Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Messing With a Broke-Broke.

Yes. Mr. Merlot is being a gold digger again.

I... I don't even know where to begin. I treat him with love and respect. I get him oil changes every 3,000 miles. I offer him emotional support ("C'mon Mr. Merlot, you can make it up this hill!"). I waxed and vacuumed him the other week, I even bought him a new T for his front when I was visiting my folks recently. And yet, he's never satisfied. When I first got him, he became all worked up about needing a new catalytic converter. I sighed, wrote the check, died a little bit inside for my checking account, and he was happy. I also bought him a brand new battery. Now, ten months later, he's wanting more. Kids these days - they're never satisfied with anything.

Yesterday, it took a few tries to turn him over to A) get to work B) leave work and C) get home from Dick's Sporting Goods. (At least he got me home and didn't leave me near a sporting goods store) When I went to go to work this morning, taking separate cars from OfficeMate because I had to come home in the afternoon for a phone interview, all Mr. Merlot would do was click. No turning over. Click. Click. Click. Every click was another hairline fracture to my heart.

So he was left at home, and we carpooled in. After coming back and then having my phone interview (I honestly do despise interviews. The whole process makes me unfathomably nervous. Just take my word for it, I'd be a good fit for the position!), we went out to see what we could do for that car. We tried jumper cables, to no avail. I called my on-call mechanic (Hi, Dad!) for phone support who walked me through some things (I now know where my starter is located), and we've deduced that Mr. Merlot needs a new starter.

Do you hear that sound? That's the sound of my wallet wailing. I haven't gone to the dentist in like two or three years, but my CAR needs more money put into him. Absolutely, that makes sense. I guess Mr. Merlot was feeling left out because OfficeMate's car got a new battery this weekend, and Mr. Merlot wanted something new, too. Goodness, he's always needing to be the center of attention. For the next few days, I shall be chauffeured around by OfficeMate to and from the office. I'm moving up the social ladder in Roanoke - I don't even have to drive myself around.

In other news, not related to my complaining about my Gold Digger of a vehicle, I did in fact have a phone interview today. This means that I have done something right in the world of job hunting, and hopefully will empower me to keep on keeping on in this department.

Also, as many of you read on the Book of Faces, I have indeed surpassed the $100,000 mark in my grant revenue. I recently found out that two proposals I assisted in writing back in February ended up winning $93,000, so that puts my grand total over the $120,000 mark. I feel so legit! You better believe I worked that into today's interview.

3 comments:

  1. Can't. Stop. Laughing.... I mean, *ahem*, I am sorry Mr. Merlot is having issues :(

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  2. Poor Mr. Merlot!!!!!!Nobody understands him......he just wants ALL your attention ALL the time!!!!!like the naughty child he is...

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  3. Mr. Merlot is doing very well, thank you, especially considering that he was driven through 2-3 feet of water, which what not revealed to me until we were in Roanoke. Fortunately we did not have to replace the starter, and we were able to return it to the auto parts store.

    It helped that Mr. Merlot was parked in the sun for several days, allowing for the electrical components to dry out. It took some effort to start the car, but when it did start, it sputtered for quite a while, indicating that there was probably water in the exhaust.

    After Maria-Veronica told me the degree of water Mr. Merlot was exposed to (2 or maybe 3 feet of water) I mentioned that if water entered any electrical components, including the starter, many things could happen. My guess is that water entered the starter causing problems, but on drying out, everything came back to normal. Fortunately, I did not have to change the starter, and instead, we could visit Maria-Veronica., and she can count on Mr. Merlot to give her several more years of service.

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