSIVE screw, not nail, in my back tire. Luckily it was fixable (we got that tire patch stuff at Wal-mart) and she is good now. But the tire looked a little worn. . . I JUST replaced the two front tires not more than a month ago and now this...I need a drink!
So today we ran our 3rd 1/2 marathon since October 30th 2010. The first one we ran there was 3 of us and our "coach" had a respiratory thing that irritated her asthma and I dropped an entertainment center on my foot like two days before the race so we were not in the best shape. But we finished in a little over 3 hours, whoo hoo go us!
The 2nd one was in February of this year. Our coach turned up preggers which is so exciting but she couldn't run the race sooooooooo it was just two of us. We trained...not as much as last time. And I was just getting over some sort of sick funkyness and she had a hurt knee but we finished in just under 3 hours, whoohoo!!!
The 3rd one was just the two of us. Our coach JUST had said baby and still wasn't allowed to train. . .and we didn't train at ALL. This is why I say I am crazy. I think we thought if we signed up that would get us in the gym. . . ha yea no! I think we may have gone to the gym 4 times between the two of us and we didn't get together for any long distance Saturday/Sunday training. Then last week she comes down with a respitory infection and my knee gives out, just walking and bam I'm on the ground. Her Dr said she could do the 1/2 marathon but doubted she would be able to run, maybe just speed walk. My knee seemed ok but would get weak at random. So we said "we paid for this B***H we are doing it!" We fully expected to die along the way.
Here is how the day began. The half started at 7:00 AM on the Northshore which is a good 30-40 minutes away from her house. And we had to be there for 6:30 because they closed the gates at 6:45 to start the race. This meant I had to be at her house for 5:30...which meant leaving my house at 5:00. I woke up at 4:50. . . need I say more o_O. I rolled up to her house at 5:45 and we left at 6:00. As we are driving across the 26 mile bridge we realize we may not make it and just start giggling. Mind you we BOTH drank beer during the LSU game the day before, I didn't go to bed until 11 or so and she went out with other friends till 11:45PM, oh AND we didn't train. So we were a hot mess.
We pulled up to the gates at 6:55 fully expecting to be turned away, nope (whoohoo). The lady at the gate said "watching or running?" We said running, she said go go go go they are about to start. Crap! We got as far as we could and parked. As we walked into the open field (about 1/2 mile from the car) we see the start line and hear the national anthem, ok cool we made it! The national anthem ends and we hear "*Pow* and the runners are off". Doh! So we start running to the start line (we have to go through it to activate our timing chips) and we see a herd of people running towards us . . . uh oh. So we dart off the track, through the crowd and as we are getting to the start line we hear "and all the runners are on their way". No wait for us!!!!! We literally started DEAD last a good 5 minutes after the group went through. It was not NEARLY as big as the other halfs we've done. The 1st two were 4,000 or more runners. . . this one was about 1,000. So we kept running at least until our picture was taken and then she grabbed my arm, we had to walk she couldn't breathe.
Mind you we were speed walking which she was ok with. And we quickly passed many others that were walking much slower. At mile marker 2 many of the other runners were showing visible signs of fatigue. Some were limping, some were having a hard time breathing and some just looked worn out. Not good, you have 11.1 more miles to go people. We had a good pace, we tried running a few times but she couldn't and honestly I really didn't want to test my knee so I was fine with speed walking. It was a gorgeous course and a very pretty day. We chatted through most of it and just enjoyed the day. Like a REALLY long walk in the park. Around mile 11 we were getting bored, I know how bad is that. I mean we felt a ache here and there but everything was tolerable. We kept saying I hope they still have some Abita when we get there (Abita beer was one of the sponsors). And we were starving even after power bars at mile 8 so we were discussing what food options they may have.
We ran through the finish line 3 hours and 26 minutes after we started. . . not bad for not running almost all of it. They still had beer, whoohoo! But no food. . .boooooo! Our finishers medals were. . . wait for it. . . BOTTLE OPENERS, sweet! So we settled on a ledge with our beers & water and stretched and relaxed for a bit. They were doing the awards which we really weren't paying attention to until they announced the 70-75 yr old age group winners. Wait what??? There were at least 3 because they had a 1st, 2nd and 3rd. And all of their times were around 1.5 hours....holy crap! Well don't we suck for a couple of 30 yr olds. . . hey at least we finished right....and we weren't last, oh yea!
