Car Repair

You may recall (Even if you have a poor short-term memory) that I had issues with my car recently. Click here for more info.
Yesterday I spent too much time on the internet writing blogs and checking mail and visiting MySpace and essentially, wasting time. So, I had little time to get my car repaired and get into work. So, I called up my mechanic to see what the situation was like over there. Could they get my car in today and if so, would it take a while. They assured me that they could get it repaired quickly, provided my only issue was the serpentine belt.
So, I head over there on my battery's power. In twenty minutes, the mechanic was handing me back the keys. He let me know that the belt was back on and that they were done.
I asked him what the damage was and he told me none.
"You have to do something nice at least once a week and this week, it's your car." He told me.
That is why I ONLY go to J&C Auto on Ogden in Downers Grove. Not only are they all honest mechanics, but they know their stuff. They also aren't there to make money on you, they are to make a customer out of you.
I tell everyone I know about them. Pass up the chain stores. Ignore the dealerships. Go straight to J&C Auto the next time you have ANY problems. Or even if you are buying a new car, they are happy to give it a once-over to make sure that it is sound before you buy it. They are great.
In today's world of deception while following the almighty dollar, these guys make it the honest way. There is greater value in that than the dollar.

Busy

I have no time for anything. Everything is scheduled. I have the rest of the month and most of August scheduled already. At times, it's aggravating. A free day here and there would be nice, but there is a mark on each day of the calender.
I am taking a class at a local college to see if I still got it. Considering going back to school for another degree. I would like to teach speech classes in a high school. I'm doing that on Mondays and Wednesdays. I'm slowly realizing that I have forgotten how much school sucks.
I learn a lot from the Discovery Channel and the History Channel. But, when those shows have ended, there isn't a test in a few days or weeks to determine my retention of the material! I may remember about 60% of the material two weeks from it's air date. Only 20-30% a month or two later. Very little will stay with me longer than that.
So, we had our first test last Monday. I looked at that paper and said "I know this! Why can't I remember it?! I lead a class discussion on it! Son of a -" "TIME. Pencils down."
I had a class again last night. (It being Monday and all.) What happened on the way up? My power steering went out. This has happened before. When I felt the steering wheel, I knew exactly what was up. The serpentine belt was out AGAIN! This isn't the first time this has happened. Click here to read the first half of the story of when it happened to me in the middle of nowhere.
Anytime it rains or snows heavily, the belt gets wet and slips off the pulleys. This is a design flaw in early 90's Chryslers. In the later 90's, Chrysler put grooves and teeth on this system and moved it up slightly higher in the engine to prevent this problem. But, not my car. The damn thing comes off 3-4 times a year.
And it always comes off as I'm heading TOO some place, not FROM. The dangerous part of the whole situation is that I'm not able to turn as quickly or accurately as I used to be able to. Plus, now the entire car is running off of the battery. It can give out completely at any time. (Maybe this whole issue is why there is a battery gauge in my car. Chrysler said "It's gonna happen, give 'em a fighting chance.")
So, I turned and went home. I wasn't going to risk going all the way to school and having the car die on me in the parking lot or further away from home than I was. When I finally got home, I was livid. Not because of the issue, but because every single slow-ass driver that the Greater Chicagoland Area could muster was in the lane in front of me. And should the light change to yellow while we are less than 10 feet from the intersection, they would slam on their breaks. With the wet conditions and a car on life-support, this was not a good combo for me. Oh, and it was only in the direction that I was going in too! (OF COURSE!!!)
PLUS, I had this class scheduled. This was on the calender. To have an entire night of doing nothing REALLY ticked me off. What did I do? I watched mindless tv last night. (Except for the hour that I watched "Hell's Kitchen." That show is AWESOME!)
Not only did my scheduled event for last night get ruined, my entire day today will revolve around me going to the mechanic to have the belt put back on AGAIN!
If you'll excuse me, I'm going to shower and go to the mechanic without putting on the radio or AC, for fear that I'm going to be even more pissed off before I have to close the restaurant tonight. Today is going to be GREAT!