just another manic monday

the weather outside was glorious today. we took clay for a walk, and he enjoyed himself. i used the snugli, as the stroller was still in the trunk of the car (which was at the shop). we walked down to the neighbors and visited for a while and they ooohed and ahhed over clay. :) of course they did. who wouldn't?

we picked up the car later on, and the mechanic informed us that the reason the car was being sluggish was not from the fuel pump, but from bad spark plugs and wires. and that the reason it was riding the way it was, was from misfiring -- not a fuel pump problem. in fact, according to the mechanic, there's nothing wrong with our fuel pump. nor, he informed us, was there anything wrong with our head gasket (something else the other mechanic had said was wrong with our car). hmmmmm..... what does this mean? did we have a dishonest mechanic? if so, they've made alot of money off of us in the past. it did seem like every time we'd take the car/truck in, it was an expensive problem that they were fixing. guess we'll have to wait and see. if car is fine, guess we don't trust old mechanic anymore! ughhhh!

then i had a twilight zone moment when nick broke out in shop talk (he doesn't normally fix cars), and started talking about misfiring and wires and spark plugs as though this was the only conclusion one could come up with, and that a fuel pump problem was not a very plausible explanation for what was happening.

"I thought you didn't know much about cars," I said, staring at him.

"I don't, but that's just common sense," he states matter of factly, as though everyone should know that bad spark plugs cause the aforementioned problem i had been having (he had said that something didn't sound right when other mechanic said it was a fuel pump problem to begin with).

well... i hadn't known. apparently this is common knowledge.

but it reminds me of a story i read in, "all i ever needed to know i learned in kindergarten", by (i think) robert fullham. anyway, he was talking about when his volkswagon broke down, and he didn't know what to do (wasn't mechanically inclined). another guy pulls up alongside them to help, and they raise the hood of the car and stare.

"well there's your problem," the guy says. "your engine's gone!"

in that particular volkswagon model, the engine was in the back -- where the trunk normally would be.

the author stood there, dumbfounded, looking at the empty space which he thought should have been occupied by an engine, and scratched his head. they both stood there, completely at a loss, until his wife grimly showed them where the engine was located... right where it was supposed to be.

i laugh now, but i probably would have done the same thing... or something equally as stupid.

well, back to the grindstone... work awaits me.