Someone watching over me

There is someone, somewhere, watching out for me. Or for Ruby (my car).

A couple of days ago, there was a weird clicking sound coming from the driver's side front tire. When I looked at it, I didn't see anything. A few days later, Ruby got wobbly. My dad was riding with me, and he got worried and insisted that we take the car in to the dealership. We did (well, he did, I went to work), and it turns out that the tire had split, the other front tire was close to splitting, and both rear tires were getting thin. I'm lucky I didn't die.

I'm also the girl who drove to the dealership with her engine held on by only two bolts. On the same side.

And just a few weeks ago, I barely missed getting hit by an idiot running a red light. I don't know how I managed to get so lucky. I'm grateful for it, though.

And I've learned my lesson - if my car starts doing weird things, I'll take her in right away!

"What was I thinking??" or "How I Edit"

NaNoWriMo is about to get under way, which means I'll be shoving my inner editor into a box and ignoring him for a month.  (Funny, my inner editor is male.  Huh.  Any psychoanalysis on that, folks?)  Today, though, it is still October.  I thought that I'd give you a glimpse into what goes on in my head after I post something like I did on Tuesday night (rather late), then go back and read it again later.

First thoughts:  What?  WHY did I write that?  It sucks!

Next thoughts:  Okay, why does it suck?

It was quiet. Very quiet. (Not a BAD opening, but awfully vague.  Like "It was a dark and stormy night," only worse.  It feels cliche, and not in a good way.)

Samantha looked up from her computer. There was no movement in the room. She looked around - it was quiet and still. This was a bad sign. She stood up and moved away from her desk. Not a sound.  (Repetitive, and lots of telling, not showing.) 

"Shit," she muttered. The pillows on the couch were unmolested. The blanket on the floor was abandoned. (More telling instead of showing.)

"Casey?" Samantha called out. (Who is Casey? I thought I was being all clever and providing an amusing ruse, but after re-reading?  Yeah, not so much.)  Nothing. Her pulse picked up as she walked down the hall. She was terrified about what she might find around the corner, but she kept going. It was better to know than to imagine, she told herself. (These last two sentences don't flow together as a single thought.) As she approached the bedroom door, Samantha strained, trying to hear anything that was going on inside. Still, she heard nothing.  (I'm totally bored with the 'nothing.' Also, I've used that word twice in this paragraph, and it's a short one.)

Samantha reached out and pushed the door fully open. (So much telling, so little showing!) There lay Casey, curled up on Samantha's pillows, sound asleep. She let out a sigh of relief.  ("She" Samantha or "She" the dog?) Casey opened one eye, looked at her human, then closed her eyes again, sleeping as only a puppy can.  (This is a horrible attempt at a cliche that isn't really a cliche and it bothers me.)

Samantha backed out of the room, returning to her computer, oblivious of the pile of 'killed' socks under her bed. (Another botched attempt at cleverness.)

So that's what went through my head as I re-read it.  Next step?  Figuring out if a) it can be fixed and b) if I really want to bother trying to fix it.  In this case, I don't really want to bother.  I don't really like the idea, and there is virtually no character development.  It was definitely a case of forcing myself to write without really having any sort of plan.  At all.  Also, it was writing after my bedtime.  Once upon a time, I could stay up until all hours with no problems, but since I've become a grown-up with a day job, I need to get to bed.  If I try to be creative too late in the evening, I end up sewing my jeans to a shirt or writing something like this.

Perhaps I'll find another piece later on to show you my form of editing... (Be warned, I hate editing, and while editing, I tend to hate my writing!)

And in unrelatedness, Ruby is feeling better!  I took her in to the shop yesterday, and she stayed overnight, but today I picked her up and she's running nicely.  She's got a new catalytic converter (I still don't know what that does - I should Google it), but still has her old secondary fan.  Someday, when I'm a rich and famous writer, I'll get all of her bits replaced!  (Yeah, right!)  Until then, though, she's functioning well enough to get me to my day job.

I think we did it... barely...

So the show opened last night, and it went really well!  However, I think we're still cursed.  Here's a breakdown of what went wrong, by character (and keep in mind, there are only 7 characters in the show):

Jeannie - original actress quit two weeks into rehearsals due to scheduling conflicts.  Replacement started two days later.

Pippi - original actress quit two days before opening night.  Replacement started same day.

Lin - fell off stage two days before opening night.  Spent night in hospital, got released, and back to rehearsal the next day.  Delayed opening night by one night to give her time to recover.

Duke - had minor car accident day after opening night.  Still made it to the show on time.

Pickles - burned a hole in her costume on opening night.  Costume replaced by second show.

Music director - kidney stones.

Director - dealt with all of this!!

