Saturday, July 21, 2007

WHEN IT HITS THE FAN

Thursday am: wife comes to get me to go to coffee. On the way back to work, her Yukon Xl dies- turns out to be a fuel pump. Turns out the brakes are bad too.

Thursday pm: I discover the repairs will cost $1100. I then call an old time friend who is a parts manager at a GMC dealer and he gets me one part over nighted to the repair shop I had it towed to. This, if all goes well, will save me $180. $920 to go.

Friday am: I get a really bad feeling about my truck and the 1200 mile round trip 10 day camping experience we're about to embark on. So I call to get a quote on replacing the clutch. $1200 is the going rate. Ouch.

Friday am: I find out that my Midas brakes are covered by them, but I still have to pay for the labor to replace them. This saves me another $180. $760 to go.

Saturday pm: Shannon calls me from her cell. She's driving my truck and the clutch is on the floor and won't come back up. I have no vehicle to go get her. The neighbors take me down there. $1200 clutch, now not optional. I manage to limp home in second gear. My truck is now half way in/ half way out of my driveway because I can't get it in or out of reverse. Monday I guess I'll have it towed to the clutch shop. $1960 to go.

Saturday, dinner time: Dinner is over and Shannon starts the dishwasher. It disagrees. Freezes. And Dies. I should cuss, but instead I just smile at the stupidity of my world and try and remind myself of the blessing it is in the world to even say your top 3 problems are two broken down cars and a busted home appliance. I decide I'll cuss later. Maybe after I discover that the going rate for a dishwasher is like over $600. $2460 to go. Cussing to commence promptly.

Does somebody have something against me having any savings?

Anyway.... then I checked my voice mail on my cell... which had been on "silent" all day while I worked on TJ's 10 year old birthday remodel his room present.... and discovered I had not sent a letter of recommendation for a student I said I'd send and that I sent my assistant coach to a soccer team meeting at the wrong location. UGHHHHHH!

My family is planning on going camping on Wednesday. I think I might go today. That is if I didn't have to bike there.

3 comments:

Jackson 9:19 AM  

Sorry dude - sounds pretty frustrating. Janelle and I have been feeling the hurt of having to pay for car repairs lately too. I suppose it's better to have our attempts at saving stymied than it is to have to worry about whether or not we're putting food on the table.

Still, it's really aggravating. When we first got this Volvo (good price from Janelle's boss) I read in a lot of places that repairs were expensive for Volvos. I had no freakin' idea.

monica 10:51 PM  

Hey Brian,
Sorry to hear about all the machinery problems. Its a bummer. I just asked my dad about any good suggestions for the dishwasher. He is a appliance repair technician and all =0). He suggested you going to the sears outlet, they have great deals. They tend to knock off about 1/3 off the actual store asking price. He said kitchen Aid, Maytag, and Whirlpool are all good brands. He also said not to get Frigidaire because they don't make the best dishwashers in the long run. Anyhow hope that helps. Send my love to the Family. Me and Max are excited to see you and Shan come September =0).
Hope you guys have a blast on your camping trip.

brian c. berry 7:18 AM  

thanks Jackson and Monica for the moral and practical support

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San Diego, CA
Husband. Dad. Jesus Follower. Friend. Learner. Athlete. Soccer coach. Reader. Builder. Dreamer. Pastor. Communicator. Knucklehead.

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