The Week in Review

It's been a busy one here at Camelot. My mom was here until yesterday which was great. She cooked and took care of Ang and hung out with me at night. It was so nice to have her here so I wasn't worried about everything myself (and coming home one night to sugar cookies, turkey crunch, and cheesey potatoes wasn't bad either!).
I also got my permanent crown and have had to retrain myself to eat on that side of my mouth which sounds ridiculous but is true. Still doesn't work all the time.
Then I had to give midterm grades and tell 3 of my students they got Fs in my class and a BUNCH more they got Ds and Cs. That was received well, let me tell you.
Then there's the saga of my VUE. My red VUE that I have loved and cared for since the first day I got it in 2002 right after graduation. The red VUE I have only 10 more payments on and then it's mine, all mine. The VUE that has had every maintenance request and every service job done that has been required, that has had it's oil changed religiously almost to the mile according to those little stickers they put up in the corner of the windshield.
When I was driving it across country this summer, the 'service engine soon' light came on in St. Louis (yes, on the first day of our multiple-week trip). Now remember, I am fanatical about my car. I had it checked out and serviced just before I left.
So the light comes on and no one will look at it. The GM dealership I find doesn't have time but tells me it's probably just the gas cap not on correctly. So I drive on. It has gas and oil and doesn't seem to be overheating, though I am by this point. It goes off eventually and we move on.
Then once I get to Arizona it starts it again so I take it to the GM dealership here in town as the closest Saturn dealer is 3 hours north (Phoneix) or 3 hours west (San Diego) of here. They say the sensor is broken and they order a new one and voila! 7 days later I get my car back and it only costs me 300 some bucks. Fine.
Then last Friday morning I pick my mom up at the airport and as I pull into the hospital, it starts to chug ("Like a Model-T," according to my mom) and the light pops back on. I am MAD.
Of course the service tech's out till Monday, blah blah so I take it back. They call me on Thursday and report that it's something to do with the transmission and they can't go any further. They don't have the code books and suggest I take it to a Saturn dealer or a transmission specialist. I ask if I can drive it the 3 hrs to a dealer and the guy says "I'd only drive it in town." Great, lovely, terrific. I call the Saturn of San Diego and they can't help me over the phone. All my codes tell them is it's something internal having to do with the transmission. Wonderful.
So here's my plan - I'm going to drive my little red VUE until it dies. I'm just going to forget about it until October when we have our break and pretend like my VUE is fine. Then in Oct we'll caravan to San Diego, Ang following me the whole way, wasting tons of gas and time, to leave it at the Saturn of El Cajon. And I may just go back for it. Or cut my losses.
All I know is the car's 4 years old and I don't think 4 year old cars should give you this kind of headache. But apparently I know nothing:-)
So then there's the saga of the dryer. Some of you already know how Ang bought a brand-new washer and dryer last year when she moved in. Well from moment one the dryer has never worked correctly. It leaves grease marks on EVERYTHING (see my new sheets, my pjs, my tank tops, my shorts, everything). So after 2 servicemen have reported there's not much they can do (oh wait - the last one, who I paid 60 bucks to this week said he could fix it for over 200 dollars, great!) Ang and my mom went and bought a new one. To be delivered yesterday between 8 and 12. So Ang stayed and waited while I took my mom to the airport. I came home and we waited. And waited. And waited.
And at 4:10 they arrived. Nice. Isn't life just peachy at times?
But the excellent news is that we washed towels and no new grease marks! WOO HOO!!!
Other excitement from the week:
Netflix reviews: We watched Akeelah and the Bee again, with my mom and it's still so good. Rent it! We also watched Friends with Money, an independent that wasn't as good as I'd heard which was disappointing with so many wonderful actresses in it. And we saw In Her Shoes which is a great sister/chick flick. I loved the old ladies, they were fabulous (esp. Shirley MacLaine and her friend). Friday we saw RV with Robin Williams which was pretty funny too. So a good movie week. Oh, and Grey's Anatomy season 2 came out which we picked up (thanks to Ang's birthday gift certificates) and are moving swiftly through. AND my mom got me a gift this week, the Grey's Anatomy Soundtrack, Vol. 2 which ROCKS! Thanks Mom.
In other news:
We played Scrabble Friday night and my mom beat both Ang and I twice! You go Mom! And we found out Ang is a rules nazi and won't let us read the dictionary during non-turns. I tried and tried and got yelled at and yelled at.
Ok, so that's the week. This week should be a little less crazy we hope. Though I do have to make chicken chili for the Crane Chili Cook-Off on Wed at school. And the new TV season kicks off this week.
More later....