Archive: August 2007
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Wednesday - August 29, 2007
A story about "beef" nachos
Part of a phone conversation I had yesterday evening:
Me: So, what did you have for dinner?
Her: Beef nachos.
Me: Did you make them or get them somewhere? Were they good?
Her: I made them. They were good. I made them last night, actually.
Me: How did you do the beef? [I was wondering if she'd used ground beef or fajita meat or something else.]
Her: I used turkey.
Me: Turkey???? Those aren't beef nachos. Those are turkey nachos.
Her: They're called beef nachos.
Me: Oh. Beef nachos: hold the beef, add turkey!
I laughed so hard. I loved it.
. . . .
In and of itself, that's a pretty good story. But, it gets better.
I have a very dear friend who's extremely ill...suffering the horrible ravages of Parkinson's Disease. It just breaks your heart. He's in and out of awareness. Mostly out. But, he has moments of lucidity. It really makes you marvel at the human brain. One moment he'll be on a trek to the North Pole and the next he'll be asking if you've had your dinner yet. Last night, I was visiting him and his family and he called to me from the bedroom. He was asleep when I got there so I was a little surprised to discover he knew I was there. And, I don't think I'd really had a conversation with him in about a week or so. But, he called so I went in to see what he needed. He just wanted a hug. Well, hell! I can do that. So, we hugged and I held his hand and he asked about my parents so I gave him a quick update. And, then I related the above conversation to him. And, he laughed. It was so great to hear him laugh. So...thanks, Jennie. Ya done good with your not-so-beefy "beef" nachos.
Monday - August 13, 2007
Diagnostic fee frustration
So. I'm curious. Situation: I take something in to be serviced and am told that there will be a $50 diagnostic fee. I am under the impression that the $50 will go toward repair if I have a repair done otherwise, I'm out $50. Is that the way you expect this sort of thing to work? That's how a diagnostic fee has always worked in my experience.
Alas, things did not work out that way this morning at the Leif Johnson Ford service department.
The headlight on the driver's side of my Focus was not getting enough power to actually work. It was barely giving off 10 watts (if that) of light. I'd tried replacing the bulb (twice) and swapping out fuses. To no avail. It was acting as though the ground wire was loose. I could not find any sort of ground wire coming off the back of the assembly and had no way to really test the matter so took my car into the shop. The service manager first asked if I'd used "lowly" non-Ford branded bulbs from some fly-by-night auto parts store like AutoZone or O'Reilly's. I can't begin to characterize the contempt in his voice for AutoZone and O'Reilly's in print. But...yes, I had purchased non-Ford bulbs. In fact, a different brand of bulb from each of those chains. When the bulb from O'Reilly's did not work, I tried a Sylvania bulb from AutoZone. Those bulbs, he informed me, probably weren't really strong enough. I told him I thought it was a ground problem. That's when he told me there would be a $49.95 diagnostic feel. So, I told him to go ahead and I'd wait. It didn't seem worth the trip to go to work and then back to the shop if it was just a bad bulb. Which, of course, it wasn't.
The entire headlamp assembly had to be replaced. The reflective surface had started to melt and the wiring could no longer make a good connection to ground. The service manager said I probably hadn't installed the bulb properly. I'm 95% sure that the original bulb burnt out because of the defect in the design of the reflective surface...that it had dripped on the bulb, causing that original bulb to burn out, but I no longer had the bulb to prove my point. Also, please note that the reflective coating on the passenger side (which I have not touched) is also starting to show the same sort of damage. But, it's not as severe. And, the service manager said it's not the same at all. Whatever. So, I had the assembly replaced. The car is long out of warranty and I didn't see the point in arguing about it because I already know Ford's not going to budge on this one. Nevermind the fact that I've replaced halogen bulbs on Ford cars at least 10 times in the last 15 years and I know what I'm doing. It's so frustrating dealing with those people.