So aside from a little soreness when walking and some trouble with a blister or two we did fine. Especially for doing zero to prepare for it.
Side Note - While we are marathoning it my finace had my vehicle. . . ya know since his is broke and awaiting a timing belt. . . he texted me. He got a flat tire. . .there was a MASSIVE screw, not nail, in my back tire. Luckily it was fixable (we got that tire patch stuff at Wal-mart) and she is good now. But the tire looked a little worn. . . I JUST replaced the two front tires not more than a month ago and now this...I need a drink!
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
I hate lemonade!
Really...I mean REALLY!?!?!
So I really think some higher power wants to see how much it will take to 'break' me :P. I was driving home today talking to my fiance. He was headed to the store to get some necessities. I was telling him about something and he says "what the hell?!?" I said what's wrong. He said his car just died. I'm sorry...what?! He said "I was sitting at the red light waiting for it to change and when I went to go nothing happened. . .then I realized the car was off. I tried to restart is and it wont go." OK he just replaced the battery and starter about 4 months ago. The noise I heard in the background was the engine was trying but just couldn't turn over to start. So there he is stalled on a fairly busy street at 5:00PM and I'm still 45 minutes away because I had to pick up my race packet for Sunday. He decided to call AAA and get it towed. I got to him about an hour later and still no tow truck. When he finally showed up, the tow driver said "that sounds like a fuel injection issue". Oh, that's just freaking fabulous!!!!!!!!!!
So we tow the car to my house because we have NO IDEA where to bring it. No places were open at this point to call and see if they even worked on his type of vehicle. More than likely they do but we didn't want to take a chance. So we get to my house and my beighbor sees us outside with his hood popped. He said "hey you having car problems". Hi neighbor...yea :(. He said let me take a look. He's a mechanic, yay! He said he thinks its the timing belt (CRAP!). He said he can see the cam shaft and its not spinning which usually means timing belt. The only good thing is that if it did break he wasn't doing 90 to nothing on I10 he was just idling at the light. That might have saved his engine. So now we will be bringing him to some mechanic soon to see if it is the belt and how much. I know for my little car its about $400 to change the belt...in his SUV I'm sure its much higher. . .*sigh* We can fix my car...affordably (under $200) and now his car may have SERIOUS engine issues. Why why why why!?!?!?!
So I really think some higher power wants to see how much it will take to 'break' me :P. I was driving home today talking to my fiance. He was headed to the store to get some necessities. I was telling him about something and he says "what the hell?!?" I said what's wrong. He said his car just died. I'm sorry...what?! He said "I was sitting at the red light waiting for it to change and when I went to go nothing happened. . .then I realized the car was off. I tried to restart is and it wont go." OK he just replaced the battery and starter about 4 months ago. The noise I heard in the background was the engine was trying but just couldn't turn over to start. So there he is stalled on a fairly busy street at 5:00PM and I'm still 45 minutes away because I had to pick up my race packet for Sunday. He decided to call AAA and get it towed. I got to him about an hour later and still no tow truck. When he finally showed up, the tow driver said "that sounds like a fuel injection issue". Oh, that's just freaking fabulous!!!!!!!!!!
So we tow the car to my house because we have NO IDEA where to bring it. No places were open at this point to call and see if they even worked on his type of vehicle. More than likely they do but we didn't want to take a chance. So we get to my house and my beighbor sees us outside with his hood popped. He said "hey you having car problems". Hi neighbor...yea :(. He said let me take a look. He's a mechanic, yay! He said he thinks its the timing belt (CRAP!). He said he can see the cam shaft and its not spinning which usually means timing belt. The only good thing is that if it did break he wasn't doing 90 to nothing on I10 he was just idling at the light. That might have saved his engine. So now we will be bringing him to some mechanic soon to see if it is the belt and how much. I know for my little car its about $400 to change the belt...in his SUV I'm sure its much higher. . .*sigh* We can fix my car...affordably (under $200) and now his car may have SERIOUS engine issues. Why why why why!?!?!?!
