oh, the troubles I've seen
Expensive car troubles notwithstanding today was still a unique day of
humiliation for me. I took my grandpa to see a gastroenterologist. (For
avid dictionary.com users, gastroenterology is the study of disorders
affecting the stomach, intestines, and associated organs.) Apparently,
Grandpa's insides are not up to par these days, so he needed to find
out whether or not he was able to get another colonoscopy (examination
of the colon with a colonoscope). It seems he's had one some years ago,
but Medicare won't cover this one unless there's some trouble
a-brewin'. Fortunately and unfortunately, there is some rumblings in
his tummy. So, we get there and the doctor starts asking me questions,
assuming that I can translate for him. Ha .... ha..... ha. Or so I
thought. It's a serious line of questioning having to do with Grandpa's
health and intestinal issues for the past year or less, and I have no
clue because 1) I haven't lived with them that long and 2) I don't
converse fluently in Mandarin Chinese. GREAT....I feel like an idiot
for being there because it's obvious that either my aunt or my dad
needed to be there instead. At least they could talk to Grandpa and
translate if they didn't know. :0( *sighs* I was unable to reach my
aunt at work, which was highly annoying because she's the one who
usually takes care of the grandparents' needs anyway. Plus, her cell
phone plan is out of sorts for today and tomorrow because she got a new
plan and a new number. Great timing!! Luckily, I was able to reach my
dad. I'm pretty much always able to reach him, so he answered the
doctor's questions. I felt pretty useless.
I also picked up my car today from the mechanic. They fixed the problem in the time frame that they told me. But $850 is a hit to the bank accounts that I had not foreseen. The main and most expensive part that was replaced was the A/C compressor (Commonly referred to as the heart of the system, the compressor is a belt driven pump that is fastened to the engine. It is responsible for compressing and transferring refrigerant gas). Next in line is the accumulator and expansion valve. They charged me for freon which keeps the air conditioning cold (which I've been lacking for quite some time now, but I decided to get it because it just keeps getting hotter and hotter with no relief in sight) and for oil......which I don't understand at all. Anyway, here's a pic that I'm copying from a webby. Must always give credit where credit is due......unless you plan to profit from it. :0P
It's always fun having to maintain an 11-year-old car. Always. Especially when I'm basically unemployed. Especially. :0D I suppose it could be worse. Apparently, the mechanic gave me a discount. I owe that to Daddums. I mean, I wouldn't be going there for repairs if Dad hadn't recommended me. Plus, he helped the mechanic with something or other some time ago. We bring all of our cars there, so the mechanic is more than making up for the discount by the sheer volume of disfunctionality our vehicles possess. Good deal for him, huh? Original price: $884. So....we basically didn't pay taxes on the repairs.....which is a nice way to think about it if it didn't cost so much in the first place. :0P Argh....
Very frustrating.....so much so in fact that I had to charge my credit card for the repairs. Dad's strapped for cash right now because of the other vehicles' repairs, and I knew that so I offered to pay half even though I couldn't very well afford to. So, supposedly Dad's going to find some way to pay that half off to me. We'll see... *sighs* It'd be nice to make money.....
Speaking of making money, I have an interview appointment next week with the real estate investment company I mentioned previously.....I did mention it, right?? I didn't think I'd hear from them, but I did. The position is still open, and the temp agency is the one who referred me to it, so this is pretty good. I would already know one person who works there, though I don't know her REALLY well, but she's a friend of a friend. *sighs* Pretty strange how I've had 3-4 job opportunities pop up since I decided to go ahead and work for Dad. Funnily enough, even Dad wants to wait and see if I get a job outside his company because my brother's being kind of a flake at work, so he doesn't want me to apply and interview only to have to back out at the last minute. Eh....it makes sense, but how much longer do I have to wait?? You know?? Anyway....to remind everyone, the 3-4 job opps are: the law firm in Midtown, the Meeting Coordinator with the real estate investment company, an associate position at Racetrac gas stations, and a position with the U.S. Postal Service. ----- That last one is new, isn't it?? Yeah.....I applied for a position online, and I got something in the mail last week. Apparently, you have to take a test to work for the USPS. I don't even know if I kept those materials. I applied in one of my "I've got to have any kind of job" phase.....which I'm sort of still in, mind you. I mean, I wouldn't mind working there part-time 'cause you know the pay would be great but the duties would be monotonous. *shrugs* Anyway, Racetrac had a job fair the same day that I had my interview with the law firm. I decided not to go because I simply didn't want to. Ehhh....even in unemployment despair, I'm choosy. It's a curse.
