put your shirt back on

Yesterday, my passenger car door decided that it was going to fling itself off it's track so, no matter how I abused or pleaded with it, it would not roll up all the way. I fought with it until dusk but finally taped a bag over the gaping window and left it for the night.

The next morning I got up at 6AM to pry off the inside door, wrestle the window back on track, and then spend an entire hour figuring out how to get the damn inside door back the way it was. Finally, I think the God of Cars took pity on me, because it lunged out of my hands and threw itself back into place.

By then, I was quite literally dripping with sweat, to the point where I couldn't wear my glasses because I couldn't effing see out of them.

I then locked up my now-secure vehicle, took a long, cold shower, and went back to sleep until 3PM.

Also, I have an entire bottle of American Honey calling my name, later. I call today a win.

Mobile Mechanics rock my socks.

My dad found a company called Mobile Mechanics via Craigslist who service the Pensacola area. They come to you, look at your car, figure out what needs fixing, take you to the auto parts store, and install the new part. That is some freaking service, okay?

I was aware of the sketch-ness of the deal, but upon meeting Al and Brian, I was impressed with their courtesy and knowledge of cars. Between the two of them, they had 35 years experience, fixing cars. They got right to it, toiling in the hot sun. When they figured out what the problem was (the distributor), they called friends for second opinions and gave me numbers to local auto parts stores so I could price-check. The only place carrying the part for my make and model wanted $300 someodd bucks. I was like, "Oh, no sir."

I told them that I would try to find the part online for cheaper and they gave me their card in case I wanted to call them back when I had the part, but also showed me what to do if I wanted to try and install the part, myself.

I was wowed by their help and while the process itself was hot, dirty, ant-ridden, and depressing, they were great about everything.

So if ever you are stranded in the Pensacola area, give these guys a call and they will get you on your way. <3 <3 <3

Headed back to Pensacola today.

I kind of sort of got the hang of driving stick over the course of three days. I still stall from time to time when I'm being hesitant with the gas pedal. I consider driving my car an exercise for my inner bitch.

Still working on a name for it. It's little and red and bitchy, and it is not going to be named Cherry. Or any variation thereof. That joke has been made, it's done, move on.

It's been really great seeing my family these past few days, because I'm not really going to get a chance for it for a while. There has been lots of food, shenanigans, and general good times.

But the best part is? I can now keep my own schedule and bring as much shit as I want because it is my car, bitch.

That's really awesome to say.

Anyway, it is now tea time because my ass got woken up at 6AM, my time. This Eastern Time Zone is NOT working for me, m'kay?

Also, omgwtfbbq:

I dyed my hair again today. I'd been planning on going back to brown when my paycheck got cashed later this week, but after mentioning my plan to my friends, one of them presented me with a box of semi-permanent brown hair dye. I was like, 'Cool!'

My hair is now almost black from the tips to about an inch from the roots. The lighter brown is where my natural hair color grew in from the bleach job. The whole deal has a strange red tint to it. Once again, my hair defies description other than 'dyed all to hell'.
Kay.

Today I started my research on what kind of car I may be getting (ideally) later this year. A friend who actually KNOWS about cars helped me in my rambling search of the internet classifieds, pointing out weaknesses in certain models and keeping up a running commentary on how I could later improve a car's performance with turbos and the owner's manual. I made mental notes and together we came to a tentative make and model worth pursuing. The Pontiac Sunfire, year unknown. As a rule, they seem to get decent gas mileage, and there were enough in the same price range for you to be able to tell if something was inflated or suspiciously low.
My father swears that he will not allow me to buy an unsafe car, and the Sunfire has a low safety rating for driver side collisions, but my father is not paying for the car or the insurance. So.

Theres a lot of time between now and when I can afford to actively search out a potential buy, but a inkling of what I want is there. Because Kias are crap, Chryslers kill my soul, and Hondas are outside of my budget by quite a few zeros.


On the writing front, I'm still trying to find music to write to. I've got one character pinned down with the help of Bohren & der Club of Gore, but the second character still eludes me. Probably because I don't know enough about them, yet.

Eh. I gotta quit stalling and study for a philosophy test. Ask me how excited I am.