Tuesday night...

Sorry for the lack of regular postings. I don't know what happens when Patrick leaves, but I really do think that somehow I start morphing into a slug.

The concert on Friday night (Wilco, in Asheville--Patrick's birthday present from me) was fabulous. I'm not a huge Wilco fan, not like Patrick, but I really enjoyed the concert. Jeff Tweedy (the lead singer, and main guy) is one of those rare performers who sounds just as good--maybe a little better--live than on the studio recordings. Very unusual in these "Ashlee Simpson" lip sync performances we've become used to. The opening band, Rose Hill Drive--they're something else. Completely opposite Wilco. They play rock. Straight-up. Hard. Loud. Rock. I was trying to figure out who their influences may be, but I think those neurons were pounded into submission by the bass line. Rose Hill Drive is comprised of three guys, I think the oldest is maybe 22--and I must say that I'm impressed with their drive. I took a look at their tour schedule...they're all over the place, all the time. They were going to be in London 2 days after Asheville, then 2 days later back in the States. I think that for the next 2 weeks they didn't have a single free date. You may not like the music, but you've got to take your hat off to these boys who have that much drive & determination to tour like that. But again--they. were. loud.

We got back to the car, and it died when I tried to start it. Patrick said twice, but it was only once. And it died right after I started it...and Asheville was a bit cool, so I thought maybe the car is just cold. (It had stalled that afternoon, but I was driving slowly up a hill, and sort of rolling backwards a bit, so I chalked that stall up to the fact that the car was confused.) But, to ease our minds, the car's "Service Engine Soon" light came on. Great. Last time it did that, we ended up putting in a new battery. Oh yeah. And an alternator. So we weren't happy, but we just trucked on home; I vowed that we wouldn't stop...I figured we got it going, so we'll just push her until 1) we get home; or 2) it explodes.

We get up & out on Saturday, and figure we'd go to Fall for Greenville. It's a huge annual celebration; the paper said that 150,000 people were there this past weekend...it's HUGE. The entire strip of Main street for pretty much all of downtown & the side streets are all blocked off. They've got lots of various restaurants selling food (you buy tickets & the tickets are good for food, beer, rides, etc.). We started off with Fried Green Tomatoes with Smoked Cheddar sauce; then had an authentic Cornish Pasty w/beef (pronounced "pass-tee" not "pay-stee"); then we had Teriyaki chicken w/rice; some good raspberry sweet tea; I think Patrick sampled a local brew, Thomas Creek...their stout...what was it--Dunklebock? Something like that? Anyway. He was most pleased. So we just walked around, ate, people-watched; walked down to the Falls park & waited until the people who were swinging on our swing left, then we sat & swung. The swing is at this great vista, where you can see the falls straight on, and the pedestrian bridge is above it. Very picturesque.

But oh, yeah--the fun that we had--that we were supposed to have had on Saturday. That happened on Sunday.

"So what happened on Saturday?" you ask...well, we attempted to get to Downtown. But when we tried to go up the hill, my car started lurching. I pressed the accelerator to the floor. Switched to 1st & 2nd & back to drive...still lurching. We pulled in to the nearest pull-out & tried to call to get the car into a shop now. Unfortunately, because we got in late the night before, we were a little late in getting out. It was 2pm on Saturday. CarMax (where we bought the car & the extended warranty....) isn't even open for service on Saturday. Nissan wasn't taking any more appointments. The local shop that we went to for the alternator I know wasn't open that late. So we were, in effect, up a creek without the proverbial paddle.

We lurched home. I switched from profanity to prayer, and back to profanity. I'm not sure which worked, but we chug-chug-chugged back to the apartment. We nixed the idea of going back into downtown that afternoon--we figured we'd start fresh, and with the truck.