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Chrissy and I have made up
She's my friend again!!!
Ok so my friend tore her down to the engine block . . . he CANNOT figure out where that damn noise is coming from. He is baffled. But he said I should still be able to drive her, just slowly (no worries she is safe). So Sunday and Monday she was fine it just took a while to get up to 70mph. Today I was driving in to work and she started bucking down I-10. Like I'd get to 65 mph and she would jerk back and forth until I eased up on the accelerator and when she got back down to 60-ish she was fine (still saying WEEEEEEEEEEEE!). I texted my friend and he called me LAUGHING. I was like I don't really know how this is funny, sir. He said you say she's bucking right. I said yep. He said he called a specialist in my brand of car and he said "just wait till she starts bucking. I'm telling you its the cat converter". I'm sorry what. . . wasn't that ruled out by 3 OTHER mechanics. He said yes but this guy SWEARS that's what it is. He said when I get there he'll do a test and see.
He disconnected the cat converter. . .no more WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE and she got up to 80mph in seconds. So it IS the cat. . . but NO ONE has them in stock here. It has to be ordered and takes a week to come in. The problem is now she sounds like a race car. . . no really it sounds like I put a flow-master on her. So my friend says do you want the WEEEEEEEEEEEEE and going about 60 or the vrooooom *rumble rumble rumble* and going 80 mph. Oh gee let me think! So now I have a race car...well at least until the part comes in.
Ok so my friend tore her down to the engine block . . . he CANNOT figure out where that damn noise is coming from. He is baffled. But he said I should still be able to drive her, just slowly (no worries she is safe). So Sunday and Monday she was fine it just took a while to get up to 70mph. Today I was driving in to work and she started bucking down I-10. Like I'd get to 65 mph and she would jerk back and forth until I eased up on the accelerator and when she got back down to 60-ish she was fine (still saying WEEEEEEEEEEEE!). I texted my friend and he called me LAUGHING. I was like I don't really know how this is funny, sir. He said you say she's bucking right. I said yep. He said he called a specialist in my brand of car and he said "just wait till she starts bucking. I'm telling you its the cat converter". I'm sorry what. . . wasn't that ruled out by 3 OTHER mechanics. He said yes but this guy SWEARS that's what it is. He said when I get there he'll do a test and see.
He disconnected the cat converter. . .no more WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE and she got up to 80mph in seconds. So it IS the cat. . . but NO ONE has them in stock here. It has to be ordered and takes a week to come in. The problem is now she sounds like a race car. . . no really it sounds like I put a flow-master on her. So my friend says do you want the WEEEEEEEEEEEEE and going about 60 or the vrooooom *rumble rumble rumble* and going 80 mph. Oh gee let me think! So now I have a race car...well at least until the part comes in.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Oh this B***H here. . .
. . . wants to start a fight!
I know this has been a chronicle of my recent car problems but I have to share because I just can't even believe this. Ok so my friend (even though they said she is not fixable) is determined to figure out what is going on. So he wants to run a bunch of tests on her this weekend and asked if I could leave her and just get picked up after work. Sure no problem.
Well my fiance doesn't get off until 5:00 and he has a 45 min drive to get me so I needed to amuse myself for a while. I went to Wal-mart while waiting for him. Got back to the office before he did so I sat in the car with the A/C off and the windows down but I left her running waiting for him to arrive. Nothing was out of the ordinary all gauges were in the correct spots. While I am talking to my mom about what dealerships I should look at for new cars, the wind blows, just a slight gust comes through the window. It blows the napkin I had on the dash covering the check engine light (I hate looking at it...I know its there but I don't like it so I cover it, hehehe). So as the tissue blows away I of course look at it and the check engine light blinks off. . .odd she is still idling rough and saying "weeeeee". . . Well my fiance gets there like a second later so I blow it off. He helped me get her behind the gated area and as I drove past him he patted the hood and said "guess where we're going tonight" as in we are going to look at new vehicles. I get her all situated and turned her off.
