Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Here, There, and Everywhere

I've been traveling. In 35 days, I've been home for 3. It's been fun, but at the same time, it's been exhausting!

I spent the week of Thanksgiving in Monroe, Utah at my sister's house. She had another kidlet. See the previous post on that cute kid.

I was then home for three days to do a boutique. It went well, but I think it could have gone much better. I don't think it was successfully advertised, the location wasn't the best, and it was pretty short notice. Live and learn.

I then headed to Simi Valley, California to help Kristin, Matthew, and Axton unpack their new house. I really enjoyed spending time with them and having a bit of fun, too. We made sugar cookies, caramel popcorn, went to the park (it was like Fall there all over again), played games, and we even went and had lunch on the beach in Malibu. A fab break from the coolness here.

After leaving Simi Valley, I headed to a car dealership to get my transmission fixed. My transmission range sensor to be exact. That's another story. I'll post it.

I drove through the evening hours and arrived in Gilbert, Az about 2 in the morning. I was able to spend from the 14th-27th in Gilbert and Surprise. While there, I went shopping and browsing with my mom, caught a movie, and spent time with my step-sister and her family. I even got to see her brand-spankin-new baby when he was born. Lance came down, and we were able to visit all of his kids during Christmas. It was fun, and the weather was beautiful! Even when it was raining, I thought it was a nice relief from the 75 degrees. Now that I'm back in Utah, and it's a blizzard, I'm not so sure. :)

Story Time:

Car Woes

So, there I was getting gas. As I went to drive off, my car wouldn't drive. It lurched, the engine light came on, and I may or may not have thought angry words. I tried driving forward again, and this time it worked. Not 100 percent oh-that-was-weird worked, but the this-may-get-me-to-a-shop worked.

I drove around the corner to where there just happened to be an AutoZone car parts store. I knew that they did free engine light testing at these stores. (Unfortunately I knew this from prior experience). When I got in the store, I told them why I was there. The man looked at me and was all, "Uh, we don't do that here. They passed a law in California that shops can't do that because dealerships were complaining that they were losing too much money." I said thanks, walked out the door, sat in my car, and cried. Cars make me so emotional.

So, I called the Suzuki hotline and found the nearest certified dealer, 40 minutes away. I followed my GPS there, and I couldn't find it. I looked up and down the street for the name the hotline had given me. No luck. So, I called the phone number that I had for the shop. It was one of those don't-blink-or-you'll-miss-the-entrance shops. Apparently, the shop name had been changed and it wasn't really a Suzuki shop anyway. Nonetheless, they could do repairs.

After speaking to the rep and telling him my situation, it was decided that yes, they could check the engine light, but no, they couldn't work on my car. Not until around 1:30. It was just before 11:30. He said, "See, well, it's almost our lunch, so we can't work on it until later. But there's a waiting room a few blocks down at our showroom if you want to go there." So, they did the diagnostic ($115! (no wonder shops complain about free ones) $52 in Ut.), and yadda, yadda, yadda, it's going to be a little expensive. I said to just fix it. I didn't really have a choice, seeing how I needed to get to Phoenix. I hate cars. So, I told them I was going and would be back at 3:30. That's when they said it would be done, and my phone was dead. I had no intention of sitting around for almost four hours.

I walked down the street, crying. The day had definitely not been what I'd expected. I found a store, bought a drink and some Exedrin, and got myself together. Then, I did what any girl would do. I walked into a nearby salon and got my hair cut. Hair therapy. It was totally worth it. Best money I spent in that expensive day. My long straight hair became layered and a little shorter. I kind of regret it, but it's just hair. I like my new cut, but I just have to find some new hairstyles because I have more short pieces than I'm used to.

Anyway, car seems to be running fine. I made it home safely after 2,000 miles and hours upon hours of driving. I guess that, all in all, my car has been good to me. With almost 90,000 miles in less than 5 years, I've been pretty rough on it. Still, I kind of hate cars.




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1 comment:

Janica said...

I love to read your blog! Cars are emotion provoking for me too. Some-how I thought a higher priced one would have less problems. Really, it just has more expensive parts! Live and learn.....