- the Chevy, which college daughter has on an extended loan, so she can get herself to the train station or to her job &c., has--and here, I think it must be argued that these are indicative of the new year's attitude--numerous things wrong with it, including a fuel injector that, if it is not fixed, might, and I am quoting the mechanic here, "set your engine on fire." Ergo,
- college daughter cannot drive the Chevy. Hence,
- I am driving hither and yon, back and forth, to get her from here to there, from home to job to school and back again, with a stop home in the middle so she doesn't smell like a sandwich at school. And another thing:
- is or isn't the world coming to an end, with the apocalypse dancing on its grave? because it sure seems like that at my place of employ, what with the budget cuts and the lettings go of employees, and the seismic, volcanic rumblings I keep feeling/hearing. And, just for good measure,
- the air quality is so horrifying. I hate to take the Bruise for a walk. I feel terrible about the driving hither and yon (be the solution! but how will she get to her job?). And, in a related matter,
- I tried to find running son's high school diploma so he can apply to the Beijing University of Language and Culture (something like that), and I could not find it! Yet another referendum on the quality of my soul, which is disorganized, cluttered, rife with dust bunnies. And drives too much.
Fine, I will desist.
As usual, I am hoping for a routine to rescue me from all this. So I am praying to the Fixerly God of the Sacred Chevrolet that the car will soon be drivable. And I am taking every single thing out of my study this weekend. Every single thing. New Year, listen up: let the Sorting begin.
I was totally :-O at the mechanic's words as well. That whole fire word always f's with ya, doesn't it. Hopefully Thursday night is the time, he'll check tomorrow for certain.
ReplyDeleteMan. Cars are the pits. But lets not be so down on January... it is the month of my birth. Come and join the jubilation, as someone once said!
ReplyDeleteI am currently cleaning out my office--so a crib can fit in here--and my lord it is taking me weeks. Not because it is a weeks' long job but because it is so disheartening. And I am trying to plan for the looming need to get my not yet born daughter U.S. citizenship papers and passport and I am dreading looking for relevant documents because I am horrible at keeping these things and I am sure that one day my daughter will be a person without country because I've lost some important documentation. So, all I'm saying is I feel all kinds of solidarity with you at this moment.
ReplyDeleteWhoa. Every single thing out of the study? O-O-Overwhelming.
ReplyDeleteAnd am I the only one who is so tired of hyperbolic mechanics? Sheesh.
In this case, I don't think the mechanic, aka the historian's nephew and beloved of us all, was being hyperbolic--I think he was trying not to have college daughter in a fiery car! Thank goodness.
ReplyDeleteI don't know where all running son is looking to apply to, but I happen to work for the BYU Chinese Flagship Center, which has an incredible program for advanced Mandarin speakers. Basically he'd be able to study in whatever field he wants to, incorporating Chinese into what he wants to do professionally. There's a domestic phase where flagship students take advanced courses here, and then they spend 9 months in China, doing a semester at Nanjing University and then an internship in their field. Anyway, check it out at chineseflagship.byu.edu.
ReplyDeleteWe're not THAT desperate for a babysitter... haha ;o)
ReplyDeleteI was actually really nervous about her just driving to your house.. a hiss of gas from that area is never a good thing. Yikes!
I feel for you. I hate these deadline-based, form-finding missions. I'm freaking out about getting Max's birth certificate in time to enroll him in benefits.
ReplyDeleteI will be thinking of you and wishing I had your wherewithal for weekend sorting.
Your soul may be rife with dust bunnies, but she sure talks good - I laughed though I knew I should have cried.
ReplyDeleteI myself have a special in with January (it's my birthmonth too) and she told me that actually New Year has all sorts of wondrous delights in store for you and is so anxious to give them that she just had to spill out all the year's bad stuff all at once and get it over with - after this month you're done! And then all shiny sunny smooth success for the next eleven! Lucky you!