We were talking about where we were going tonight and I realize Chrissy is still making a noise. There is a rumbling coming from under the hood. I double checked to make sure she was off and the heat sensor wasn't triggered and it wasn't. Keys were out of the ignition. My fiance is like get out something is wrong. As I am walking away I hear a noise, like water. I kneel on the ground and see liquid POURING out. OK now I am freaking out. I yell for him to come back over here and he says its just the condensation from the A/C dripping, but I knew it wasn't . . . I could smell coolant. I put my hand on the hood and the hood is scorching and its VIBRATING. Ok what do we do...do we walk away and HOPE she calms down or do we investigate. I am curious by nature so we pop the hood. The container holding the radiator fluid is BOILING and shaking violently. Its not the radiator itself, its the 'coolant' container. It looked like someone put it on a stove and was boiling it. It was jerking around so much I thought it was going to shake itself loose. So we closed the hood and walked away and hoped she didn't explode or something because that would be my luck! I called my mechanic friend to warn him and all he could do was laugh because, well I was being silly. He said thanks for the warning he will see what caused it to finally overheat.
She never exploded as of now but I am REALLY leaning towards the "my car is possessed by a mischievous spirit" rather than "well crap she finally died". I was sitting in her for 20 min and the heat sensor never went above normal. My fiance tells her we are going look for new cars and the coolant LITERALLY boils out of its container. Coincidence. . . I think not! :)
I know this has been a chronicle of my recent car problems but I have to share because I just can't even believe this. Ok so my friend (even though they said she is not fixable) is determined to figure out what is going on. So he wants to run a bunch of tests on her this weekend and asked if I could leave her and just get picked up after work. Sure no problem.
Well my fiance doesn't get off until 5:00 and he has a 45 min drive to get me so I needed to amuse myself for a while. I went to Wal-mart while waiting for him. Got back to the office before he did so I sat in the car with the A/C off and the windows down but I left her running waiting for him to arrive. Nothing was out of the ordinary all gauges were in the correct spots. While I am talking to my mom about what dealerships I should look at for new cars, the wind blows, just a slight gust comes through the window. It blows the napkin I had on the dash covering the check engine light (I hate looking at it...I know its there but I don't like it so I cover it, hehehe). So as the tissue blows away I of course look at it and the check engine light blinks off. . .odd she is still idling rough and saying "weeeeee". . . Well my fiance gets there like a second later so I blow it off. He helped me get her behind the gated area and as I drove past him he patted the hood and said "guess where we're going tonight" as in we are going to look at new vehicles. I get her all situated and turned her off.
We were talking about where we were going tonight and I realize Chrissy is still making a noise. There is a rumbling coming from under the hood. I double checked to make sure she was off and the heat sensor wasn't triggered and it wasn't. Keys were out of the ignition. My fiance is like get out something is wrong. As I am walking away I hear a noise, like water. I kneel on the ground and see liquid POURING out. OK now I am freaking out. I yell for him to come back over here and he says its just the condensation from the A/C dripping, but I knew it wasn't . . . I could smell coolant. I put my hand on the hood and the hood is scorching and its VIBRATING. Ok what do we do...do we walk away and HOPE she calms down or do we investigate. I am curious by nature so we pop the hood. The container holding the radiator fluid is BOILING and shaking violently. Its not the radiator itself, its the 'coolant' container. It looked like someone put it on a stove and was boiling it. It was jerking around so much I thought it was going to shake itself loose. So we closed the hood and walked away and hoped she didn't explode or something because that would be my luck! I called my mechanic friend to warn him and all he could do was laugh because, well I was being silly. He said thanks for the warning he will see what caused it to finally overheat.
She never exploded as of now but I am REALLY leaning towards the "my car is possessed by a mischievous spirit" rather than "well crap she finally died". I was sitting in her for 20 min and the heat sensor never went above normal. My fiance tells her we are going look for new cars and the coolant LITERALLY boils out of its container. Coincidence. . . I think not! :)
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Chrissy hates me!
And I don't know why, I try to take VERY good care of her. . .
