Well, per usual, my car decided that it would be a great day to piss me off — though at least it skipped Friday the 13th.

We had brought it into the shop on Friday, December 23rd, and they did a whole kitload of repairs to the sucker. Aside from the oil change, which was what we actually brought it in for, the water pump was failing and the cam belt was going -- we told them to take a look at the latter, since it was squealing and really grating on me. Replacing all of those, they gave us a nice little "your repairs are warranted for 1 year!" and told us to have a Merry Christmas.

Well, the car gave me "ample" warning... the car was reluctant to start on the drop of a hat for precisely three times! I should have seen that one coming... why, three times is, like, one number greater than two! For the uninitiated, the car didn't want to start instantly on one trip home, one trip to work the next day, and one trip home again. I had to crank the starter for maybe a half-second longer every time. Then, today, without warning, after I parked where my mom works to pick her up on my way home... total failure to start at all.

I'm no genius when it comes to cars, but I knew there wasn't anything wrong with the battery -- when I turned the ignition, the car's electricals didn't simply "die" like they do when you have a low battery. They blithely remained bright, but there was absolutely no turning in the engine. So, I postulated it was one of two things: the starter motor died on me, or the solenoid went.

We had it towed to the shop (a whopping setback of $17.88 thanks to my BCAA membership, which covered around $50 worth), and they had a look-see under the hood.

Turns out, there's nothing wrong with the starter. There's nothing wrong with the solenoid. The battery was running perfectly. The problem? Well, they say the wiring leading to the starter was boned. My personal opinion is that some twit forgot to properly tie off the wiring for the starter after we brought it in last time. They're replacing the wiring on the cheap, though the labour will be what gets me.

Oh, and the cam belt still squeals, but that was under warranty for sure. They're replacing it again, and I'm damn well going to make sure it doesn't squeal any more. I'll go through every Neon's cam belt in the Greater Vancouver Regional District if I have to. ;-)


On other notes: instead of a graveyard shift, I'm on a "holy-!&#;$%-o'clock" shift... I start my shifts, presently, at 4:00 AM, which means I have to wake up at 2:30 AM if I want to do hygiene-related stuff before work, 3:00 AM if I do it the night before (this gives me 30 minutes to "wake up completely", dress, and eat, and 30 minutes to do the actual commute (including an obligatory stop at Tim Hortons for a French vanilla cappuccino and a chocolate danish)).

This brings my prospective gal right back into the "potential conflict of interest" category, since I don't leave work until 12:30 PM (that's in the afternoon, if you didn't know), but nothing short of a nuclear- or natural disaster could stop me from asking her out now, and if they even so much as think of "having a word with me" about it, I'll quit in a heartbeat. I would certainly hope you all would do the exact same thing if you felt the same way about someone. ;-)