I'm not a really superstitious person, but it turns out that someone said the name of the Scottish play in the theatre... In any case, we're all being REALLY careful for the next week!  

On an unrelated note, my car died again, but it turned out to be an easy fix!  The lighting guy from the show came over and reconnected my battery cables, and it works again!  At least temporarily.  Go car!

Car go boom!

I don't know what a catalytic converter is, but I have learned that it is an important part of making a car go.  If it is not working, your car is not happy.

My car is not happy.

My catalytic converter is 'dead.'  My timing belt is about to go.  My water pump is also in need of replacement, as are my brakes.

This owning a car thing is expensive to deal with!

Car go boom

Okay, so the car didn't go boom.  It went, "Bing bing bing bing bing!"  (That sound makes me want to watch 'Friends'...)

I was on my way home from the vet, and the ABS light wouldn't go off.  That didn't seem good.  Then, as I was stopping before pulling out of the parking lot, there was a loud beeping sound, much like the sound that means I'm almost out of gas.  I looked down at the gauge, and I was not out of gas.  Then I saw the 'BRAKE' light flashing.  That seemed worse.  As I started going, the brake light turned off, and the beeping stopped.

Then I came to a red light.  As I stepped on the brakes, the care started screeching at me again, and the light came back on.  Again, not good.  This went on the whole way home.  Keep in mind, I'm on my way home from the vet, and so I have a puppy in the car with me.  She's not a happy puppy.  She doesn't like the vet much, even though he didn't give her any shots this time.  (I'm not sure I like him, either... he's got creepily vacant eyes.)  I pulled into Arby's to get dinner (because that's what we do on the way home from the vet), and I went through the drive through.  Of course, this involves much stopping, and there was much binging from the unhappy car.

I finally got home and pulled out the manual.  All combinations of brake light and ABS light apparently require an immediate, slow trip to the nearest VW dealer to fix either broken brake cables or empty brake lines.  Hmm.  I was right.  This is not good.  Of course, all of this was going on AFTER work, so I couldn't get in anywhere.  The place I called is fully booked tomorrow, but the guy on the phone was super-nice, and told me to bring the car in tomorrow and they'll hook it up to the diagnostic computer to see if it's a major problem, or if I just need to top up fluids.  

So I may have to spend my Christmas shopping money on fixing my car.  *sigh*  On the bright side, this guy was really nice on the phone, which says a lot about the company (in my opinion).  As long as they don't charge three times what the market rate is, I think I've found my 'shop.'  Yay!  And since the car's going in anyways, I'm going to get a quote on the price to fix the electrical outlets (can't charge anything!) and the roof (the lining is falling off).  I don't think I'll necessarily get those repaired soon, but it would be nice to know what I'm saving for.  :)

And that was today's car fun.

I like to drive

I like to drive. To some of you, this may seem like an odd statement to make. I think most people like to drive. Driving gets you from point A to point B very efficiently. It may be a tad expensive with the current gas prices, but it's still relatively efficient. In the time it takes me to walk to the store (not in the store or back home, just to the store), I can drive, shop and get home. Efficient.



Most people over the age of fifteen drive on a regular basis. Up until last month, I was not most people. I have had a learner's permit (or beginner's license or whatever you want to call it) for thirteen years. Yes, thirteen years. In the city where I used to live, I could get everywhere either by walking or by using public transportation. The buses were reliable, clean, and safe, and most people used them at least occasionally. There was truly no need for me to learn how to drive. Since I couldn't afford a car, I didn't bother getting my license.

In Georgia, you need a car. It takes 45 minutes to walk to the nearest grocery store. By the time I get home in the summer, the milk would be spoiled. So I have found it rather important to learn to drive.

I never really liked the idea of driving. I preferred to let someone else be behind the wheel. There was less responsibility and less concentration required on my part. I was lazy, I suppose. There was also the fact that I had seen other people driving. Many, many drivers are idiots. No, that's being generous. In any case, I had no real desire to share the road with any of them.


In the last several weeks, though, I have been driving more and more. I have a car now, though technically I don't own it on my own, because they won't sell you a car if you don't have a driver's license. That was a bit frustrating, but really, it's a good policy. Anyways, it turns out that I like driving! Who'd have thought? So I'm hoping to do my road test in a few weeks and get a full license, after thirteen years. Crazy!

It helps that I love my car. That's her, off to the right. Ruby (that's her name) is a 1999 Volkswagon New Beetle. She's got heated leather (or possibly fake leather) seats, which is kind of redundant in Georgia, especially in the summer, but it'll be nice if I take her up north. She has a pink gerbera daisy in the flower vase, and she's just a cute girly car. I've got a harness for my dog, so when she's big enough, I'll drive around in my girly red Beetle with a pink flower and a Miniature Pinscher. I feel like a stereotype. But somehow, I really don't mind!