A few of my friends are surprised that I'm still unemployed. Believe me, I AM TOO. Crazy world....
In other news, my cousin's coming back tomorrow morning. Oh joy. I rather liked having the room to myself. And school's not much of a relief since we'll both be back in the afternoon anyways. Argh.....you know what this means??? Less time spent on the computer. Can't update as much after tomorrow. How am I going to cope with less Internet usage?!?!
I also picked up my car today from the mechanic. They fixed the problem in the time frame that they told me. But $850 is a hit to the bank accounts that I had not foreseen. The main and most expensive part that was replaced was the A/C compressor (Commonly referred to as the heart of the system, the compressor is a belt driven pump that is fastened to the engine. It is responsible for compressing and transferring refrigerant gas). Next in line is the accumulator and expansion valve. They charged me for freon which keeps the air conditioning cold (which I've been lacking for quite some time now, but I decided to get it because it just keeps getting hotter and hotter with no relief in sight) and for oil......which I don't understand at all. Anyway, here's a pic that I'm copying from a webby. Must always give credit where credit is due......unless you plan to profit from it. :0P
It's always fun having to maintain an 11-year-old car. Always. Especially when I'm basically unemployed. Especially. :0D I suppose it could be worse. Apparently, the mechanic gave me a discount. I owe that to Daddums. I mean, I wouldn't be going there for repairs if Dad hadn't recommended me. Plus, he helped the mechanic with something or other some time ago. We bring all of our cars there, so the mechanic is more than making up for the discount by the sheer volume of disfunctionality our vehicles possess. Good deal for him, huh? Original price: $884. So....we basically didn't pay taxes on the repairs.....which is a nice way to think about it if it didn't cost so much in the first place. :0P Argh....
Very frustrating.....so much so in fact that I had to charge my credit card for the repairs. Dad's strapped for cash right now because of the other vehicles' repairs, and I knew that so I offered to pay half even though I couldn't very well afford to. So, supposedly Dad's going to find some way to pay that half off to me. We'll see... *sighs* It'd be nice to make money.....
Speaking of making money, I have an interview appointment next week with the real estate investment company I mentioned previously.....I did mention it, right?? I didn't think I'd hear from them, but I did. The position is still open, and the temp agency is the one who referred me to it, so this is pretty good. I would already know one person who works there, though I don't know her REALLY well, but she's a friend of a friend. *sighs* Pretty strange how I've had 3-4 job opportunities pop up since I decided to go ahead and work for Dad. Funnily enough, even Dad wants to wait and see if I get a job outside his company because my brother's being kind of a flake at work, so he doesn't want me to apply and interview only to have to back out at the last minute. Eh....it makes sense, but how much longer do I have to wait?? You know?? Anyway....to remind everyone, the 3-4 job opps are: the law firm in Midtown, the Meeting Coordinator with the real estate investment company, an associate position at Racetrac gas stations, and a position with the U.S. Postal Service. ----- That last one is new, isn't it?? Yeah.....I applied for a position online, and I got something in the mail last week. Apparently, you have to take a test to work for the USPS. I don't even know if I kept those materials. I applied in one of my "I've got to have any kind of job" phase.....which I'm sort of still in, mind you. I mean, I wouldn't mind working there part-time 'cause you know the pay would be great but the duties would be monotonous. *shrugs* Anyway, Racetrac had a job fair the same day that I had my interview with the law firm. I decided not to go because I simply didn't want to. Ehhh....even in unemployment despair, I'm choosy. It's a curse.
A few of my friends are surprised that I'm still unemployed. Believe me, I AM TOO. Crazy world....
In other news, my cousin's coming back tomorrow morning. Oh joy. I rather liked having the room to myself. And school's not much of a relief since we'll both be back in the afternoon anyways. Argh.....you know what this means??? Less time spent on the computer. Can't update as much after tomorrow. How am I going to cope with less Internet usage?!?!