The Silver Bullet is about to bite it...
Continuing...
My car. My poor car. It had some problems at the beginning of the summer (leaking coolant...had to replace the thermostat body housing) and everything seemed to be running fine. A little over a month later, my car is vibrating and chugging. This is not good. The check engine light comes on...alright. The check engine light comes on and starts flashing...not good. I take it to the mechanic that Ben and Val use. He hooks up the scanner, does something with my spark plugs, and tells me I'll probably need a new coil pack. New coil pack eh? How much will that cost? $102.18 for the coil, $63.57 for the cables, $165.75 plus labor and whatever markup.
Nah. I take it down to my mechanic (which was a fun ride, by the way: doing 45 m.p.h. on I-97, chugging going up any incline, check engine light flashing then as well) and leave it there. I talk to him Friday, and the diagnosis is in: I need a new Throttle position sensor ($35.82-online) and what I thought he said was a fuel pump ($140.06-online). I hope that's not what it is. Rather expensive for me, but if it's what I need to keep the car running long enough to get another, so be it. Now here's the kicker.
Many of you who know me well have met my parents. My mother is wonderful. I don't know how she does it. My father, on the other hand...well here is what he said to me (paraphrased) when I told him about my car troubles:
Me: Dad, my car is having trouble again.
Dad: What is it this time?
Me: I don't know. The car was shaking as if I had a flat, so I got out and checked it and there was nothing, but the car is still shaking.
Dad: Did you call Owen [the mechanic]?
Me: Yeah, he said to disconnect the battery cable for 15 minutes to see if that will reset the engine computer to the point that it works properly.
Dad: You better save your money to get a new car.
Me: I can't save my money, Dad. I have to pay my rent and tuition.
Dad: I thought your mother paid your tuition already?
Me: She paid for Spring. I still have to pay for Summer, Fall, and next Spring.
Dad: You mean to tell me she went behind my back and paid for only one semester? How much is it costing you to go to this school?
Me: $4300 a semester.
Dad: You mean it's costing you over $8000 a year to go there? Well, you better drop out and work to pay for all your bills.
Me: Dad, I have SEVEN classes left to graduate.
Dad: I don't care. You need to work to pay for a new car and pay these bills.
Me: Dad, I AM working. I can't drop out of school because I only have seven classes left and I'll lose my health insurance.
Dad: You don't get health insurance at your job? What kind of place do you work for?
Me: Dad, I'm only "per diem." That means as needed. They don't give employees with my classification any benefits.
Dad: Well you better get a full-time job then, because you're not getting any money from me.
It continued on like that for another couple of minutes, until I was in tears in Jon's apartment and hung up the phone. My mother called me back and told me that I should know better than to talk finances with my father, but I tried to explain to him why I couldn't save the money for a new car and I ended up finished. Done. I couldn't do it anymore. My father does not know what I put myself through to pay my bills and still try to save a little here and there. Hell, at one point this summer I was working 80 hours in 8 days, plus 14 hours of classes. That doesn't include getting ready, driving time, and certainly does not include sleep. Jon says he doesn't know how I do it, work and school. I know how I do it now. Not working the 50 hours a week during the school year; only pulling 24 hours a week lets me rest and do homework...and I'm doing better in school now than I ever have. AND I still have time to spend with Jon. Oh yeah...and when I brought my car down to the mechanic on Thursday, Dad says to me, "How come you couldn't get your car fixed in Baltimore? Me: "I don't know any mechanics in Baltimore." Dad: "Well you better find one. Remember your mother's car only takes premium. Don't put anything else in that gas tank." Me: "Yes, I know." I should have added that I know because not only has my mother had the car for over 6 years, I also drove it around for an entire summer and then when I started my senior year of high school. Nope, didn't say it, because I'd get yelled at by him for being smart (mouthed). So I left, came back here, and hopefully my car will be ready today. Not sure yet, but one of the parts is taking a hell of a long time to get here. Hopefully today.
Anyways, after boring you with the tedium of my life, I am off to take care of things before Billiards. I'm staying at Jon's because I have no A/C in my room at my house, and hopefully we will be installing the window unit early next week (crossing fingers to hope that it works!). Otakon is this weekend, so I will be out of touch from Friday through Monday...but you can leave a message.