My friend decided to take a look at her today. She is still saying "weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" and now I can't get her over 65 mph. . .You know what's bad. . . when the most knowledgeable mechanic you know says "I don't what causes that. . ." He said he's not sure where that noise is coming from but he took off the exhaust plate and it seems to be coming from there. He's thinking Catalytic Converter (part of the exhaust system) is clogged. He wants to take it to his mechanic friend and see what he says. Ok that's fine, no problem.
Car comes back from mechanic friend. . . exact quote "tell her to buy a new car." My friend is PISSED. He cannot believe he said that. He asked what he thought the problem was and he said a bearing in the Engine block broke loose. My friend said oh so you saw it. . . well no but that's all we could come up with. Wow...just wow. Then he said well she has a "____" and those are known for engine failure. Ok I dunno WHO he spoke to about that but my car is NOT known for engine failure its actually the opposite. You usually can't get the engine to die. So my friend decided they are stupid and kept messing with it. He raised the idle so it wouldn't kill on me and said take it to Midas and have them check the Cat Converter. *sigh* ok.
Meanwhile I posted the 'symptoms' on Facebook and got a BUNCH of replies. My BFF's fiance said its the cat converter. Her car did that back in the day and he changed it and all was well. I told my mechanic friend and he said hmmmmm definitely need to get it looked at.
Took it to Midas to get it checked. . . on my way there the damn check engine light WENT OFF. Great. Luckily it still had a history of recent codes. They pull Cylinder 3 misfire AND Mass Airflow Sensor. Ok a LONG time ago we discussed just replacing the MAF in my car. The part is $175 + tax and its RIGHT on top. Easily changed with a Phillips screw driver. They quote me $565.00. I started LAUGHING. He said the cat converter is fine. I said are you sure!??! He said yes its the MAF and this is what it costs. I laughed again, thanked him for his time and walked out. My friend said are you kidding me!? That is a rip off!!!
So I am driving away and the Engine light comes back on. . . you B***H!
So with ALL of that I still have no idea what's actually wrong with her and I have a headache and this REALLY sucks! Guess I need to start looking for something new :(
My friend decided to take a look at her today. She is still saying "weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" and now I can't get her over 65 mph. . .You know what's bad. . . when the most knowledgeable mechanic you know says "I don't what causes that. . ." He said he's not sure where that noise is coming from but he took off the exhaust plate and it seems to be coming from there. He's thinking Catalytic Converter (part of the exhaust system) is clogged. He wants to take it to his mechanic friend and see what he says. Ok that's fine, no problem.
Car comes back from mechanic friend. . . exact quote "tell her to buy a new car." My friend is PISSED. He cannot believe he said that. He asked what he thought the problem was and he said a bearing in the Engine block broke loose. My friend said oh so you saw it. . . well no but that's all we could come up with. Wow...just wow. Then he said well she has a "____" and those are known for engine failure. Ok I dunno WHO he spoke to about that but my car is NOT known for engine failure its actually the opposite. You usually can't get the engine to die. So my friend decided they are stupid and kept messing with it. He raised the idle so it wouldn't kill on me and said take it to Midas and have them check the Cat Converter. *sigh* ok.
Meanwhile I posted the 'symptoms' on Facebook and got a BUNCH of replies. My BFF's fiance said its the cat converter. Her car did that back in the day and he changed it and all was well. I told my mechanic friend and he said hmmmmm definitely need to get it looked at.
Took it to Midas to get it checked. . . on my way there the damn check engine light WENT OFF. Great. Luckily it still had a history of recent codes. They pull Cylinder 3 misfire AND Mass Airflow Sensor. Ok a LONG time ago we discussed just replacing the MAF in my car. The part is $175 + tax and its RIGHT on top. Easily changed with a Phillips screw driver. They quote me $565.00. I started LAUGHING. He said the cat converter is fine. I said are you sure!??! He said yes its the MAF and this is what it costs. I laughed again, thanked him for his time and walked out. My friend said are you kidding me!? That is a rip off!!!
So I am driving away and the Engine light comes back on. . . you B***H!
So with ALL of that I still have no idea what's actually wrong with her and I have a headache and this REALLY sucks! Guess I need to start looking for something new :(
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Chrissy strikes again....
