So over the last few weeks it became apparent (audibly) that I needed my rotors changed.  I also needed an oil change, and when I asked Dave Narron, our across the street neighbor, to take a look at it, he also found that my intake gaskets were worn and should probably be replaced.  A few weeks ago I was a bit unsure of our finances, so I told him to give me a week or so and I’d go ahead and get all of it done at once.

I’ve driven the car, albeit sparingly and not at all last week, as Amanda was carpooling and for the little I had to go out I was able to take her car.  So this morning I had a dental appointment at 10:00.  I went out at 9:30 and hit the button to unlock the car.  It made a faint noise like it was trying to unlock it.  “Crap,” I thought.  “My remote’s battery is dead.  What an inconvenience.”  So I fumbled with the keys (I realized how odd it felt to manually unlock a car now) and unlocked the door, got in the car and turned the ignition.

Nothing.  Not a sound.  Not a single click.

So I rescheduled my dental appointment, which I already felt bad enough about since Michael had missed his last week.  They set me up for 2:00 tomorrow.  “Alright,” I thought.  “We’ll just jump the car tonight and charge it up.  I bought a brand new battery less than a year ago, so no problem.”

Fast-forward to later this evening.  Amanda pulled the Jetta up next to the Olds (almost running over a plant) and we hooked up the jumper cables.  Nada.  Not even a click.  Bonnie saw us and got her jumper cables, which were, I must admit, much more heavy duty than ours.  But still, nothing.  So on top of all the other car problems we’ve got we now have more car problems.  Alternator I suppose.  This comes at a very inopportune time.  Michael is moving out at the end of this month, so not only will our bills be higher but we’ll have less money coming in period.

I just need to hurry up and get rich.  Or maybe I should go ahead and ask for a raise.

The rest of the day wasn’t bad.  Work wasn’t as beat-down busy as it has been the last few work days, which was nice.  I met Elliot Clark at Planet Fitness.  We jogged and walked about three miles on a treadmill then did a bunch of upper body stuff and some crunches.  I think this will work out very well for us both- it really helps to have someone there to keep you going.  We had some nice chats about things in our lives as well.

The plan had been for me to pick up an Elizabeth’s Pizza pizza after the workout, but I really didn’t feel like having anything greasy after getting out of there.  Amanda didn’t either, which I found out when I called her, so she phoned in a couple of chicken Caesar salads from O’Charlie’s, which I picked up and took home.

We were watching an episode of Wife Swap when we decided to jump the car.  Or attempt to, that is.  Amanda wasn’t feeling great due to an early onset of, ya know, womanly things.  I had a headache myself yesterday and this morning, but I think it was not for the same reasons.  Other than that I talked briefly with my dad about transportation for Kentucky.  Amanda’s mom called tonight to say we could use her van, which I’m grateful for but hope she doesn’t have any reservations about.  I think it was coming down to us either renting a van, which would be about $100 per person (which isn’t bad, except that as I said, we’ve got these car repairs and less money coming in) or drive the Cutlass Supreme if it gets fixed in time.  But if we were to do the latter there wouldn’t be any point in us stopping by my parents’ house before we head to Kentucky as it’s about forty minutes off track for us.

Anyway, Karen said we could use it, and I humbly thank her for it.  I know my parents will feel funny about it because they were against it when we told them we were thinking of asking her about it.  But it really is the easiest solution for us, and we can all chip in some extra money to cover the wear and tear (at least some) and it will still be less expensive than renting a van.

Zach Dotsey