After paying the outrageous bill, I went to work. After lunch I looked at the bill a bit more closely. $49.95 for the diagnostic fee. $98 for labor. $170-ish for the new assembly. $30 for taxes, fees, and miscellaneous. What? The diagnostic fee did not go toward the repair? And, I was apparently charged for 2 hours of labor on top of that? So, I called the service department and asked to speak to the service manager who'd "assisted" me earlier. Nope, he informed me...the diagnostic fee does not go toward the repair. And, that was not 2 hours of labor...only 1. Charged at $98. I guess it's my own damn fault for not asking for clarification on the diagnostic fee thing. Everyone I've spoken to about it at work, though, says that they expect a diagnostic fee to go toward the repair if you end up getting the repair done. So, does that mean I'd have had to pay the diagnostic fee plus $98 (minimum 1-hour labor charge) plus the cost of a fancy-schmancy Ford-brand bulb if it had only been the bulb? What a scam.
I really need to get rid of that money pit. I so enjoyed that car for the first 4 years I owned it. For the last 18 months or so, though, it's been a pile of cow dung.
Epilog. I decided to make an appointment with the Honda saleswoman who's been calling me. "I'll just go ahead and order a new Fit and be done with it," I thought. So, I called Howdy Honda and asked to speak with her. "She doesn't work here anymore," said the receptionist. She called me last week...on Monday or Tuesday. Sigh. I cannot get a break. Anyone know any decent Honda salesmen (or saleswomen) in the Austin area?
Thursday - August 9, 2007
Another music-driven memory
I was just listening to my iPod. As I am wont to do. And, "Ever Get Around To It" by Carter Wood came on. And, like it does every time I hear it, it made me think of Bruce and Marge. They both worked in the department when I started. Marge got sick a few years after I started and passed away a short time later. It feels like I knew her for years and years but I really didn't. Bruce worked 'til he retired 3 or 4 years ago and then he stayed on part-time until he died unexpectedly a couple of years ago. Marge always played surrogate mom to the grad students. And, to some of us on staff. I'd complain that my bangs needed cutting and she'd grab her scissors...those horrible dull things that were purchased on State Contract...and threaten to chop them off herself. She was from South Dakota and smoked like a chimney. As they say. Bruce was from Canada and loved to dance. And, he loved folks music he hosted one of the most successful (if not the most successful) house concert series ever. And, I didn't know any of that for years and years. He never talked about that stuff at work. Bruce and Marge were great friends. One of their jokes revolved around the "Round Tuits" that one of them bought. I think it was Marge...on one of her trips back home. If either of them ever heard the phrase "when I can get around to it" out would come the wooden coin with the words "Round Tuit" burned on 'em and they'd hand it over: "Here you go...now do it!" Hilarity. It makes me smile. And, every time I hear that Carter Wood song, it makes me think of them. And, it makes me smile. But, it also makes me a little sad.
. . . .
Aside #1. Here's a link to a company that sells round tuits...just in case you need some.
Aside #2. That "Carter Wood" link up there is a link to a CD Baby page where you can buy her CD. I tried to link to Carter's web page (www.carterwood.com) but it's just a blank page now. I have no idea if she's left the business or what. Anyway, if you have RealAudio installed, you can hear a clip of the song I'm writing about on a Puremusic page. By the way, I'm pretty sure the first time I heard the song was after Bruce had that fatal heart attack.
Saturday - August 4, 2007
Thinkin' 'bout gettin' a new car
It's been nearly two months since last I updated. Why is that? I dunno. I have updated my photo and baseball blogs. But, nothing here. And, Esther pointed out to me that I really needed to do something about that. But, what to do? Well, there's the whole car thing. I really need to get a new car. Or at least, a car that's not the car I have now. 'Cause the car I have now has turned into a money pit. Which really sucks. The problem is, this is the car I want:
![[Honda Fit]](http://www.joanna.org/pics/fit.jpeg)
And, you know what? You can't buy a Honda Fit these days. You can order one. And, if you're lucky, it'll get here in 2 or 3 months. I checked with CarMax. They have two. In the whole country. One's in California. The other is in North Carolina. They're selling the used ones for nearly "new sticker" price with a $600 charge to bring the car to Austin. So, no point in doing that. Sigh. I guess I'm gonna have to order one.
I did that once before. Order a car. It was my Explorer. And, when it came, I loved it. I had to wait 3 or 4 weeks. Maybe 2 or 3 months won't seem so long. Of course, that all supposes the Focus (which I used to love before it went south on me last year and turned into a money pit) will limp along until the new car gets here. Sigh...
What to do?