Sunday, January 20, 2008
Week Past 01/14-01/20/08
Mon 01/14 I was able to take off early (2:30 pm) from work. For some reason I decided to have my car's oil changed at a dealership in Bloomington near our workplace inspite of making an appointment for Thu 01/17 at Burnsville where I usually have it done. I was thinking I would be done by 3:30 pm or 4 pm tops. I was wrong. After about 40 minutes Sarah, the service receptionist came up and informed me that they need to check the engine because of the unusual noise. I knew what they meant. I noticed lately that the engine's idling sound is like that of a diesel engine. I thought the cold temperature was causing it and it was due for an oil change. The service attendant thought so too. But after changing the oil and the sound still persisted they need to look at the engine.
I was told I need to leave the car. They need to thoroughly check the engine and see what's causing the noise. Talk about the unexpected and inconvenience. What's running on my mind was the $$$$ amount. They gave me an estimate of $500.00. It "MAY just be the timing chain" but they are "not sure". They "need to open the engine".
It's like a doctor telling you he needs to open you up to find out what's wrong. My mind was racing like I don't need this. By now it was almost 5 pm.
When can I get the car back? By Wed 01/16 because they have to order part/s that may need replacement and are not sure if they are available. Do you have a loaner car? No they don't but they have a discounted price with Enterprise car rental. Bite the bullet. How else am I going to go home and go to work.
They dropped me off at the car rental which was a block away. The rental guy tells me the only available unit they have is a van (really?) which of course is more pricey to rent. I ended up driving a Toyota Sienna. By now it was almost 6 pm. And I had to pump gas into the van because it was almost empty.
Wed 01/16 I got a call from the shop. Good news and bad news. Bad news: The car would be delayed. They have to check the pistons. One was not seated properly and it hit the engine block's rim nicking it. I almost had a heart attack when I heard it. Piston!!Engine block!! Your talking about the car's heart and lungs. I kept mum and waited for them to finish. Good news: There won't be any charge for the repairs. It will still be under warranty and they'll loan me a car so I don't have to worry about the rental expense.
When will the car be ready? Tue 01/22 next week. Thu 01/17 I went to the shop to pick up the loaner. They showed me what happened to the engine. I wish I had my camera with me and took a picture of it. One of the valve was damaged. To say that the engine block was nicked is putting it mildly. They had to replace the whole engine block with a new one.
Anyways, life goes on. Tue 01/15 at 7:00 pm I attended a Diversity event at St Mary's Basilica in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr's Birthday. I went with my District Manager and some other managers from the other stores. In my
Thu 01/17 after getting the loaner car at the dealership it's time to donate blood again. I came early at the Lutheran church in Burnsville since I didn't make an appointment. Signed up and waited at the hallway with the other donors. So we were seated across each other lining up the hallway. There were about ten or eleven of us. We were wondering why they haven't started processing us when it was already past 2 pm, the time it was suppossed to start. After a while a lady from the Red Cross told us they are having a glitch in their computer system and they don't know how long it will take them to get it fixed. It was not communicating with their handheld thingys. Fifteen minutes at the earliest. About two donors decided to leave as they have other appointments. An elderly guy in front commented that it's like waiting for your flight at the airport. There's always a glitch. Anyways they finally got us moving after a little over fifteen minutes and I was done a little after three. What an exciting day huh!
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Week Past 01/07-01/13/08
This week gas prices soared again to $3.00 ++. It's been steady at $2.75 to $2.85 for a couple of weeks. A year ago it even went down to $1.85. That's an increase of dollar per gallon. Ouch, and we're slowly heading into a recession. The dollar is really getting a beating.
Sun 01/13 after mass W and I went to an Italian restaurantBuca di Beppo at Burnsville for lunch having received from the mail a $10 gift certificate for their promo. It's been over a year since our last visit. Their servings are huge, filling and carbo loaded. We discovered this time they've changed their menu. You have more options in terms of serving sizes but its still filling. This company is still trying to survive its financial difficulties since its former head made a bad judgement. They are trying everything to attract customers. There was a time when you have to make reservations for dinner or you have to wait in line for quite a while.
Sun 01/13 after mass W and I went to an Italian restaurant
Since we haven't been in the area for over a year we noticed a new store named "Unique" across the parking lot that's attracting a number of shoppers. We checked it after lunch and found that it's a second hand store although there also new items on sale. A bargain hunter's paradise. In their book section I found and bought "The Purpose Driven Life" priced at $2.91. It's still looks new. I have been planning on buying the book for years but it was not on top of my list. And there it was staring at me (actually there were two) asking what are you waiting for? Just the thing I need to read in time for Lent. It was meant to be. Thank you.
Sunday, January 06, 2008
Week Past 12/31/07-01/06/08
A Happy and Peaceful New Year
Tue 01/01 W's staff celebrated the New Year at home. I'd say again there are new faces. Quite a contrast when my brother and I celebrated Christmas. Without further story telling let the pics do the talking. It was suposed to start at 3:00 pm but the usual "Filipino Time" prevailed. Bottom pic shows W opening the gift given by her staff. It's a GPS because they've known her for getting lost to attend meetings with her clients at different venues.
