Category: Things with Motors

Cool runnings

Yesterday I made a run for Wal-Mart (first time in 8 years) to get coolant for Lady Miss T at work.  She said she’d overheated on that bloody great Gaglardi hill so I said, “let us go to your car and check your coolant!” and like, there wasn’t any.  Her brother, who is, like, the anti-Jeff, had told her he’d checked the coolant and he dinnnnt.  Lie or mistake, it was pretty typical.   I looked at her and said, “You are not moving this car.  Let us go talk to beautiful Bossie and see if I can’t get a hall pass.”  You may infer from the fact that it took me 40 minutes from door to door that my observation of the speed limit during this excursion was notional and inconsistent.  SFU to Lougheed Mall and back, including a purchase….yeah.

Day before yesterday, I had a brief and hormonally truncated visit to Paul and Keith’s (Paul said something innocuous and I burst into tears and ran away, aren’t I special, but at least Paul and Keith had the decency to shrug it off) and while I, tears still drying on my face and clutching my mandolin, was escaping to my car, Paul’s brand new neighbour said something that stopped me in my tracks.  She said, “I like your purple car”, and her male companion (actually her daughter’s agent) said, “Yeah, that’s a 94 Ford Probe GT and I think that’s the version with the special paint. I’ve owned four Probes, they are my favourite car.”  AN HOUR LATER I pried myself away.  Much restored, I went on my way home.

Briefly

Ziva is running on six but hesitating.  Fuel filter?  Spark plugs?  Check engine light comes on within about a two block stretch of 10th Ave and goes off about halfway up Gaglardi hill.

I had a lovely long talk with my mum last night.

Jeff sent me flowers at work, by which one might infer what a joy to be around I’ve been over the last little while.  I don’t care, and my coworkers sure appreciated it, and Jeff is defending his title of World’s Most Awesome Roommate with considerable aplomb.

Tom M at work photoshopped his two tortie cats into Borg costumes.  Unbelievably cute and I’ll post the link to his flickr stream if I can find it.

Betelgeuse ISN’T going to blow up.  Sad face.

I’ve been playing “Mama Got Skills”, my 6 song EP, in the car, and I’m enjoying it past the point that makes sense.  Oh, to have such a very loud sound system!

Asparagus pee… is it real?

Science to the rescue.

In other news, I planted some things that will be (with luck) food later on this year.

Ziva does not like wet weather.  Winter should be interesting.  She also decided to stop her sunroof from working when I showed her off to Tom & Peggy, the little bugger; it’s fine now.

I watched the CEO do something very difficult very well yesterday, and I still can’t believe what has happened to the company I work for…. namely, that the bunch of sociopaths and psychophants (misspelling deliberate) running the company previously have been replaced by sane people.  I was so impressed I thanked him.

I have a gig on Sunday; still not entirely sure how that happened, but I’m not complaining.

Watched Adaptation and loved it.

Yesterday

Yesterday we went for a drive in the open-air chaise (ie the Camaro – pOp was wearing his pimp hat, a broad brimmed leopard velour creation, which added to the carnival atmosphere) and we drove in the country, saw THE biggest patch of skunk cabbage I’ve ever seen (it went on for literally city blocks in depth and width) and went to Dan’s Market, where we ingested treats and coffee and where I picked up treats to bring back to Vancouver, then outside where we fed ducks and chickens and goats (and I petted a duckling, goodness but they are soft, and admired the glossy plumage on the chickens, who looked magnificent), then went to an apiary and picked up lovely beeswax candles, including two I intend to inaugurate the next time I attend small group ministry, and then through the beautiful green and undulating countryside to a greenhouse which specializes in lovely smelling and odd-times blooming plants and thence back home.

After some uninteresting bits we went downtown in Ziva to Village de Valeurs, where I got the outfit I’m currently wearing (brown cords and a very nice top for work) and one other pair of pants for myself (stretch cotton with a vibrant black and floral pattern).  Katie got a purse for job hunting (she says it’s not professional to be carting about a skull and cross bones pack), two pairs of jeans and a pinstripe wool blazer so she can have a suit.  I smirk when I think she’ll look like Al Swearengen when she dresses up for an event.

Katie cooked supper – chicken Caesar wraps. I never taught her to cook; somehow she managed to teach herself. She apparently does much of the cooking in her household.  And further to the comestibles, they had yet more Lion Winter Ale at the Hillside Liquor store the day we came into town, woot.

Generally we are hanging out and being mellow.  I have been relieved of doing anything at all for transcription of family books, but will have to work on it back in Vancouver, which is good as I definitely type faster on a keyboard I’m used to.

As you can see it’s excitement central around here, and that is as it should be….  to give you an idea of the parents’ priorities, the pictures on the walls are of grandchildren and pinball machines.

Back to the krankenhaus

Ziva is running on 5 cylinders, so she’s off to the shop for a compression check and diagnostics.  It is my desire to see her actually functioning for the road trip, but if I have to leave her behind too bad… I’m still in Victoria this weekend.

Mike and Jeff may or may not go see some music tonight.  Me, I’m going to be in collapsing mode, preparatory to packing etc.

Jericho etc.

Ballyhooley was amazing, as always; opening on the open stage was Hearing Voices, a wonderful all female folk quartet (with yet another cajon in tow, see one and then you start seeing them everywhere).  Paul played for the very firstest time at Jericho.  The ride in was memorable for Paul opining darkly on every little noise and clunk out of the car.  My parade was somewhat dampened, but what the hey.  I sang the Housewife’s Lament and backup for Willie’s Diamond Joe.

Ack.  So do not want to take car in, but it IS running on five cylinders.

Remember the time the Rover 2000 TC broke down

…. and we called a towtruck, and the towtruck got mired, and we had to call a towtruck to pull out the towtruck, and we missed Bugs Bunny?

Yeah.

Like that.

Ziva ran GREAT for about 30 seconds.  Then she lurched, shuddered, bucked and darted, quit and re-lit in a rather terrifying fashion. Prior to quitting on Highway 17, she was running great, quiet at idle and hella power.  I should have turned it around, but nope. The check engine light flashed on and off like a Christmas light and then I got home, practically in shock, and called the shop about 30 seconds before it closed, then called Paul.  He was flabbergasted that the shop had let it go twice with it being subpar, this not being his experience of the guys (three brothers) who run the place.  They will send out a towtruck tomorrow and drag it back.  The new datum is that if you pop the hood, the engine hisses like a legendary snake crossed with a mosquito – vacuum leaking somewhere.

Ah, Ziva.  How hard you make me fight for even a little kiss.  Fur and tires…..

I have other bits of news but I’ll just let it go at that right now.

Distributor

$600.

I’m going to be selling my kids at the side of the road if this keeps up.  The fixer upper dude is mortified that he didn’t catch it previously and is charging me cost for the parts plus about $100 labour.  Ziva should be ready tonight. 

I have now spent three times as much on the car to insure it and get it running than I did to purchase it.  Love is an expensive proposition, but obsession – that’s just plain crazy.