Car!

Ah, it finally happened. I have had to put a rather large amount of money into my car.

Recently, when stopped at a traffic light or stop sign, I've noticed that when I go to accelerate, sometimes the car would not immediately go after pressing the gas. It'd rev' a bit, and then go, like the gear wasn't catching right away. I've never driven a stick shift, but I imagine it's like when a gear would slip or something like that.

So, I brought it to a national chain repair place, (Beep-Beep), and they diagnosed the trouble as the transmission, which is what I expected. And as you may or may not know, transmissions are fairly expensive to fix.

Now, the car I have is 9 years old, and in those years, I've probably only put about $1200 into it, outside of oil changes and other minor maintenance. So, spending the bucks that we're spending now, over the life of the car, doesn't hurt too much. But, this is the last major money I'm putting into the car. If this can help it last for 2-3 more years, then it'll be worth it.

The car should be ready tomorrow. I'll either pick it up during or after work.

Some people get very emotional about their cars. I'm not one of them. I tried to name the car when I first got it (G'Kar, pretty clever for you B5 nerds out there), but it just felt kinda stupid naming it. So, it's just my car. 97 Chevy Cavalier, I got it while in grad school, and it has served me well.

Yesterday, I took Sue's car down home to see my stepsister's new baby. It was good to see the little guy, and it's fun to be able to make casual visits home, without it being a major production. Both the drive down and the drive back took a little over an hour. Both mother and baby are doing well, although mom is tired from baby, which is to be expected...

NP: Pink Floyd - One Slip (9 Sept 1987)