Roller-coaster Day [Warning: rambling and verbose post]
I am completely drained. Today was one of those days full of ups and downs. For once I got up this morning feeling good and full of energy. I was determined that I was going to get a lot done. There was laundry to do, some ironing, and the usual dog-walking duties. I also had promised my wife that I would go with her to the mall. She has been a bit under the weather recently and this outing was supposed to cheer her up. We had planned to get lunch at the Nordstrom Café that overlooks downtown Providence. While we were there I also wanted to pop into a bookstore to buy a guidebook for Puerto Rico. I was then planning to come home and get some work done on my dissertation.

The day started off well, got the laundry going, ironed some clothes that had been begging for a pressing, and took the dog out for his daily run. My wife slept in, so we decided to have lunch at home and head to the mall later. No problem. As we were heading to the mall, the *Check Engine* light came on in our car. I asked my wife what she thought we should do. We agreed that we should head back home. I looked at the engine, but as far as I could tell everything seemed to be in order. I was going to need help with this one. When we walked in to our apartment, our wonderful dog found his way up on to a counter and got a paper bag full of used tissues. He rearranged them quite wonderfully on our living room floor. My wife with a exasperated and sad face turned to me and said, “I’ll clean this up, you look into the car.”

The car issue is more complex than most car issues. In our wisdom, we bought a Daewoo a few years back. It is a nice car and it has been very good to us. The problem is that Daewoo went bankrupt in the US last year. The other problem is that here in Rhode Island there is only one dealer (a Nissan place that used to also sell Daewoos) that has parts for it and it is about twenty miles from Providence. I called them up to see if they could take a look at it today. No such luck, I would have to wait until Thursday. Not good, especially since we really need to use our car next week.

Plan B: take it to some local mechanics to see if they can at least tell me what is wrong.
Mechanic #1: Can’t look at it until Friday.
Mechanic #2: Can’t look at it until Thursday.
What is it that has mechanics so backed up?

Note: all this time the car seems to be running fine.

I decide to head home when I remember that there is a Pep Boys with a service department nearby. Ok, last try. There they tell me that I would have to leave it there and they can take a look at it tomorrow morning. Fine. Perfect. When they find out it is a Daewoo, this brings on looks of concern. Mechanic conference call. While I stand there nervously awaiting the verdict, all I can hear is mumble, mumble, mumble. The guy I had talked to comes over and says that they don’t know whether their computer can communicate with the car’s computer. They can try, but even if they find out what is wrong, they might not be able to fix it because Daewoo parts are hard to find. So we work out the deal: I leave the car and they do the diagnostic, which costs $80. If they can’t find out what is wrong, they won’t charge me. I agree and leave the car. As I am leaving they tell me they might be able to look at it this evening, but I am pessimistic.

Now I have to get home, which is about four miles away. The weather is tropical and stormy. Not good walking weather. The bus depot is nearby, though, I know there are taxis there. The walk there is unpleasant because it is a desolate part of town and the weather was so muggy. I get there fine and make my way home. Barely. On the ride home the taxi driver decides to have an argument with his cell phone, and while messing with the buttons almost slams into a turning school bus.

Once at home, my wife and sat in our sultry living room fretting over the recent events. My wife is disappointed that her day of escape and retail therapy came to an end even before it began. I sit wondering how much this is going to cost us and how we are going to get through the next week without a car. We will have to rent one. But what can I do to cheer my wife up? I suggest taking a taxi to the mall, but the inclement weather and wife’s poor health lead us to decide against this.

The energy that I was exuding in the morning is long gone. I am drained, yet terribly anxious. I mope, my wife mopes, even the dog, who is still recovering from the stern “what did you do?” reprimands from earlier and probably sensing our current feelings, mopes.

In the midst of our self-wallowing the phone rings. It is Pep Boys. They ran the diagnostic and it said something like the alternate manifold vent exhaust something blah, blah, blah. Huh? What does that mean? Nothing serious. They can’t do anything, but it should not pose a problem. I arrange a ride from our neighbor back to Pet Boys to pick up the car. Once there the guy explains that sometimes certain emission cause the computer in the car to freak. The mechanic cleared the computer and the light did not go back on. Their computer also did not register any problem. So it was probably nothing. I was expecting to pay $80 for this, and while it is a lot of money, I would have been happy to pay it given the good news and the fact they looked at my car within a couple of hours. The guy said, sign here and there is no charge. What? No charge? Why, thank you.

PLUG FOR PEP BOYS. I will be returning there whenever I need car parts.

Ok, this post has gone on for way too long, so I will be brief. So I get home, convince my wife that we can still go to the mall. We go there and get all the things we wanted to get, including a skirt my wife saw in a magazine over a month ago, but the store that was supposed to sell it did not offer it online. My wife has been dying to get that skirt. The day ended well.

We did decide to get take-out because we were too exhausted to cook, and we did need a few margaritas this evening to put the remaining bits of adrenaline to bed.

If you’ve read all of this venting, I thank you for your attention and I wish you a great weekend. I will be busy doing the work on my dissertation that did not get done today.

Cheers. {Clinking margarita glass}