Soooooo in my last post she was acting a little crazy and my mechanic was saying gotta be bad fuel since it out of the blue started having acceleration issues. She worked fine all weekend and yesterday. Still not as zippy but not 'dying'. Well I am on my way to work this morning and she is NOT happy. When I press the accelerator I SWEAR I hear a very faint whistling noise. I can still get her to about 72-75 but I hear like a whistle. I wasn't sure if it was my vehicle so I did some tests. It was her. When I push the gas pedal there is a barely audible whizzing noise. . . WTF is that?! I text my friend. He is like its all good we will work it out. I get about 5 miles from my office check engine light comes on, oh great! He said he'll take a look at it before he heads out for the day. I get there and tell him she is saying "weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" when I accelerate. He said she is NOT saying "weeeeeeeeeeee". I start her up and he pulls the throttle. She said "weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" and he started laughing. He said it sounds like a belt pully. . . um alright. He'll check her out in the morning.
As long as she is still running OK he isn't too worried. He said take it to Autozone and have them do a diagnostic test so we know what the error is and get a fuel filter. Okee Dokee.
They run the test . . .Cylinder 3 misfire. . .I dont have a fuel filter I have a fuel screen. . . which is in the tank. Oh for crying out loud . . .really?! They said misfire = spark plugs. . . guess we are changing them out again.
As long as she is still running OK he isn't too worried. He said take it to Autozone and have them do a diagnostic test so we know what the error is and get a fuel filter. Okee Dokee.
They run the test . . .Cylinder 3 misfire. . .I dont have a fuel filter I have a fuel screen. . . which is in the tank. Oh for crying out loud . . .really?! They said misfire = spark plugs. . . guess we are changing them out again.
Friday, September 23, 2011
My car's name is Chrissy....
....short for Christine!
My car has given me issues on and off since I hit that thing on I-10 back in 2007. I used to say tread but as much damage as it did I am not sure I didn't hit a hunk of metal or concrete. Now granted for having such high mileage AND being dinged up on the inside she runs pretty well and definitly lives up to her zoooom zoooom status. Well today she went all weirdo on me, living up to her name, Chrissy!
I left work early today to go to the Dr. I was running late (its a 5 min drive without traffic but traffic was BAD!) so of course I was zooming in and out of traffic to get there as quickly and safely as I could and all was fine. Dr appt went well so I headed home. I decided to get gas before getting on the interstate so I stopped at the place right outside the parking area. Well Friday traffic is ridiculous so it was stop and go for about 5 miles. Once I got out of the city it was clear sailing....except for me. I tried to pass a truck and I noticed I had limited pick up. Odd she was working fine just a little while ago. So I gun it and she is just NOT having it. I got her up to about 75 MPH and left her there for fear of a catastrophic melt down.
I texted my mechanic friend (I know I know BAD for texting while driving). I said "Thoughts...? My car is possessed...I set the cruise on 75...on flat I10...its going up and down between 70 and 78...then foot on the accelerator and couldn't get above 70...it actually decelerated. It seems to be ok now....but what causes that...?!" He said "hmmm that's odd, I just changed her plugs and oil and she was fine". I said "well I just got gas". He said "Oooo you may have gotten a small amount of bad gas or you may have a small amount of trash in your tank." So all the way home she kind of didn't want to go and I thought I heard a noise but I wasn't sure if it was just the wind or something. I went buy some StarTron (E-10/gas tank cleaner) and hoped that would help. I can't have a broken car I have two Bridal Showers this weekend and one is mine! We shall see. . . .
My car has given me issues on and off since I hit that thing on I-10 back in 2007. I used to say tread but as much damage as it did I am not sure I didn't hit a hunk of metal or concrete. Now granted for having such high mileage AND being dinged up on the inside she runs pretty well and definitly lives up to her zoooom zoooom status. Well today she went all weirdo on me, living up to her name, Chrissy!
I left work early today to go to the Dr. I was running late (its a 5 min drive without traffic but traffic was BAD!) so of course I was zooming in and out of traffic to get there as quickly and safely as I could and all was fine. Dr appt went well so I headed home. I decided to get gas before getting on the interstate so I stopped at the place right outside the parking area. Well Friday traffic is ridiculous so it was stop and go for about 5 miles. Once I got out of the city it was clear sailing....except for me. I tried to pass a truck and I noticed I had limited pick up. Odd she was working fine just a little while ago. So I gun it and she is just NOT having it. I got her up to about 75 MPH and left her there for fear of a catastrophic melt down.
