7 Out-of-Place Quick Takes

Because I don't have time to write a blog about each one of these at length, here's an abbreviation of all my most common blog features.

-ONE: End of the Semester-

My first semester of BCC ended in a bittersweet way.  I saw some students work themselves out of a pit while others dug themselves into one.  Even though I was told by other instructors that this would happen, it is still frustrating for me to see.  This is especially true for the students that I know are capable of passing, but instead chose not to for a variety of reasons - both the good and poor reasons.

-TWO: New Music-

My radio station of choice in the Southern Tier, The Effect (88.1), broke the mold of playing modern Christian rock and slipped in two or three Christian rap songs, including the one below by Trip Lee.  I took the liberty to listen to the rest of the album - Between Two Worlds - on YouTube and I was very pleased.   Now I have something to mix John Reuben up with.

-THREE: Cheap Change #5-

Sometime near Thanksgiving, Andrea and I were graciously given scratch off lottery cards from her Grandma that she had won from a local raffle.  We used the $4 to tip CyberWest Cafe, buy some chocolate bars for some child's fundraiser and get Hornell's best kept secret: the 75-cent car wash.  Not more than three days ago, Mr. Nealson gave us another survey to give information about our (lack of) television watching.  Also included was the $2 initiative to turn the survey back in.  And speaking of sending money in the mail, why did the Disabled Veterans of America send Andrea fancy mailing stickers and a nickel... twice?

Cheap Change #5: $6.10

Cheap Change Total: $62.29

-FOUR: Other Money Considerations-

Our church, like many churches this time of year, made us aware of our financial situation and followed it up by dedicating a sermon to tithing.  I know I have written about tithing before in r2r, but at this particular time, I found myself wholly convicted by by the Holy Spirit to actually start tithing myself.  Up until landing the job at BCC, Andrea and I have been saving every penny to fend off the bills, loans and costs of living.  But now that our situation has stabilized, I'm looking forward to dedicating myself to my church on another level.

-FIVE: Cleaning House-

I love to host the New Years Party.  Maybe it's the concluding holiday of a busy month and a half rush, or being around a less-stressing environment than what my family provides, but none-the-less, I've made it my thing.  It also doubles as a motivation to clean up the entire house.  Right now, I've only gone through some smaller tasks, but before too long, I'll be cleaning, dusting and washing everything before the New Year - and probably not to a single thing again until after the last snowfall.

-SIX: Andrea's B-Day Party-

In typical Andrea birthday party fashion, I managed to mess it up this year by planning a party at Midway Lanes in Vestal.  I'm telling you the place because I was treated poorly there for reasons I am still in loss over.  So when I do go bowling again, I know where I am NOT going.  However, I am thankful that once some lanes were made available for us, everyone appeared to have enjoyed themselves.  To top it off, my present for her came in the mail 4 days after her birthday even though I had ordered it a full week before.  Happy 25 years, Andrea!

-SEVEN: Christmas Decoration-

Before Andrea's birthday we had successfully decorated the living room to fit the Christmas spirit.  The cat has also enjoyed all the little things she can knock to the floor.  Even as I am writing this, Andrea is in the middle of a Christmas cookie royal-rumble.  If not for the food and other yummies consumed during this time of year, it wouldn't be worth all the madness provided by commercial and familial expectation.

Have a happy Christmas and a merry New Year if I don't get another entry for 2010!

Carry's Inheritance

A while back, I wrote about the accident and destruction of my second car, Carry.  Although it was inconvenient at the time, I would be lying if I said it was a complete loss.  In fact, I was happily smug knowing that all its problems were going to be exchanged for an unknown cash sum.  After considering all the unreliability and unpredictability it brought us, I can accurately say that Carry's best feature was her inheritance that she left us.  To convince you that I'm not a cold-hearted car owner as I probably sound, here's a list of reoccurring problems:

1.  ABS Light.  About a month before the accident, the emergency ABS light had turn on, letting us know that when the snow started following, it wasn't going to bother pumping the brake for us.  Meaning it would have to be done manually over a much longer period of time -- not exactly desirable in an emergency situation.  Diagnostics on any dashboard light in your car is $60 and any repair on the brakes are at least $400.  Crisis averted there.

2.  Coolant Cap.  I'll admit that I lost the original cap when I was putting in new coolant.  However, I made an honest attempt to obtain another one through Gary's-U-Pull-It and other commercial means.  Unfortunately, the threads had become warped due to the extreme heat.  Without an air-tight cap, liquid evaporates much more quickly, so I had to buy engine coolant about two times a year.  But paying the $60 a year was cheaper than replacing the entire cooling system -- a $350 value.

3.  Wiper Motor.  During a particular Christmas break, Carry fell victim to an ice storm that cost her the use of her wipers on her lowest setting.  Wiper motors run for about $300 an installation and I am a tightwad, so I decided to manually hit the wiper lever every time it rained or snowed in the Southern Tier.  Needless to say, I enjoyed sunny or very rainy drives, but nothing in-between.

4.  Driver's Seat.  At the same time the ABS light went off, the electronic settings on the driver's seat stopped working.  Because it failed when I was driving it, it wasn't really a problem for me.  But when Andrea wanted to drive Carry, she couldn't move the seat forward or up or anything, which was a bit of a problem.  You'd think the engineers would have a manual override for something like that but Carry was a Saturn.

5.  Paint Peeling.  The running joke about Carry was her back bumper paint gradually peeling off.  I'm unsure about when it started, but I'm sure the day I dropped my mini-fridge on the bumper didn't help either.  The rescue effort to decrease crack propagation involved a commendable number of scotch tape repairs, which were amazingly effective.

6.  Wheel struts.  From the first day until the last, I had to pony up the dough to replace three out of the four struts on the wheels.  The first strut completely snapped on the front-driver's side wheel, and the front-passenger's side wasn't much better, so I had to replace them at the same time.  Struts themselves cost anywhere from $50-100 each, but after labor and $70 wheel alignment, you're looking at a $300 job.  Imagine my joy when the rear-driver's side went too.  Magnify that joy when I learned immediately afterwards when I found out the rear-passenger would have to be done in a month or two.  Thankfully, the accident happened before that day came.

7.  Cabin Air Filter.  Most people know about the filter they need for their oil change, but there is another one between the engine and dashboard that prevents your car to not smell like and engine.  And mine decided to stop working in the middle of last summer.  And when they go, it reeks -- badly.  So even after I had bought a new one (only $20-40), I had to use a body spray on it to make the scent (kind of) go away.  Scent of choice?  Mountain fresh air.

So after reading all this, you should understand why my second question to Andrea was, "What car did you take?"  And the joy I felt knowing that Andrea was alright and the Saturn would be replaced with a shiny new commuting bike this Christmas; a holiday miracle indeed.