Until next time, kids.
My car. My poor car. It had some problems at the beginning of the summer (leaking coolant...had to replace the thermostat body housing) and everything seemed to be running fine. A little over a month later, my car is vibrating and chugging. This is not good. The check engine light comes on...alright. The check engine light comes on and starts flashing...not good. I take it to the mechanic that Ben and Val use. He hooks up the scanner, does something with my spark plugs, and tells me I'll probably need a new coil pack. New coil pack eh? How much will that cost? $102.18 for the coil, $63.57 for the cables, $165.75 plus labor and whatever markup.
Nah. I take it down to my mechanic (which was a fun ride, by the way: doing 45 m.p.h. on I-97, chugging going up any incline, check engine light flashing then as well) and leave it there. I talk to him Friday, and the diagnosis is in: I need a new Throttle position sensor ($35.82-online) and what I thought he said was a fuel pump ($140.06-online). I hope that's not what it is. Rather expensive for me, but if it's what I need to keep the car running long enough to get another, so be it. Now here's the kicker.
Many of you who know me well have met my parents. My mother is wonderful. I don't know how she does it. My father, on the other hand...well here is what he said to me (paraphrased) when I told him about my car troubles:
Me: Dad, my car is having trouble again.
Dad: What is it this time?
Me: I don't know. The car was shaking as if I had a flat, so I got out and checked it and there was nothing, but the car is still shaking.
Dad: Did you call Owen [the mechanic]?
Me: Yeah, he said to disconnect the battery cable for 15 minutes to see if that will reset the engine computer to the point that it works properly.
Dad: You better save your money to get a new car.
Me: I can't save my money, Dad. I have to pay my rent and tuition.
Dad: I thought your mother paid your tuition already?
Me: She paid for Spring. I still have to pay for Summer, Fall, and next Spring.
Dad: You mean to tell me she went behind my back and paid for only one semester? How much is it costing you to go to this school?
Me: $4300 a semester.
Dad: You mean it's costing you over $8000 a year to go there? Well, you better drop out and work to pay for all your bills.
Me: Dad, I have SEVEN classes left to graduate.
Dad: I don't care. You need to work to pay for a new car and pay these bills.
Me: Dad, I AM working. I can't drop out of school because I only have seven classes left and I'll lose my health insurance.
Dad: You don't get health insurance at your job? What kind of place do you work for?
Me: Dad, I'm only "per diem." That means as needed. They don't give employees with my classification any benefits.
Dad: Well you better get a full-time job then, because you're not getting any money from me.
It continued on like that for another couple of minutes, until I was in tears in Jon's apartment and hung up the phone. My mother called me back and told me that I should know better than to talk finances with my father, but I tried to explain to him why I couldn't save the money for a new car and I ended up finished. Done. I couldn't do it anymore. My father does not know what I put myself through to pay my bills and still try to save a little here and there. Hell, at one point this summer I was working 80 hours in 8 days, plus 14 hours of classes. That doesn't include getting ready, driving time, and certainly does not include sleep. Jon says he doesn't know how I do it, work and school. I know how I do it now. Not working the 50 hours a week during the school year; only pulling 24 hours a week lets me rest and do homework...and I'm doing better in school now than I ever have. AND I still have time to spend with Jon. Oh yeah...and when I brought my car down to the mechanic on Thursday, Dad says to me, "How come you couldn't get your car fixed in Baltimore? Me: "I don't know any mechanics in Baltimore." Dad: "Well you better find one. Remember your mother's car only takes premium. Don't put anything else in that gas tank." Me: "Yes, I know." I should have added that I know because not only has my mother had the car for over 6 years, I also drove it around for an entire summer and then when I started my senior year of high school. Nope, didn't say it, because I'd get yelled at by him for being smart (mouthed). So I left, came back here, and hopefully my car will be ready today. Not sure yet, but one of the parts is taking a hell of a long time to get here. Hopefully today.
Anyways, after boring you with the tedium of my life, I am off to take care of things before Billiards. I'm staying at Jon's because I have no A/C in my room at my house, and hopefully we will be installing the window unit early next week (crossing fingers to hope that it works!). Otakon is this weekend, so I will be out of touch from Friday through Monday...but you can leave a message.
Until next time, kids.