I am pleased to announce that I have a working window again

 I was given parking at work (we have five spaces that are given for important appointments or similar reasons when people need to be at the medical centre or leave or come back, and the extras are put into a lottery by last name alphabetically). My manager's husband came at lunchtime and basically took out the bad part and put the new switch in, without having to take off the inner door liner, and it took all of ten minutes.

All of ten minutes. I'd told it would be $50 for the labour. And $150 for the part, which I got off the AutoZone website for a whopping $45.

Thanks to all my co-workers (and their families) who helped me out. Specifically, thank you, Houston, Whitney, Sierra, Feliz, and Frazann. I can now lock my car properly, although there's some stickiness where the double-sided tape was...I may need to break out the rubbing alcohol.

So yesterday was actually pretty productive

and I'm on track for today as well. Yesterday I:

1. Went to two pharmacies and got medication for my roommate and myself.
2. Got some groceries while I was at the second to try to combine runs.
3. 'Read' for two chapters (but it was an audiobook, so I listened for about an hour, really), The Great Influenza by John M. Barry, about the 1918 flu pandemic.
4. Listened to music and perused Facebook, which probably shouldn't count as productivity, but I was up and that's what matters.
5. Organized about 60 Kindle books into categories so it isn't a terrible mess.
6. Composed a complete yet eloquent rant on Facebook concerning those who were outside of our Capitol building while the governor was announcing deaths in a huddled mass shouting for him to reopen the state and end the COVID-19 restrictions.
7. Re-watched and sang to 'Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog', which made me feel quite a bit better after that. :)

Today I woke up at 7 am because I'd set my alarm to early as I had not done my normal task of washing the percolator and its basket so my roommate could make coffee this morning. I wanted to make sure I was up before him, as when he gets up to make coffee he is usually so out of it and if the pot and basket are clean, he is too out of it to do himself. It's one of those little things I do for him each night, I just forgot to yesterday.  For those who don't understand, you try using a percolator rather than a Keurig and see how you do when you're half-awake.

So after I got that taken care of (three hours before he woke up!) I:

1. Called T-mobile to finally get my hotspot fixed, as  I knew I'd need it where I am now, away from the Wi-Fi, and it hasn't worked in months.  Apparently, there was no problem with my plan, the data, the laptop, or actual connexion.  It was connecting, just not giving me Internet.  So we went through various settings and two operators, each of whom had to call me back periodically, and I had to factory reset my phone, but it is now working.  If it hadn't, I still have my phone under insurance and they were willing to replace it. I feel good about my service; they were very helpful.  Now I just need to restore some of the stuff that was backed up and re-download some applications and I'll be good to go.  My music and everything was all on an SD card, so I didn't actually 'lose' anything.
2. I've taken my car to the shop to get the front brakes fixed.  They've needed it for a while.  My mechanic, Kenny @ Mitch's Auto, runs a small shop and I know their business has really been impacted by all this.  So I thought I'd get them fixed while I was off rather than taking it to a chain.  They've always been really great about fixing my car and not overcharging or anything like that.  I'd highly recommend them.  They're on Industry Road near the Circle in Lexington.

Other plans today: 

• I have to go back to our small independent pharmacy as my roommate was asleep when I picked up what was ready yesterday, but he had a few other things he needed.  But that's just a drive-through sort of thing.
• I'm going to take some things to my storage unit.  I have my winter clothes packed up (in one, not two totes this year), and I have a few other things that are sitting in my room right now otherwise.
• Reading some more. I'll listen to more of the Barry book, maybe while I'm waiting for the car to be finished.
• Re-install things on my phone.
• Do some more reading as far as my Kindle goes now that it's ready to go.
• Straighten up my room a little.
• Launder my masks and the clothes I have on right now and from yesterday that I went out in.
• Take some pots and put them in the shed until I'm ready to use them so they don't wind up being blown around like the other day when a couple were in the yard

I wish I was in a good place for gardening.  The soil in the yard at roommate's house really needs to be worked and amended.  I thought about getting a hanging plant yesterday when I got groceries from Kroger, but it's cool right now and we've been under frost warnings.  I'll look next time I make a trip out to the store.  But container gardening is about our only hope right now, as neither of us has much to spare in terms of getting what's needed to improve the soil.  I do have a big tub at the storage unit that might work for a tomato plant later once the frost is not an option.  I just need to drill a few holes in it, although a co-worker has my drill at the moment.

