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Posted
Monday, June 25, 2007 12:45 PM
Apparently I didn't have enough to deal with this weekend. In addition to the carpet being a mess, with the carpet guys coming over to fix things both Friday morning and Saturday morning, in addition to the fundraiser taking up my whole Saturday, including the whole month I've been planning it, and in addition to the birthday party for my 4 year old nephew planned for Sunday and making sure I remembered to pick up the cake and wrap his gift... my car wouldn't start on Friday after work!
I work on a military base. I can't ever bring anyone else on base with me. No one can drop me off at work or pick me up unless they are another employee on base. So, when I left work Friday to head home to a busy weekend, including my brother and his girlfriend staying in our newly not-quite-finished basement, it was just an unpleasant surprise when my car wouldn't start and was making the most obnoxious clicking sound. A guy tried to jump start it, but nothing happened. I got a ride off base and called my husband to pick me up at a restaurant around the corner from the base. Twenty minutes later, he showed up. With the base visitor's center closed and no way to get Chris on base to look at my car, we just ran some errands and decided to deal with the car later.
Thank god on Sunday I made some phone calls to the Security Force office and got permission to get on base with my husband. We changed the battery out and got the car running. Thank god it was the battery - we were just keeping our fingers crossed that it was. Chris felt pretty special driving on base though, since it will never happen again and no one else gets that privilege. I was mighty unhappy about the $60 cost of a new battery! I thought it was like $30. Chris said, "yeah, maybe 10 years ago." Of course, that was probably the last time I had to buy a new car battery.
All good now though. Hopefully nothing ever happens to my car again while on base - it's a pain in the butt to deal with. Thank god I didn't need a tow truck. I can't even imagine the steps I need to take to be able to get a tow truck on base.
Lastly, my brother was obsessed with using the new half-bathroom in the basement, even though it's not totally done yet and is crowded with other things like paint cans and rags right now. But he insisted on brushing his teeth in the new bathroom. I really, really wanted him to just use the upstairs bathroom, but he snuck some toothpaste and a towel downstairs anyway. I got a phone call on Sunday as my brother and his girlfriend headed back home that my brother had placed the towel down on this table in the bathroom after using it, only to put it in an area of paint that, when wet (from the teeth brushing, no less), bleed onto the towel. They ruined my favorite cherry-designed towel and had it soaking in the washer and wanted to let me know. Of course soaking it did nothing, and I wanted to be so mad because I told him not to use that bathroom. I tried to be calm and just said, "Okay, sometimes I say stuff not just to say it, but because I actually think it's a good idea. Maybe next time you'll listen to me and not just think I'm being picky." Man, my brother, he causes me so much stress.