Car is Fixed and Home
Oct. 1st, 2005 11:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
I managed not to ruin my car by driving it hot too far. A heater hose was broken. (Cheap! Relatively.)
While my car was in the shop I also had them fix the air conditioning. It needed a new compressor, as feared. (Not so cheap.)
I also got the fluids taken care of.
So my car is back to good working condition.
Getting to my car to pick it up was a bit of an adventure. First I had to change from frozen office mode to outdoor heat mode. (I tied my jacket over my head. Stupid looking, but oh well. We're not supposed to care about that.)
I called my mechanic to confirm that the car would be ready today. He said yes, but not yet. Not until 5:00 (an hour away). He's so cute. Like I could get there in only ten minutes or something, with no car.
I could take two buses, but I decided that walking to the second bus might be quicker. The first bus couldn't run its regular route in the area I was in because of construction, and I wasn't sure which stops were still in use.
However, I had to go farther than I'd expected. At one intersection, I couldn't cross the street where I wanted to (south). I had to first cross east, then south, then west. The light had a very long cycle.
The bulk of the route was ugly: paths strewn with broken glass trailing past auto repair shops (that weren't mine) and warehouse-looking buildings. It got prettier at the end; I passed a high school and my favorite place for both Mexican food and burgers (La Palapa).
I ended up jogging some, even though I doubted I would make the bus, because last time I rode this bus it was running almost fifteen minutes late. I was right about not getting there in time for the scheduled arrival of the bus, but I was also right about guessing that it might be late, too, so I made it. Then it was one of those meandering buses, so it took a while. But it was one of those air-conditioned meandering buses, so it felt nice.
When I got there, the mechanic working on the car wanted to know who was singing on the CD in my car. He had correctly guessed Emmylou Harris.
On the drive home, both the engine and the interior of the car were cool.
It was rush hour by then, so I took my favorite back road route. But when I got to the place where one road hits another at the old airport, I was reminded that we are no longer allowed to turn left there like I want to. I had thought that when they started developing the land at the airport, it would be easier to travel through it. In fact I had hoped that this road would go straight through it, maybe with a traffic light. No.
I knew from experience that if I turned right it would be miles before I got to a legal place to make a U-turn. I don't even know how far it is, because I always give up and make a left turn and then a U-turn and then a right turn.
So I turned around and found another exit onto the road, but this one had terrible visibility. So I turned around again and found an exit onto my local highway. From there I of course had to go out of my way through the airport (using the jughandle. However, I also spotted another car taking a possibly slightly less annoying route than the one outlined by the detour signs. I'm going to check that out next time.
While my car was in the shop I also had them fix the air conditioning. It needed a new compressor, as feared. (Not so cheap.)
I also got the fluids taken care of.
So my car is back to good working condition.
Getting to my car to pick it up was a bit of an adventure. First I had to change from frozen office mode to outdoor heat mode. (I tied my jacket over my head. Stupid looking, but oh well. We're not supposed to care about that.)
I called my mechanic to confirm that the car would be ready today. He said yes, but not yet. Not until 5:00 (an hour away). He's so cute. Like I could get there in only ten minutes or something, with no car.
I could take two buses, but I decided that walking to the second bus might be quicker. The first bus couldn't run its regular route in the area I was in because of construction, and I wasn't sure which stops were still in use.
However, I had to go farther than I'd expected. At one intersection, I couldn't cross the street where I wanted to (south). I had to first cross east, then south, then west. The light had a very long cycle.
The bulk of the route was ugly: paths strewn with broken glass trailing past auto repair shops (that weren't mine) and warehouse-looking buildings. It got prettier at the end; I passed a high school and my favorite place for both Mexican food and burgers (La Palapa).
I ended up jogging some, even though I doubted I would make the bus, because last time I rode this bus it was running almost fifteen minutes late. I was right about not getting there in time for the scheduled arrival of the bus, but I was also right about guessing that it might be late, too, so I made it. Then it was one of those meandering buses, so it took a while. But it was one of those air-conditioned meandering buses, so it felt nice.
When I got there, the mechanic working on the car wanted to know who was singing on the CD in my car. He had correctly guessed Emmylou Harris.
On the drive home, both the engine and the interior of the car were cool.
It was rush hour by then, so I took my favorite back road route. But when I got to the place where one road hits another at the old airport, I was reminded that we are no longer allowed to turn left there like I want to. I had thought that when they started developing the land at the airport, it would be easier to travel through it. In fact I had hoped that this road would go straight through it, maybe with a traffic light. No.
I knew from experience that if I turned right it would be miles before I got to a legal place to make a U-turn. I don't even know how far it is, because I always give up and make a left turn and then a U-turn and then a right turn.
So I turned around and found another exit onto the road, but this one had terrible visibility. So I turned around again and found an exit onto my local highway. From there I of course had to go out of my way through the airport (using the jughandle. However, I also spotted another car taking a possibly slightly less annoying route than the one outlined by the detour signs. I'm going to check that out next time.
no subject
on 2005-10-01 10:14 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2005-10-02 01:15 pm (UTC)Normally I can get a bus right from work to the shop, or one right from the shop to home. This time I was at my other job.
Also I have a problem being overly independent, and I don't like to waste gas. If someone picks you up, it uses double the gas of just going yourself because it's a round trip.
My mechanic's girlfriend (now wife) used to drive me into work sometimes when I dropped my car off in the morning because she also worked at UT. Now the whole operation's bigger; they may have something more formal available. I should at least ask.