Memorial Day Weekend
So, this weekend was ok until Monday. Went and hung out with pisceskat, squirrel_queen and a few other people. Lots of fun, and a good relaxing time. Exactly what I needed (thanks girls!).
Monday however, I was taking a nap to recover from the previous day's drinking and lack of sleep. Woke up to the phone, as ravaprincess needed help moving some of her new roommates furniture. I needed a few more hours of sleep, but needed to get out of the house, so I dozed back off, woke up and headed over to that side of town around 8pm. I was headed up Cherry (a 35mph main residential street w/ steep hills), and just as I cleared the top of the hill at 19th, the front of the car made a horrible noise, turned to a 45 degree angle and shot towards the side of the road. Fighting to keep the car on the road, I managaed to miss the first parked car by a foot or so, and the second parked car by about 5 inches. Luckily for me, there was no 3rd car parked on the side of the road. Turns out that due to my suspension problem (ie none), I grounded out on an uneven portion of the road after clearing the hill, which in turn broke the control rod on the passenger side. So, at this point I'm standing in the rain, the front passenger side wheel is pushed back into the fender and sticking out at an odd angle. I have no idea what else might have broke in the process (as it's nearing dark), so I have to call for a tow truck. I've worked dispatch for roadside assistance before. I knew what is was going to be like to get a tow on the evening of a holiday, especially a Monday holiday. Call the roommate, who has the insurance on the car, which is supposed to provide roadside service. He's not answering his phone, so I have to call firebug79 to go over and get revseandoe to call me. Turns out roadside service means that you submit a tow bill after you've been left on the side of the road. So I was on my own to foot the bill, and already pretty poor. The tow company quoted me $100 + tax to get me back home, and a 2 hour eta. Luckily pisceskat and squirrel_queen only lived a few blocks away, and the girls were nice enough to not only put up with me, but provide a much needed vodka and mt dew drink to calm me down a bit. 3 hours later I finally get a truck (turns out they were on the way to pick me up twice, but got called for emergency towing by the police). Of course, it was then 11:00 at night on a holiday, so the rates had gone up (although not too much). Ended up paying $150 for the tow, but the driver was nice, and his first car was a 71 Mach 1, so we talked about old cars, then before he dropped me off, we took a look under the car, and he showed me how to fix it, and told me to call if I needed help, as he likes working on these older cars. Hopefully I'll be able to fix most of it myself. The fender will probably wait until I go to the body shop for a paint job. I've heard that the first body damage is the hardest to deal with (emotionally), so I'm glad that's over with. Even though this appears to be the first body damage she's seen in the last 30 years, it could have been a lot worse.
So, now it's back to work. I'd say it feels like a Monday, but after my Monday, today feels more like a holiday.
Monday however, I was taking a nap to recover from the previous day's drinking and lack of sleep. Woke up to the phone, as ravaprincess needed help moving some of her new roommates furniture. I needed a few more hours of sleep, but needed to get out of the house, so I dozed back off, woke up and headed over to that side of town around 8pm. I was headed up Cherry (a 35mph main residential street w/ steep hills), and just as I cleared the top of the hill at 19th, the front of the car made a horrible noise, turned to a 45 degree angle and shot towards the side of the road. Fighting to keep the car on the road, I managaed to miss the first parked car by a foot or so, and the second parked car by about 5 inches. Luckily for me, there was no 3rd car parked on the side of the road. Turns out that due to my suspension problem (ie none), I grounded out on an uneven portion of the road after clearing the hill, which in turn broke the control rod on the passenger side. So, at this point I'm standing in the rain, the front passenger side wheel is pushed back into the fender and sticking out at an odd angle. I have no idea what else might have broke in the process (as it's nearing dark), so I have to call for a tow truck. I've worked dispatch for roadside assistance before. I knew what is was going to be like to get a tow on the evening of a holiday, especially a Monday holiday. Call the roommate, who has the insurance on the car, which is supposed to provide roadside service. He's not answering his phone, so I have to call firebug79 to go over and get revseandoe to call me. Turns out roadside service means that you submit a tow bill after you've been left on the side of the road. So I was on my own to foot the bill, and already pretty poor. The tow company quoted me $100 + tax to get me back home, and a 2 hour eta. Luckily pisceskat and squirrel_queen only lived a few blocks away, and the girls were nice enough to not only put up with me, but provide a much needed vodka and mt dew drink to calm me down a bit. 3 hours later I finally get a truck (turns out they were on the way to pick me up twice, but got called for emergency towing by the police). Of course, it was then 11:00 at night on a holiday, so the rates had gone up (although not too much). Ended up paying $150 for the tow, but the driver was nice, and his first car was a 71 Mach 1, so we talked about old cars, then before he dropped me off, we took a look under the car, and he showed me how to fix it, and told me to call if I needed help, as he likes working on these older cars. Hopefully I'll be able to fix most of it myself. The fender will probably wait until I go to the body shop for a paint job. I've heard that the first body damage is the hardest to deal with (emotionally), so I'm glad that's over with. Even though this appears to be the first body damage she's seen in the last 30 years, it could have been a lot worse.
So, now it's back to work. I'd say it feels like a Monday, but after my Monday, today feels more like a holiday.