So...it's 3pm on a Saturday. What to do for fun....oh, I know!! We can go to the storage unit to get Patrick's winter clothes!!!! And while we're at it, we'll take my summer clothes back, along with the kitty carriers! Whee!! So we trucked on over to the storage unit, where I displayed my monkey-like prowess with clambering over the Atari, standing on the TV, and nimbly making my way to the exercise bike, where I proceeded to haul up duffel bags & boxes that I think are Patrick's winter clothes. I think those are his, because they're the only things in the unit that aren't marked. See, I know this is hard to believe, but I'm somewhat, shall we say, anal, about certain things. Like marking boxes so that when one is trying to figure out what's in a box while perched atop of an exercise bike, one can do it quickly & effectively. So, I handed over a few boxes & bags, and Patrick handed a few back for me to put in their place.

I think that's pretty much what we did on Saturday.

Sunday we did have fun...lots of wandering, spending the day outside (was fabulous--blue sky, perfect temperature, nice breeze)...just being with Patrick.

Then the fun began on Monday. We got the car over to CarMax, where the service area opens at 7:30, but the service techs don't come in until 8, and then they don't start taking cars back until 8:15. So why are they paying people for 45 minutes when no work is getting done? Why not have the techs come in at 7:30, or open for service at 8:15? I don't get it. But anyway. They hooked the car up & found that it was the mass air flow sensor (regulates the ratio of fuel & air...too much or too little & you don't go. Which is pretty much what was happening. I wasn't going.); but they also found a large bit of carbon buildup on the fuel injector ports, AND my transmission fluid was dirty. I know that the transmission fluid is a maintenance thing, so nothing I can say about there...but good heavens--I've only had the car 1 1/2 years, and it's only a 2001!!!! So, I figure it's best to get everything taken care of...luckily the mass air flow sensor is covered under the warranty--I only have to pony up $50 for it. The other stuff...well, it ain't cheap, but it's "routine maintenance" (though I'm not sure how "routine"--I had Christine, my beloved Camry for 210,000 miles, and never cleaned her fuel injector ports. Though in hindsight, maybe I should have....maybe that's why she was so tempermental.).

The warranty does provide for a rental car--"basic transportation." The rental car guy needed an impression of my credit card, just to make sure that I didn't steal the car (* which, on thinking about it, makes me laugh--how much can the car be worth that a normal person's credit card would cover the cost of replacing it?????)....I asked him what kind of car it was; I hadn't seen it, he'd just come to CarMax (which is nice--they bring you the car & pick it up for you when you're done, so you don't have to drive all over creation)--and he told me it was a Chevy Cavalier. I said, "Yeah, you'll be getting the car back." Luckily he laughed.

So this afternoon, I took the sweet ride that was the Cavalier back to CarMax to pick up my car...who is all better, after a modest amount of greenery was thrown in CarMax's general direction.

I talked to the CarMax guy, asking him why all this stuff needed to be done (and I brought up the alternator from July)...he said that Nissans are known for being bad for carbon buildup on the fuel injectors...great. He said that I can help it by putting a higher octane gas in my tank. As far as the alternator & mass air flow sensors...he's said he's seen them go out in brand new cars. I didn't ask if they were CarMax cars, or just cars in general....but he did tell me, very nicely, that I can call the warranty folks, explain what happened with the alternator, and they'll be happy to reimburse me.

Great!!! I call the warranty people up; talk to a very nice but very humorless young man who pretty much assured me that they'd deny my claim since it wasn't pre-approved. I pointed out that an alternator isn't usually a "spur of the moment" purchase--it's usually because it's needed. I think it's just their policy to deny all claims. But, with Patrick in Lancaster today & tomorrow, then Belmont on Thursday & Friday, I really don't have anything better to do that to write a letter to the warranty people.

And, as Patrick will be beginning a new assignment in Lexington, KY (that's about 5 1/2 hours away, for those of you who have your atlases handy) on Monday, for about 3 weeks, I'll really have nothing better to do than to appeal the claim that I'm sure will be denied.

Stay tuned for the upcoming saga of How Chauntelle Got Reimbursed for the Alternator (or, How Does One Bored Wife Harass The Heck Out Of The Extended Warranty Company). I'm sure it will be riveting.