For Days Like Today...
Gads, what a day...
We were supposed to be at the Swift Current Canadian Tire store at 10am to get Trixstir's winter tires installed on her van. I had purchased the tires last week when they were on sale, and they were supposed to order winter rims for them as well so that future tire-swaps would be a lot easier, and could even be done at home. Our first problem occured just trying to get out of the yard; The high winds of the current chinook had blown snow back into the parking area that I had just cleared two days ago, and Trixstir was leery about parking in there last night, lest she get stuck. So she parked behind my Explorer, and the problem came when she backed out; Not used to parking in that spot, she mis-timed where she should turn, and she wound up backing into the ditch and getting stuck. :/
Fortunately, I have super-human strength (it's my story, so I get to make up the plot!) and with a mighty push (and Trixstir keeping her foot on the accelerator) we got the van unstuck. The highway was in bad shape as well, as the warm weather combined with high winds blowing snow over the highway, had created a slick layer of ice all over the highway. It was slow-going all the way to the Trans-Canada, but once we got there things were much better and we were able to travel at full speed. In the end, we wound up being 20 minutes late; Fortunately they weren't very busy this morning so that didn't create any problems. Other problems were just around the corner though...
First of all, the rims weren't in. The computer said that they hadn't even been ordered, which made me more than a little irate. I explained that we had made a special effort to bring the van in today, and that it was over an hour-and-a-half drive to bring it in. I requested that they just put the tires on the rims the van had, and once the proper rims arrived they could switch them around at their own expense since it was their mixup in the first place. They were agreeable to that, though we found out shortly afterward that the rims actually had been ordered, but they were back-ordered to a warehouse in Quebec, so for some reason the computer was showing them as "not ordered". Some kind of glitch in the system, I guess. Speaking of glitches; I had phoned over a week ago to remind them about the special rims, and wound up having to talk to the voice-mail system. Fine; I left a detailed message, asking that they call me back if there were any issues. Even though I had called the extension for the automotive department, apparently the voice-mail doesn't get routed to them. So I have no idea where my message wound up, but the people who needed to hear it, didn't. :P
The next problem arose about 20 minutes later. Fortunately, we were still in the store (browsing) when my cell-phone rang, and we headed back to the automotive area. It turns out that our "new" van has an old problem, one that the dealership most certainly should have known about, and fixed. The van has a severe alignment issue, so much so that the front driver's side tire was worn down to the steel belts on the inside! It's amazing (and very fortunate!) that Trixstir didn't have a blow-out driving back and forth to town on the highway every day! Even moreso considering that blow-out on one of the front wheels can make a driver lose control of the vehicle! This isn't something that happened recently; This has been an issue for a long time, and GM is going to hear about this tomorrow! Canadian Tire would not install the new Winter Tires with that serious of an alignment issue, as the softer tires would be torn to shreds very quickly. The tires were getting worn anyway, and there was a sale on touring tires, so I shelled out another pile of $$$ to buy four new summer tires so that we could get the van back to Shaunavon without having to worry about a blow-out. The van is still under warranty, and I fully expect the GM dealership to perform and pay for the alignment. That something this serious would get past their inspection is unforgivable, and I want them to make it right.
This works out for getting the winter tires installed; We'll have the dealership do the alignment, and once the rims arrive at Canadian Tire we'll take the van back there, and they'll swap everything around. They will waive the "change-over fee" since it was their mixup the created the delay in the first place. I have the old summer tires in the van to show to the GM dealership to back up my demands that they fix the problem. I'm really PO'd about that, given that it could have resulted in a serious accident if there had been a blow-out. Hopefully they'll "do the right thing" and fix the problem without a fuss. We shall see.
Nothing to report on the "baby exam" as it turns out it's still a little early (only 12 weeks) to be able to hear a fetal heartbeat, or see anything on an ultrasound. On Trixstir's next visit (a month from now) those should be possible. Also at that time, they can do a test for Down's Syndrome, which I think is important. There are two tests available: the simple one is just a blood test, and it's about 60% accurate. The other is an amnionic fluid test, which is supposed to be 100% accurate. The catch is that this test is obviously more painful, since a large needle has to be passed through the abdoment and into the womb to get a fluid sample. Ultimately, this will have to be Trixstir's choice, but I'd really like her to do the more accurate test.
The rest of the day went fairly well, including finding a janitorial supply store in Swift Current. We're been buying our supplies in Calgary when I make a trip there, but this will be much more convenient! I was also very pleased to find out that if we buy the consumable supplies from them, they'll supply the dispensers. This helps a lot, since we're down to our last bottle of liquid soap, and the dispensers in the bowling alley are older models that I don't even know if we would have been able to get refills for. The prices are quite reasonable; For example, a case of Purell works out to about $12 for a 1litre packet, which is a good price especially considering that it includes the wall-mount dispenser. The sun was setting by the time we headed back for Shaunavon, but fortunately the warmth of the day had melted all of the ice from the highway so we had no further issues getting home. Tomorrow I'll talk to the people at the GM dealership and see what they'll do about fixing the alignment on the van. The warm weather is supposed to last through the weekend, so I'm also hoping to get some trimming done on the horses' hooves.