* I care a lot about voice and presentation, and have for a very very long time. I don't think I've ever cursed in The Challenge before. This post changes that, and has a very different tone (I think) than previous updates. This is because a lot of stuff has happened lately that I have a hard time writing about, and if I put much energy into writing a good post, it takes several hours just to become a deleted post. I hate to reduce the quality of my updates, but the quantity has just plummeted, and I suspect that might be worse. So, enjoy uncensored Maya for a minute, and eventually I'll get my groove back.*
Really? What?! NO! Really????!!!!
This is pretty much how my financial life is right now. Shocking, out of my control, and unbelievably incorrect. It's spiraling in new and unexpected ways.
So back in April when my Momcalledmehystericalandscreamingthatshewascommittingsuicide (which was not at all even close to my low-point this year), I called the sheriff of her small town and had her taken to the emergency room, which was lame on so many levels. Particularly was the resulting bill for $4,000. Just for, you know, the record: One hour being perfectly physically fine but basically very grumpy in the emergency room is equal to a thousand dollars. So don't call your daughter threatening suicide just to fuck with her head.
Fun fact: My husband had been laid off weeks before. Other fun fact: I had just promised to start paying a couple of hundred dollars a month for the truck. Even More Fun Fact: I had cut myself to one day a week of traditional employment to deal with the really serious and unfortunate events that make my Mom (who I do love quite a bit) threatening suicide comparably not a big deal. So I am broke, and was broke, and got a $4,000 bill in the mail (do.not.ask.why.it's.my.problem.) AND...yeah, everything is just really really hard right now.
Fortunately we had the savings to get us through two months of rent. Then June came, and I started juggling overdraft fees. Which would have been fine except...
- the check I mailed my Mom got lost in the mail
- the truck alternator stopped running.
So, instead of barely squeaking by, my expenses and fees hit me like a garbage truck heading downhill. It was devastating. I recovered just in time for July. Guess what happened then?!
- the check I mailed my Mom got lost in the mail. (In two months I've mailed four and she's gotten two).
- the phone stopped working
- When I bought the replacement phone the company ran my debit card through the machine twice, double charging me and over-drafting my bank account.
So not only did I have a surprise $100 expense I could in no way afford this month (after $200 last month), but the company randomly tacked on an extra $150 on top of that for the Hell of it! And then had the nerve to suggest that my bank should fix it! Both the bank and phone company are acknowledging that this wasn't my fault, but neither will promise a refund within the next 45 days! And they're both implying that it will somehow be really hard. Like, mountains of paperwork for...somebody...somewhere...couldn't I just, like, pawn something instead of making them check a record?
Things will get better. Things have gotten better, so much better, than they were in March. The nightmare is basically over, and these are just the shock waves, I guess. Darling will work again, my garden is still marching along (an overabundance of okra, two ripening watermelons, cherry tomatoes, eggplants, and even some figs that might ripen!!!) My comic is progressing, in its way. And I have a date with a friend today to teach her to bake challah. Ultimately, I'm happy. The money situation, and my bizarre unlucky streak in this area, is the one thing I could hope to change. And, I hate to admit this, is just doesn't seem to be the big deal it used to be. Things are a-changing.
Friday, July 11, 2014
Thursday, July 3, 2014
Alternating
Oh man, guys. The truck. The truck hates me.
Not really. The truck is an inanimate object, and also loves me. But it's been rough.
From the moment my Mom brought the truck home, the battery seemed to run a little low. I am obsessed with the dashboard gauges, more so than other people, judging by how amazed folks often are that I notice their "check engine" lights and know what "maint reqd." means. But the battery was always, consistently, just a little low. Also, the clock has never kept time. It's always been slow. Which is so weird for a digital clock, and almost certainly related.
Anyway, after driving the truck for years with a slightly low battery, I was alarmed to find it very low one evening on my way to the shop. What do I do with that information? Look in the manual, obviously. Which definitely told me that everything should be just fine, so I went on my merry way to the workshop. Because I'm dumb.
It was pure luck that it died in my friend's driveway and not on the long and twisty country road between here and there. And it very literally died, all at once, lights and all.
So, What to do when your battery dies:
Take out the battery, which is heavier than you expect. I want to tell you to remove the positive side first, and then the negative, but really get someone else to help you with this because getting electrocuted would suck. Or you already know how to do this. I just don't want to be the extent of anyone's research on this particular matter. If I have to tell you that the battery is the big plastic-looking box, then you definitely ought to find a friend for help with this.
Advanced AutoParts, or any other auto store, will charge up your battery for free, and can then test it to make sure it should still hold a charge. If you have an older battery, like me, be prepared at the associate to try and insist that you buy a new one, then and there, no matter what. But a truly dying or dead battery will usually appear corroded (white powdery substance, you'll know it when you see it) so don't let these guys intimidate you.
It's either the battery or the alternator. The battery should cost $100-$150 (for my truck, at least), and the alternator costs about $250 with a $50 deposit they'll return if you bring in your old alternator. The alternator is only a hundred bucks more, but costs at least $200 to install at a garage, so the battery is a tempting stop-gap purchase. But the autopart stores can test the alternator as well as the battery, and even if they might try to sell you another battery anyway just for the Hell of it, you shouldn't walk away not knowing what actually needs repairing.
Because the Advanced Autoparts guy wasn't letting go of the fact that I wasn't going to buy both a new battery and a new alternator, I did the rest of my business at O'Reilleys. And they're awesome. I should go to some local mechanic, I know, but hey - most of these services are free.
