11.10.2005

waxed legs & battery clamps.

on tuesday, i went to the car wash. my car needed it very much. i usually don't take such poor care of my dear automobile, but i've not had any time to get it washed. i've always some place to be. but monday, when i got gas, i paid for one and vowed that i would get in this week. the most logical day seemed to be tuesday, so that it would be clean when it went to the shop on wednesday.

my car, as dear as it is, is old. so old, in fact, that it legally could drive itself (which it doesn't... i'm not sure why). things wear out. three things had drastically worn out, which warranted a trip to the garage. well, maybe it was the fact that one of the three was my muffler and i hate being so loud. my transmission needed to be flushed (the fluid was black. black, i say.) and there's been this thing with my battery. one of the clamps hasn't really clamped down on one of the terminals well. it's too big or something. so just about every day, i would have a disconnect. usually more than once a day. which means that the radio stations and the clock get reset about two or three times a day.

so, i went to the carwash on tuesday. i contemplated leaving my car running, but thought... oh, i'll be fine. it'll start up. yeah. it didn't. so, as the dryer was starting at the end, i popped the hood, ducked under the shoulder strap and jumped out. i messed with the terminal, ran back around and tried to start the car. nothing. okay, try it again. run around, mess with terminal, run around again. nothing. crap. the car wash has been dribbling and spraying the whole time, so my tights are wet. what? tights? julie, are you doing this in a skirt? yes. yes i am. add it to the stack. finally, after four tries, she starts and i jump in, cursing my car washed legs and speed up to the dryer so that at least half of my car can at least be qualifed as damp.

but, today is thursday. yesterday was wednesday. my new sister-in-law, nicky, and i switched vehicles tuesday night and she brought my sweet little camry to work with her. just the muffler and transmission were getting fixed and i was so excited to have a quiet car that actually worked. i was waiting at home for her to come last night when she called. she tells me that she has a surprise for me. i cannot imagine what it is. she shows up and hands me a battery clamp. the old one. don't i have the best sil ever??? she fixed my battery, too! so now, my car is all fixed. maybe now i'll make it through the winter without having to stand outside trying to fix my car in the bitter type of cold that makes the snot you didn't even know you had in your nose freeze.
bring it on.

posted by julie @ 8:51 AM

2 Comments:

At 11/10/2005 10:07 AM, Blogger Grandma and Grandpa Benson said...

I love family stories like this . . . hmmmmm . . . I wonder how my sister in laws battery clamps are . . .

 
At 11/11/2005 11:38 AM, Blogger gloria said...

"cursing my car washed legs" HA! great line!

 

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