Whoah! I have a blog! My last post was from when??? July??? LOL!
I'm just really busy and things just get too overwhelming sometimes that putting it into words and posting pictures to make you actually visualize those words are most likely impossible. I'm just being a lazy blogger, that's all. I went to the Bahamas in September, but I'll post another blog for that, 'coz today would be about my naughty car.
So I got a used car back in March - well, I only paid 1/3 and the rest was taken care of by my husband. So, technically, my husband got me this car. I didn't really need a sleek car 'coz I just need one to get me to work. Hello going home at 1am! Public transportation here in Orlando is unreliable especially if you have a job that doesn't have the 8am 'til 5pm schedule. I don't want to inconvenience my husband either, so I had to get a car. We got the 2001 Ford Focus station wagon and I named it Smurf 'coz it's blue. I had a Smurfette sticker on the back, but it's/ his name is Smurf. He has been really good to me for a couple of months, but just this October, he has been giving me and my husband a lot of headaches! I'm lucky that the first time it almost overheated, I was 5 mins away from our house. I just saw the thermostat's needle go from the middle to the red zone. Good thing I always keep an eye on my speed and the thermostat is right next to it. As I glanced on how fast(technically, slow) I was going, I saw the needle pointing at the red zone and I knew I was in trouble! I don't know what made me do it, but I turned my a/c off, opened my window and drove slow. I was just praying so hard that I would just get to our house safe. That was all I needed. I did get to our house safe and realized that my coolant reservoir was bone dry! Yes, I was driving with no coolant on. Oops! So we refilled the reservoir. Smurf was okay again.
After two weeks, my car was doing the same thing again and I saw a huge green puddle right under my hood when I was running errands with my friend and her baby. I knew it was coolant! So I got more coolant, but I knew there was something wrong. When I got home, some mechanic passed saw me trying to put coolant in my car's reservoir and volunteered to help me out. My husband was of course not happy about this 'coz I just trusted a stranger with my car. But I was caught in a very vulnerable situation where I just want my car to run okay again. He later found out that the hose that brings coolant to my engine is busted. That was changed and he told me to get my oil changed and to get my oil reservoir filled. I did that the next day and Smurf was okay again.
THEN... October 23rd, as I was driving along this road called Semoran to get to work, I heard a loud pop then a clapping sound after I hit on my gas pedal when the light turned green. I ignored it and continued with my journey. I heard a hissing sound, but I thought it was from the radio and a background sound from the music that was just playing, then it got louder. I turned my radio off and realized that the sound was coming from my car! I still didn't pull over 'coz when I step on my gas pedal, the sound just disappears. I thought I was okay, until I had to turn my wheel to make a turn. Terror struck me when I realized that my wheel is not making me turn left nor right! I was still 10mins out from the parking lot and there are sharp turns along the way! I was in a state of panic, so I prayed and just hoped that I can park my car and ask my husband what to do. It was amazing how the road cleared up even if that time, traffic to work was usually heavy, and when I was about to go through the sharpest turn, no one was following me, so I was able to take my time turning and I was able to find a wide spot in the parking lot which didn't require me to turn right nor left. I know God was making sure I was safe! I called my husband right away and told him about the situation. He told me to call triple A to have my car towed, while the shop where we usually have our oil changed is still open.
I reported for work before I did that, just to let my boss know that I had to take care of an emergency. Good thing she understood the situation and allowed me to take care of my car's problem first then report for work once it's done. It took me almost an hour to get my car towed 'coz I waited for triple A for 35 mins then Joseph knows for how long before we got security to escort us to the employee parking lot. In order to get inside the employee parking lot, you have to have your ID and this color coded thing that we hang on our rear view mirror - without those two things, you won't be allowed to enter. So Smurf was towed for the very first time and left a huge dent on our wallets. OUCH!
I was able to drive Smurf again today and I was a little nervous on the road after that incident. It has been working fine, and I hope it won't have any major issues on the main road again. Seeing my car towed was painful- I never thought I'd be so attached to it, but seeing the bill from the shop sometimes makes me regret in owning a car. I will be living la vida BROKE-ah for a couple of months *sigh* I hope I will be able to recover for the holidays. I took 3 days off for black Friday so I hope I won't be broke by that time. :)
Stay safe everyone!
I'm just really busy and things just get too overwhelming sometimes that putting it into words and posting pictures to make you actually visualize those words are most likely impossible. I'm just being a lazy blogger, that's all. I went to the Bahamas in September, but I'll post another blog for that, 'coz today would be about my naughty car.
