What a day it has been so far! Yikes!
First of all, allergies woke me up before 7 am. To some of you, that is late morning, but for me, it is practically before dawn.
Even the CATS weren’t up yet:
Oh, wait…that might have been last night…but it’s cute, so I’m leaving it.
I organized myself for the day, realized I didn’t have a current insurance card, and headed for my insurance company, because I knew there was an inspection garage across the street. Two birds, one stone.
Except…my insurance agent wasn’t in. Which wasn’t my biggest concern since I noticed that my check engine light was on (which meant it wouldn’t pass inspection) and the speedometer/odometer weren’t working. Great.
I got it across the street to the garage and explained everything. They had a fax machine, and someone at the insurance office (who couldn’t help my agent’s clients) said that if I called Farmers, they might be able to fax over a copy of the proof of insurance. Which, luckily, they could. So now I have two. One for the truck, and one for my purse. (She had to resend it, because it looked like it hadn’t gone through the first time…but it had.)
The lovely gentlemen at Lopez Auto Repair fixed the check engine light problem — there was a broken hose, which they replaced — and reconnected the speedometer, which…as I suspected…had been disconnected and not reattached. No more shade-tree mechanics for me!
Unfortunately, they couldn’t run the computer diagnostics until the car had been driven some more, so they couldn’t inspect it. He said if I bring it back tomorrow, he’ll try again…but I am going to run up to Jiffy Lube and see if they can do it, because it is a lot closer.
I stopped at Specs on the way home for a bottle of Sangria. It’s chilling in the fridge now. It will be my reward when this mess is over.
Heading back out into the heat. Wish me luck!
UPDATE ONE: As expected, it still didn’t pass inspection, but I did get the new wiper blades it needed to pass, and replaced a missing lug nut. The computer returned all “Not Ready” codes, as I was sure it would, but it should pass when it’s been driven enough, and at least I have the paper now that says I tried if I am stopped.
I got an oil change and new air filter while I was there, and it is running much smoother now. Someone had set my radio to KVET, and while I don’t usually do much country, it felt right driving my truck with the windows cracked (you don’t need air-conditioning to pass inspection — that fix can wait…) One of the boys working at Jiffy Lube even asked if I had ever thought of selling it. I told him not right now. Now I am thrilled she’s up and running again. Though I have to make room for two in the garage, and that may be awhile.
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About RieSheridanRose
Rie Sheridan Rose multitasks. A lot. Her short stories appear in numerous anthologies, including Nightmare Stalkers and Dream Walkers Vols. 1 and 2, and Killing It Softly. She has authored twelve novels, six poetry chapbooks, and lyrics for dozens of songs. She tweets as @RieSheridanRose.
Here's the Clean... 
5/22/12
What a day it has been so far! Yikes!
First of all, allergies woke me up before 7 am. To some of you, that is late morning, but for me, it is practically before dawn.
Even the CATS weren’t up yet:
Oh, wait…that might have been last night…but it’s cute, so I’m leaving it.
I organized myself for the day, realized I didn’t have a current insurance card, and headed for my insurance company, because I knew there was an inspection garage across the street. Two birds, one stone.
Except…my insurance agent wasn’t in. Which wasn’t my biggest concern since I noticed that my check engine light was on (which meant it wouldn’t pass inspection) and the speedometer/odometer weren’t working. Great.
I got it across the street to the garage and explained everything. They had a fax machine, and someone at the insurance office (who couldn’t help my agent’s clients) said that if I called Farmers, they might be able to fax over a copy of the proof of insurance. Which, luckily, they could. So now I have two. One for the truck, and one for my purse. (She had to resend it, because it looked like it hadn’t gone through the first time…but it had.)
The lovely gentlemen at Lopez Auto Repair fixed the check engine light problem — there was a broken hose, which they replaced — and reconnected the speedometer, which…as I suspected…had been disconnected and not reattached. No more shade-tree mechanics for me!
Unfortunately, they couldn’t run the computer diagnostics until the car had been driven some more, so they couldn’t inspect it. He said if I bring it back tomorrow, he’ll try again…but I am going to run up to Jiffy Lube and see if they can do it, because it is a lot closer.
I stopped at Specs on the way home for a bottle of Sangria. It’s chilling in the fridge now. It will be my reward when this mess is over.
Heading back out into the heat. Wish me luck!
UPDATE ONE: As expected, it still didn’t pass inspection, but I did get the new wiper blades it needed to pass, and replaced a missing lug nut. The computer returned all “Not Ready” codes, as I was sure it would, but it should pass when it’s been driven enough, and at least I have the paper now that says I tried if I am stopped.
I got an oil change and new air filter while I was there, and it is running much smoother now. Someone had set my radio to KVET, and while I don’t usually do much country, it felt right driving my truck with the windows cracked (you don’t need air-conditioning to pass inspection — that fix can wait…) One of the boys working at Jiffy Lube even asked if I had ever thought of selling it. I told him not right now. Now I am thrilled she’s up and running again. Though I have to make room for two in the garage, and that may be awhile.
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About RieSheridanRose
Rie Sheridan Rose multitasks. A lot. Her short stories appear in numerous anthologies, including Nightmare Stalkers and Dream Walkers Vols. 1 and 2, and Killing It Softly. She has authored twelve novels, six poetry chapbooks, and lyrics for dozens of songs. She tweets as @RieSheridanRose.