So I drove home from the train station on Friday in the rain. Parked my little red Ford Aspire in the garage and when I went out on Saturday she wouldn't start! Bummer! Now, I've had trouble with this car when it got wet in the past (shorted out the ignition or something I guess), so I left the hood up to let things dry out and took MLM's van. Anyway, after several hours still no dice. It cranks and cranks but there is no discernable spark. Poor car. It'll be the middle o next month (payday) before I can get it worked on.
This car has been fairly dependable for the most part considering the rough life she's had. Smashed into a Chicago cab in the second year of ownership and then drove around for about eight years with the front bumper mashed and tied up with wire on the left and only one headlight working on the right. Mary Lynn christened it "Smashmouth." Great nickname, eh? It may have hurt its feelings though. There then appeared an issue with the ignition switch - when it got really hot outside it wouldn't start - again it would crank and crank but no spark. Many times I had to leave it somewhere and come back after sunset to drive it home. Never had the money to get it worked on, just kinda dealt with it. Then, sadly, Kelly borrowed it for a college scouting trip to the East Coast and it died on her there. At least she got it diagnosed as a bad ignition switch - a $40 part that would cost $400 dollars to install! Well, about three years ago I finally got the ignition switch fixed. Then about two years ago I got a warning ticket from the Rolling Meadows police because of a new ordinance that required vehicles to be 'roadworthy.' Of all the nerve! So I had to take out a loan and got some minimalist body work done at Maaco so Smashmouth no longer had a smashed mouth. I renamed her Fireball! Oh, well.
I thought the issue this time might be the ignition again so I tried all the tricks that we had as a workaround for that to no avail. The problem is definitely with the electrical to the spark plugs - they just aren't sparking. Money is still very tight so pray with me that the repairs will not be too expensive.
It never rains but it pours, it seems. Meanwhile I have to drive the van which gets half the gas mileage as the Aspire, so that REALLY helps.
At least the weather today is fabulous! It's going to be in the upper 70s and sunny and clear. I see leaves starting to bud on the trees. Spring is definitely on its way. So that's a good thing. Love the changing seasons! Also, fun omake in MegaTokyo the last couple weeks (an omake is a 'bonus' short story often added into a manga that features the same characters but in a different setting and plot line). Fred just finished chapter 8 to be included in the new print book out next month and did this omake for us as a bonus - then chapter 9 starts later this week.
That's it for now. Gotta go flush a virus off a user's PC. Later.
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