So I got a used car back in March - well, I only paid 1/3 and the rest was taken care of by my husband. So, technically, my husband got me this car. I didn't really need a sleek car 'coz I just need one to get me to work. Hello going home at 1am! Public transportation here in Orlando is unreliable especially if you have a job that doesn't have the 8am 'til 5pm schedule. I don't want to inconvenience my husband either, so I had to get a car. We got the 2001 Ford Focus station wagon and I named it Smurf 'coz it's blue. I had a Smurfette sticker on the back, but it's/ his name is Smurf. He has been really good to me for a couple of months, but just this October, he has been giving me and my husband a lot of headaches! I'm lucky that the first time it almost overheated, I was 5 mins away from our house. I just saw the thermostat's needle go from the middle to the red zone. Good thing I always keep an eye on my speed and the thermostat is right next to it. As I glanced on how fast(technically, slow) I was going, I saw the needle pointing at the red zone and I knew I was in trouble! I don't know what made me do it, but I turned my a/c off, opened my window and drove slow. I was just praying so hard that I would just get to our house safe. That was all I needed. I did get to our house safe and realized that my coolant reservoir was bone dry! Yes, I was driving with no coolant on. Oops! So we refilled the reservoir. Smurf was okay again.
After two weeks, my car was doing the same thing again and I saw a huge green puddle right under my hood when I was running errands with my friend and her baby. I knew it was coolant! So I got more coolant, but I knew there was something wrong. When I got home, some mechanic passed saw me trying to put coolant in my car's reservoir and volunteered to help me out. My husband was of course not happy about this 'coz I just trusted a stranger with my car. But I was caught in a very vulnerable situation where I just want my car to run okay again. He later found out that the hose that brings coolant to my engine is busted. That was changed and he told me to get my oil changed and to get my oil reservoir filled. I did that the next day and Smurf was okay again.
THEN... October 23rd, as I was driving along this road called Semoran to get to work, I heard a loud pop then a clapping sound after I hit on my gas pedal when the light turned green. I ignored it and continued with my journey. I heard a hissing sound, but I thought it was from the radio and a background sound from the music that was just playing, then it got louder. I turned my radio off and realized that the sound was coming from my car! I still didn't pull over 'coz when I step on my gas pedal, the sound just disappears. I thought I was okay, until I had to turn my wheel to make a turn. Terror struck me when I realized that my wheel is not making me turn left nor right! I was still 10mins out from the parking lot and there are sharp turns along the way! I was in a state of panic, so I prayed and just hoped that I can park my car and ask my husband what to do. It was amazing how the road cleared up even if that time, traffic to work was usually heavy, and when I was about to go through the sharpest turn, no one was following me, so I was able to take my time turning and I was able to find a wide spot in the parking lot which didn't require me to turn right nor left. I know God was making sure I was safe! I called my husband right away and told him about the situation. He told me to call triple A to have my car towed, while the shop where we usually have our oil changed is still open.
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| That says "YOU'RE SCREWED" all over it |
I reported for work before I did that, just to let my boss know that I had to take care of an emergency. Good thing she understood the situation and allowed me to take care of my car's problem first then report for work once it's done. It took me almost an hour to get my car towed 'coz I waited for triple A for 35 mins then Joseph knows for how long before we got security to escort us to the employee parking lot. In order to get inside the employee parking lot, you have to have your ID and this color coded thing that we hang on our rear view mirror - without those two things, you won't be allowed to enter. So Smurf was towed for the very first time and left a huge dent on our wallets. OUCH!
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| Getting ready to get on the truck |
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| Mr. tow truck driver making sure my car is secure |
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| I was sad to see my car on the tow truck |
I was able to drive Smurf again today and I was a little nervous on the road after that incident. It has been working fine, and I hope it won't have any major issues on the main road again. Seeing my car towed was painful- I never thought I'd be so attached to it, but seeing the bill from the shop sometimes makes me regret in owning a car. I will be living la vida BROKE-ah for a couple of months *sigh* I hope I will be able to recover for the holidays. I took 3 days off for black Friday so I hope I won't be broke by that time. :)
Stay safe everyone!
Comments
Happy shopping on Black Friday! I am a "sleepaholic" and on days that I don't have to work, nothing can make me get out of bed early... not even the promise of a good bargain. ;-)