Okay, I think I'll go ahead and post this and switch over to working on the phone.  Have a great day.

Yay!

The car is fixed. I called my insurance's roadside assistance this morning, the guy came, and he was great. My battery was most sincerely dead--it didn't work with a jump box, so we had to back my car down the driveway in neutral. Then he showed me how exactly to hook up the batteries (I could never keep which order was which, now I think I have it). It took awhile. First, he charged for a while, then he was still not getting enough juice, so he had to rev his engine while I started the car. It finally started. I thanked the guy, who was absolutely great, let me reiterate that. Very thorough, personable, and took his time to do it right and get me on the road. I took it directly to Tire Discounters, where I got the battery a couple of years ago. Since it had a 30-month warranty, and I was at 23 months, I was definitely taking it back. So they checked it, and yes, it was bad, and they were going to replace it charging for just the labour for putting it in, but actually, they charged me nothing. Free, gratis. Which is what it should have been. I called the roadside assistance at about 9, so it took about 25 minutes for him to get there, another half hour to jump the car, given it was so slow to charge, and about 45 minutes to get the battery changed. So I was back on the road by 11. I came back home and ate some leftovers. So, for the rest of the day, I need to:

1. Take the book to the library, the one that was due the day the car went down.
2. Take YKWIA to pay a bill.
3. Go hunt down some grain-free, fish-based (no chicken) cat food for the cat who is allergic to all food we've tried.
4. Stop by the store for stuff for the game tomorrow.
5. Work on the game notes.

So, I guess I should get going. Have a great day. I'm staying away from the insanity of Black Friday. Hope yours is a safe and productive one!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We scaled Thanksgiving back this year since it was just the two of us, but it was absolutely tasty and wonderful. I did prep work, he cooked, I cleaned up. Now he's napping and I am soon to follow. We had Quorn roasts (vegetarian turkey made from mycoprotein); pumpkin soup; Gruyere gougères; green beans with lemon, roasted hazelnuts, and shallots; mashed potatoes; roasted butternut squash with Asiago and Gruyere cheese; apple clafoutis; and pumpkin pie. Yum! Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and special thanks to Brenda for helping him get the groceries since my car is down (again) so that we could have one. Tomorrow's goal is to get the car fixed. Wish me luck!

So, the car

is still in the shop but I have an estimate $600 less than the first place to thoroughly fix what's wrong. The 'safety issues' were bollocks, of course. May have it tomorrow,  Thursday at the latest,  as we played phone tag a lot today. Today's gaffe regarding the rental was that I accidentally knocked the wipers to intermittent,  and while it was damp today,  it took me awhile to figure out how to get them back to 'off'.

Sigh, again

The car saga continues.  Suffice to say the car is now being towed to my regular mechanic's garage. He'll look at it tomorrow and see if it really requires all the work the other place insisted had to be done per policy before fixing what I asked them to, with an estimated price tag of $1700. Not happy with them at all.  At least Enterprise was great about extending the rental over the phone.

So on Thursday night

I went to the grocery, dropped off a book at the library, and noticed halfway home that my temperature gauge was on 'H', all the way. So I got home, and I took the bus Friday, barely getting to work on time even though I built in a 30-minute cushion because the Nicholasville Road bus had been in a small accident and was running behind. The Tates Creek bus was also running behind in the evening, and the bus driver wouldn't let us board before he took his break.