I texted my mechanic friend (I know I know BAD for texting while driving). I said "Thoughts...? My car is possessed...I set the cruise on 75...on flat I10...its going up and down between 70 and 78...then foot on the accelerator and couldn't get above 70...it actually decelerated. It seems to be ok now....but what causes that...?!" He said "hmmm that's odd, I just changed her plugs and oil and she was fine". I said "well I just got gas". He said "Oooo you may have gotten a small amount of bad gas or you may have a small amount of trash in your tank." So all the way home she kind of didn't want to go and I thought I heard a noise but I wasn't sure if it was just the wind or something. I went buy some StarTron (E-10/gas tank cleaner) and hoped that would help. I can't have a broken car I have two Bridal Showers this weekend and one is mine! We shall see. . . .
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Where were you when the world stopped turning...
...9/11/01, I think most every American remembers every detail of that day
Where was I. Lets see I was getting dressed for an event but not a happy one. We were going to pay our respects to a wonderful father, grandfather, husband, veteran. My best friend's grandfather had passed away a couple of days before and today was the funeral service. I was standing in my bedroom in our little college apartment near LSU. I had just pulled on my black skirt when I heard my other best friend frantically yelling for me to come see. She had turned on the Today show, I think, while she dressed and was staring in horror at the burning north tower of the World Trade Center. I didn't even hear what they were saying all I understood was a plane had hit it just minutes ago. As they were reporting what was going on and her and I was talking, a plane came into view and crashed into the south tower. I stood there with my best friend, jaw slacked as the realization of what was happening sunk in. I honestly don't know how long we both just stared at the chaos but there we were half dressed about to go to memorial service as our nation was being attacked. Finally she said we have to go we are going to be late.
The funeral was not close to where we were...it was about a 2 hour drive from us in a place we call "down tha bayou". We drove down a deserted I10. It was the eeriest thing I have ever experienced up to this point. We drove in silence as we listened to the only thing on the radio. . .the breaking news. Another plane had crashed into the Pentagon and yet another in a field in Pennsylvania. They were talking about how President Bush was on Airforce One bouncing form Air Force Base to Air Force Base until the threat was contained. At one point it was reported that he had landed in Shreveport but had already departed. After an hour or so of this her and I had had our fill of horror. We knew we would have to be there for our other Best Friend. . .so we turned it off and put in an N'Sync CD to try to clear our heads. As we arrived down the bayou we saw an area cornered off by state police and armed troops. This caused us immediate dread and to turn the radio back on to see what else had happened. To our horror we were informed that the towers had fallen. It was surreal. I was just there 2 years before, looking out from the observation deck with my step mom and step brothers. How can this be happening?
The funeral went on as if the days events weren't happening. Although it was stated numerous times that they were glad he passed before this happened because being a decorated veteran and proud American seeing this would have killed him. At the grave site we were informed why we saw the troops and state police. Turns out there is some sort of oil reserve in the area and it was deemed a possible secondary target.
It's crazy the memories that stick with you during such a traumatic event. I watched my friend's grandmother breakdown. She threw herself atop the casket weeping. At the gravesite we stood there with our two friends as their grandfather was put to his final rest. Of course we were teary eyed and were thankfully wearing sunglasses. . . their great Aunt walked up to us and thanked us for coming for them. . .then she made me crack up laughing (which I had to fake as a cough). She came up to me and said "you look very pretty, I really like that skirt." Thanks :). Then she said "You know I am a seamstress right? Well if you need me to show you how to fix a hem I'd be more than happy to." And she grabbed the glistening silver staple I had used to fix the hem and winked. In all the chaos of the morning I didn't have time to stitch the falling hem so I stapled it thinking no one would notice.
I remember every detail of that day. 10 years later and I can recall it like it was yesterday. Who knew when we woke up on 9/11/2001 our world would be forever changed.
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