According to google searches, alternator replacements cost your left kidney at a conventional garage. The quotes I got were a little outrageous: considering the alternator cost me $200 (and they get a slight discount on parts), and this is a job that shouldn't take more than an hour. So, assuming that you bought the part yourself, and assuming that the parts store was able to give a pretty clear diagnosis of your problem, then you should avoid a garage if at all possible. Because, really, this job shouldn't take 45 minutes for someone who has any idea of what they're doing on a reasonable engine. More and more engines are not reasonable, of course.
Some vehicles were designed not to be worked on by amateurs. And whatever to that. I really don't care. But I will say that a LOT of people tried to tell me that if my vehicle was built since 1968, I wouldn't be able to do any of my own repairs. My truck is a 2007, and perfectly fine being worked on in my driveway. Is she perfect in every way? Definitely not, but I can scoot in there and change my own oil. So, if you have any desire to play with your engine at all, don't assume that you have to invest in an engine that's been rebuilt six times to do so. Really, I am not going to buy a vehicle that is twice my age to make maintenance easier. At least my truck was built with some efficiency in mind.
All that said, I couldn't teach myself to change my own alternator, but I do have mechanic buddies. One came on over and let me babysit while he took half an hour to switch out the piece for the price of a six pack. Hurray! And he showed me in fantastic detail what he did. So...yeah. I'm getting better.
Now to deal with the phone situation, because mine went swimming :( Or maybe I'll just take pictures of the black eyed peas I grew, and the beautiful watermelon ripening on the vine. Or maybe my next update will be about my meeting with my artist, who said everything I ever needed to hear and more and ohmygodguysIreallythinkI'mgoingtopublishacomicsomeday.
Not really. The truck is an inanimate object, and also loves me. But it's been rough.
From the moment my Mom brought the truck home, the battery seemed to run a little low. I am obsessed with the dashboard gauges, more so than other people, judging by how amazed folks often are that I notice their "check engine" lights and know what "maint reqd." means. But the battery was always, consistently, just a little low. Also, the clock has never kept time. It's always been slow. Which is so weird for a digital clock, and almost certainly related.
Anyway, after driving the truck for years with a slightly low battery, I was alarmed to find it very low one evening on my way to the shop. What do I do with that information? Look in the manual, obviously. Which definitely told me that everything should be just fine, so I went on my merry way to the workshop. Because I'm dumb.
It was pure luck that it died in my friend's driveway and not on the long and twisty country road between here and there. And it very literally died, all at once, lights and all.
So, What to do when your battery dies:
Take out the battery, which is heavier than you expect. I want to tell you to remove the positive side first, and then the negative, but really get someone else to help you with this because getting electrocuted would suck. Or you already know how to do this. I just don't want to be the extent of anyone's research on this particular matter. If I have to tell you that the battery is the big plastic-looking box, then you definitely ought to find a friend for help with this.
Advanced AutoParts, or any other auto store, will charge up your battery for free, and can then test it to make sure it should still hold a charge. If you have an older battery, like me, be prepared at the associate to try and insist that you buy a new one, then and there, no matter what. But a truly dying or dead battery will usually appear corroded (white powdery substance, you'll know it when you see it) so don't let these guys intimidate you.
It's either the battery or the alternator. The battery should cost $100-$150 (for my truck, at least), and the alternator costs about $250 with a $50 deposit they'll return if you bring in your old alternator. The alternator is only a hundred bucks more, but costs at least $200 to install at a garage, so the battery is a tempting stop-gap purchase. But the autopart stores can test the alternator as well as the battery, and even if they might try to sell you another battery anyway just for the Hell of it, you shouldn't walk away not knowing what actually needs repairing.
Because the Advanced Autoparts guy wasn't letting go of the fact that I wasn't going to buy both a new battery and a new alternator, I did the rest of my business at O'Reilleys. And they're awesome. I should go to some local mechanic, I know, but hey - most of these services are free.
According to google searches, alternator replacements cost your left kidney at a conventional garage. The quotes I got were a little outrageous: considering the alternator cost me $200 (and they get a slight discount on parts), and this is a job that shouldn't take more than an hour. So, assuming that you bought the part yourself, and assuming that the parts store was able to give a pretty clear diagnosis of your problem, then you should avoid a garage if at all possible. Because, really, this job shouldn't take 45 minutes for someone who has any idea of what they're doing on a reasonable engine. More and more engines are not reasonable, of course.
Some vehicles were designed not to be worked on by amateurs. And whatever to that. I really don't care. But I will say that a LOT of people tried to tell me that if my vehicle was built since 1968, I wouldn't be able to do any of my own repairs. My truck is a 2007, and perfectly fine being worked on in my driveway. Is she perfect in every way? Definitely not, but I can scoot in there and change my own oil. So, if you have any desire to play with your engine at all, don't assume that you have to invest in an engine that's been rebuilt six times to do so. Really, I am not going to buy a vehicle that is twice my age to make maintenance easier. At least my truck was built with some efficiency in mind.
All that said, I couldn't teach myself to change my own alternator, but I do have mechanic buddies. One came on over and let me babysit while he took half an hour to switch out the piece for the price of a six pack. Hurray! And he showed me in fantastic detail what he did. So...yeah. I'm getting better.
Now to deal with the phone situation, because mine went swimming :( Or maybe I'll just take pictures of the black eyed peas I grew, and the beautiful watermelon ripening on the vine. Or maybe my next update will be about my meeting with my artist, who said everything I ever needed to hear and more and ohmygodguysIreallythinkI'mgoingtopublishacomicsomeday.
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