Random Ramblings
Just some random thoughts...
- Another round of thunderstorms hit tonight. Not nearly as bad as what's gone by in the past few days, and certainly not as bad as what's hitting the midwest US, but it was yet another half hour of lightning, thunder and torrential rain. All things considered with all the storms that have moved through the area in the past few days, most of the worst weather has missed here. There have been tornado warnings to the south and east of here, and lots of lightning, hail, and heavy, flooding rain all around, but most of it has gone around here. It's very strange to see bad storms all around on the weather radar, while at the same time not one drop of rain falls here.
- I'm now entering my third week without a working car. The garage was supposed to have it ready Monday, and they've got the engine put back together except for one crucial piece - the fuel injector. Now the holdup is just one O-ring that fits in the fuel injector connection. Since that O-ring keeps gas from leaking out, it's a pretty important little part. And I don't know what they did with the O-ring that was in there originally, because there certainly had to be one in there to begin with. Unfortunately, no parts shop around here had one in stock, so they had to order one through the Suzuki dealer in Syracuse (even though my car is a Chevy Metro, the car was actually made by Suzuki). Tack on a few more days for that to get here, and I'll be lucky to have my car back by Friday of this week. And if they can't get things done by Friday, then it'll probably be ready no earlier than Tuesday of next week, since I'm sure the garage will be closed for Memorial Day *sigh*. I just hope I get the car back while I can still afford to put gas in it (especially after I get socked with the repair bill).
- The worst part about having no car is being stuck at home. Not that I mind being at home, but I hate the idea of being stranded here and being dependent on a friend for rides. I did think about renting something, but since the original 1 week of repair time has now stretched to 3, it's probably a good thing I didn't go that route. There is a bus that stops nearby, but at a very limited number of strange times, and the bus route doesn't go anywhere too useful for me anyway. The garage my car is at is within walking distance, but not much else. There used to be a little convenience store/deli that would be really useful right about now, but it closed down several years ago. Haven't been out of my apartment in 4 days (it's a slow time at work, so I've been able to take some time off), and I'm getting a little stir crazy and tired of living on Chex Mix and soup. More than a little lonely, too, to tell the truth. But I'll be getting a lift from my friend in the morning, so I'll finally be able to get out for a bit.
- But I have been spending some time recently reconnecting with some of my older beloved plush pals, which is always a good thing. In my humble opinion, Lhasa the Douglas Cuddle Toy snow leopard is, without a doubt, one of the all-around nicest plush felines ever made. It was a sad day when Douglas discontinued him. Come to think of it, all of my favorite Douglas plush have gone extinct. I remember well the pilgrimage my BF and I made to Keene, NH, and I remember how wonderful the Douglas factory store was. I'm not sure if there's any reason to go there again, though. I've seen some of their recent catalogs, and they're really depressing in their lack of nice plush. The plush I miss most from their catalog is Artemis the fox, who gets my vote for being the all-around nicest plush fox ever made. What in the world are you guys thinking, Douglas? *sigh*
On that note, I think I've rambled enough for now...
- Another round of thunderstorms hit tonight. Not nearly as bad as what's gone by in the past few days, and certainly not as bad as what's hitting the midwest US, but it was yet another half hour of lightning, thunder and torrential rain. All things considered with all the storms that have moved through the area in the past few days, most of the worst weather has missed here. There have been tornado warnings to the south and east of here, and lots of lightning, hail, and heavy, flooding rain all around, but most of it has gone around here. It's very strange to see bad storms all around on the weather radar, while at the same time not one drop of rain falls here.
- I'm now entering my third week without a working car. The garage was supposed to have it ready Monday, and they've got the engine put back together except for one crucial piece - the fuel injector. Now the holdup is just one O-ring that fits in the fuel injector connection. Since that O-ring keeps gas from leaking out, it's a pretty important little part. And I don't know what they did with the O-ring that was in there originally, because there certainly had to be one in there to begin with. Unfortunately, no parts shop around here had one in stock, so they had to order one through the Suzuki dealer in Syracuse (even though my car is a Chevy Metro, the car was actually made by Suzuki). Tack on a few more days for that to get here, and I'll be lucky to have my car back by Friday of this week. And if they can't get things done by Friday, then it'll probably be ready no earlier than Tuesday of next week, since I'm sure the garage will be closed for Memorial Day *sigh*. I just hope I get the car back while I can still afford to put gas in it (especially after I get socked with the repair bill).
- The worst part about having no car is being stuck at home. Not that I mind being at home, but I hate the idea of being stranded here and being dependent on a friend for rides. I did think about renting something, but since the original 1 week of repair time has now stretched to 3, it's probably a good thing I didn't go that route. There is a bus that stops nearby, but at a very limited number of strange times, and the bus route doesn't go anywhere too useful for me anyway. The garage my car is at is within walking distance, but not much else. There used to be a little convenience store/deli that would be really useful right about now, but it closed down several years ago. Haven't been out of my apartment in 4 days (it's a slow time at work, so I've been able to take some time off), and I'm getting a little stir crazy and tired of living on Chex Mix and soup. More than a little lonely, too, to tell the truth. But I'll be getting a lift from my friend in the morning, so I'll finally be able to get out for a bit.
- But I have been spending some time recently reconnecting with some of my older beloved plush pals, which is always a good thing. In my humble opinion, Lhasa the Douglas Cuddle Toy snow leopard is, without a doubt, one of the all-around nicest plush felines ever made. It was a sad day when Douglas discontinued him. Come to think of it, all of my favorite Douglas plush have gone extinct. I remember well the pilgrimage my BF and I made to Keene, NH, and I remember how wonderful the Douglas factory store was. I'm not sure if there's any reason to go there again, though. I've seen some of their recent catalogs, and they're really depressing in their lack of nice plush. The plush I miss most from their catalog is Artemis the fox, who gets my vote for being the all-around nicest plush fox ever made. What in the world are you guys thinking, Douglas? *sigh*
On that note, I think I've rambled enough for now...