I called my mechanic on Friday, but he couldn't see it that day and is closed on weekends. He thought it sounded like a coolant leak. With the new job, I really can't take off during the day (although I probably could have Friday, as it was a low census day, with our semi-annual lecture keeping clinic numbers down to almost nothing--I checked one person out the whole day, and didn't have to do the whole process at that. Anyway, back to the car. I put water in it and took it to another place that is open and got there bright and early at 8 am.. It has good ratings and isn't a chain, but they couldn't work me in today due to two guys being out with new babies and a guy who bounced off a truck and tools with his back the day before. Still, they were willing to do it Monday, and are reasonably close to work that I could get there before they closed, by car. I didn't want to drive to another shop to try to get it fixed today. One of them also got me a soda before taking me to rent a car for the meantime. I have never rented a car before. He took me back to get my insurance card, then back the rental shop. I'm now driving a 2016 Hyundai Veloster which totally freaked me out because the radio stays on once the car ignition is off. I tried to figure it out, it finally went off. Turns out it goes off when you open the door. So I read the owner's manual to get up to speed on the car before going out again. Keep in mind, I drive a 2001 Taurus, so I'm not used to the new-fangled things. And I keep hitting the wipers instead of shifting because my gear shift is on the steering wheel. :)

Sigh

So,  tomorrow's adventure is taking the bus to and from work. My car heater is blowing cold air, but the engine is running all the way hot. Noticed the latter on the way home from the grocery store tonight,  and prayed I'd get through the half-mile or so. I'm not 100%, but I think that might mean getting a new thermostat. I have a regular mechanic I trust,  but they're only open weekdays. Any recommendations for a good weekend mechanic?  I think I may call mine (Kenny at Mitch's Auto, excellent folks) to see if he knows anyone. With the new job,  I accrue vacation and holiday time,  but can only use it for holidays at first. So weekends would be preferable.

And there was much rejoicing

Well, it took $601.43 total, but:

1. I have working rear brakes that are safe and happy...
2. My ball joints were fine (take that Tire Discounters, who tried to get me to pay for a replacement), but my ignition coil was causing all the engine misfiring, and that was fixed...
3. I got an oil change, which was overdue, and they threw in a new stopper, replacing the old one, which was threaded...and
4. My windshield wipers, which basically shredded, were replaced.

Tire Discounters quoted about $800 for the first two alone. Thanks Kenny and the folks at Mitch's Auto for the great service. I've gone there for years, and they're very straight-shooting and reasonable. And thank you to YKWIA and A, who helped out by paying half of the bill, since I give them rides quite often. And thank you to Jackie, from work, who came and got me and took me into work and then brought me back, so I didn't have to ride the bus and take time out from my workday. It drives like a new car. :)

After I got the car, I went over to YKWIA's, had dinner (it was very yummy) and took A to a meeting. Now I'm home, and I have my choice of:

1. Laundry,
2. Kitchen, or
3. Book review, or
4. Some sort of combination of the above.

I also told A I would do some checking on the computer for him. So there's definitely that. I also want to listen some more to my audiobook (I'm five chapters away from finishing). If I did laundry and went over to the facility here, I could listen and work on the computer, too, and even work on the book review, perhaps. On the other hand, the kitchen really needs help. So we'll see. Right now I'm going to change into comfy clothes and wind down a bit, without actually relaxing to the point of sleep. I'm thinking of putting on some peppy music. :)

Well, it took seven hours and $200

but I got the car back, and it's drivable. I went over to work and got a package from Amazon that included a closet purse organiser, came back, put them all on it (11 in all; I put two small ones on one loop), and since then I've worked on the house a little and listened to music/rested a lot. I spoke with YKWIA after sunset. But otherwise I've been home alone, which has been nice, although I haven't been particularly productive. Whenever I get to hurting a lot (and it's not as bad as it has been all week) I lie down for a bit. I've had the windows open; I just closed them. Now I'm making bread. I've watered all my plants. I leave to get A a little over an hour from now. What shall I do in the meantime?

They're still working on my car

So, we're six hours in. They apparently had trouble and had to get parts from another store, which I presume was the adjuster, as it was the only thing that was going to be changed. I'm getting a little antsy--I'm supposed to pick A up from work tonight; they close in two hours and don't reopen until Monday morning. I need my car.

Well, that could have gone so much better

I took the car over to the shop first thing in the morning, when they opened at 8 am. Apparently the noise was that a mechanism that adjusts the brakes had broken off and was spinning around inside the drum. I need new drums and shoes on the rear of the car. I also need to have a ball joint replaced, an alignment as a result of that second one, and new windshield wipers. I can't even do the brake job at this point--it'll be over $500. In fact, it'll take everything I have to put everything back so that it's not dragging and I can go back in a couple or three weeks and get the brakes done properly. :( They're open the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving, when I'm off. I'll also check with my normal mechanic, who's only open weekdays, to see how much he would charge and see if they're open on the Friday after Thanksgiving, when I'm off. My goal is to try to have the car running in the interim, as we have a lot of appointments next week.

Also, I'd signed up for Amazon Prime last month, but as a month-to-month subscription, not yearly, and found that instead of charging me $11, they charged me nearly $105. So that was less money for the repair. I called Amazon while I was at the shop and they took care of it, and I called the bank, and since it was in pending, should be okay by Monday.

So, I've had a day. At 10:30 he told me that it would take about an hour and a half to fix the car, and he offered me a ride home, so I'm home now and I've eaten for the first time today. The stress is clenching up the muscles in my neck and shoulders, which isn't helping on that front. I had to text a friend to let him know I couldn't pick them up from their appointment, that they'd have to find another way home, and they had to take the bus to get there this morning). But hey, you do what you can, and I couldn't be sure the car wasn't dangerous, and had to have it looked at, and the adjuster has to go back where it needs to be; I can't be driving with it inside the drum. So that's how my day has gone so far. I think I'm going to go lie down on the heating pad for a little and try to relax, then get up and do some things around the house. But boy, today could be going better. If you factor in the ball joint and everything, the total will be nearly $1000. I'll have to do it over time, there's no way around it.

The car is fixed

It was the starter,  which now starts right up like a dream. I also had the EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) valve sensor replaced so the check engine light would go out.  Grand total,  including parts and labour,  $433.65. I dare say that's the most expensive present I've ever bought for my birthday (which is in 18 minutes).  A coworker met me this morning and picked me up.  The one who was going to take me back but whose niece was born yesterday contacted someone in her department who was going to take me at 5 pm,  but someone else in the department was leaving earlier,  so I went with her. So it all worked out well,  and I didn't have to take the bus, yay!

One thing I agree with the Germans about

Pills should be taken 'against' headaches (gegen Kopfschmerzen) rather than for them. I've been nursing a headache all evening, and it has finally reached splitting/not-ignorable status, so I took some ibuprofen, something I try not to do in an effort to minimise issues to the kidneys. But alas, sometimes you just have to break down.

I will be somewhat brief tonight, as I missed my allergy shot this afternoon, so I'm going to try to go in early tomorrow so I can do it tomorrow afternoon before my friend's appointment. Today was technically one of my early days, but I had a slew of things to do this afternoon when all was said and done, so I'm glad I voted in the primary election very early this morning rather than putting it off.

I did find out why my check engine light is on in the car (it popped up right before the odometer hit 50,000 miles). The code most likely points to a faulty exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) valve, or its corresponding sensor. I was told that while it should be fixed, a month or two should be okay if I'm not having issues, which is good, as I don't have the money to do it just now. I wanted to double-check, as I will be making the trip to Louisville in a couple of weeks.

I told my counselor of my anxiety about driving and how I planned to do some practice runs before going to Louisville by interstate. She copied some pages from The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook, and I think they include a useful exercise. Actually, when I did some poking around, the whole book sounded quite useful. I looked it up at the library, but their copies were missing or lost. Amazon had both paperback and Kindle versions. Since it's a workbook, with worksheets, I thought the paperback copy would be more useful, so I used some of my credit card bonus rewards and bought it. I should be getting it Thursday, which isn't too bad, considering I no longer have Amazon Prime, as I couldn't afford to renew it when the price went up.

I did a lot of running around after work today, driving for about 2 1/2 hours around the city in rush hour traffic. I:

1. Went to the pharmacy for a friend
2. Had my car checked due to the check engine light
3. Put a cheque in the bank
4. Grabbed some Taco Bell for dinner
5. Picked some Marmite up at the store for a friend

and then I went over there to their house and watched:

1. 'House of Anubis'
2. 'iZombie'
3. 'Lab Rats'

That was fun. In particular, 'iZombie' is growing on me even more.

Okay, I should head on to bed. The headache is easing up somewhat. Good night!

Great news!

The brake pads were just glazed and needed a little sanding, which was much cheaper than I thought it would be. Now to get back there on the bus in the rain. :)