I'm awake. Sort of. Finally Got home from Universal around 3 AM.

OMG, I just remembered my dream from last night. I was a terrorist! I mean, I was me, but for some reason I had blown something up! With a friend! And the police had taken me into custody, and were interrogating me a little, and I was torn between giving it all up in hopes of an easier sentence, or lying through my teeth and hoping they couldn't make it stick! Then I got pissed, because they tried to tell me they'd recovered my bracelet at the scene, and I ALMOST believed them and started to panic, but then saw that it was in my pocket, and wasn't QUITE the same color, and they were LYING to me. And I had to hope my partner in crime was also continuing to profess innocence...

Dude. That was weird.

The Lumina van having died two months ago, and the 1989 police interceptor caprice having lost it's transmission soon thereafter.

Andi has been driving the 89 Caprice to work at 15 MPH for the last three weeks, and I have been driving the Silver 88 Dodge grand Caravan we bought for $50 last summer.

We needed another car.

So, we bought another car.

Yesterday Andi and I drove 30 miles to the dorms next to Valleyfair near Savage, MN. A guy has some cheap cars, sells them to students coming to work at Valleyfair in the spring, then buys them back in the fall. This one was one of a few part of his stock rotating.

As Andi and i rounded the last corner to the dorms, the Silver Grand caravan suddenly died. No amount of coaxing could get it to fire for more than a few seconds. We could see the dorms acrss the fields that are choked with cars during the summer.

We called the guy and he drove over to us and our bumpers matched up somewhat, so he pushed us to the dorm parking lot.

We decided to let the Dodge sit while we test drove a car. the gas tank of the car was nearly empty, and the muffler needs repair, but it seemed ok, and it drove and accelerated smoothly.

So, we bought a red 1990 Chevy Caprice Classic for $500. He wanted $600, but the dead car we drove up in gave me an excuse to haggle. Signed the papers, got copies, we'll get the title as soon as it clears from the student transfer to him.

We went to start up the Dodge, and it started, and ran! I drove the Dodge, and Andi drove our new Caprice, right to the nearest gas station.

I left the Dodge running and went over and decided to fill the tank for her. Topped it off at an even 19 gallons. It was low.

As I got in the dodge to have her follow me back home, I looked back at the Caprice and gasped audibly. Andi froze where she was standing, afraid to look.

Gasoline was pouring out form the underside of the car.

I swore profusely and went to look. Crap. No way we could do anything about it here. I decide to take a chance and drive it home. We have a gravel driveway, and we could put a pan under it while i worked on WTF.

I drove it, as I did not want Andi to be driving a car dripping gasoline. She followed behind me and we headed home.

As we were driving on a relatively slow section of highway, a motorcyclist kept trying to tell me, "you have a gas leak!" I kept trying to shout to him that I was going to get it fixed, but it was too many words. I finally had to bellow, "I KNOW!" to get him off my back.

As we drove home, I kept watching the gas gauge. It was rapidly going down, much faster than the car should suck down gas.

At a little more than 3/4 tank, the gas smell dropped away, and the gauge slowed down considerably. Hmm.

As we took the first exit to Faribault, a cloverleaf, I looked back, as Andi pulled the dodge over to the shoulder under the bridge.

Damn. I made it to the next turnaround I could that kept me from slamming on my brakes, and headed back.

We tried starting it. same symptoms. It might be the fuel filter, the dying only happens when it's hot and low RPMs. We'll see. I looked under the new Caprice, no dripping gas. Hmm.

Andi and I drove home in the new Caprice.

After about an hour, we drive back and got the Dodge. it started right up and I drove it back home.

That was yesterday. Today, I'm still trying to contact my cousin Steve to help me with both cars. I'm going to need a second opinion on whit I think is wrong.

Meanwhile, Andi took the Silver Dodge to work, as it will have time to cool off, at least.

Well, at least we have two cars, with not insurmountable flaws.

Now to go post this ramble in my LJ...

Argh. Car troubles suck.

The only simple thing I can think of for the Dodge is to check the electrical connections to the engine computer and other electrical components. It's possible there's a connection that's OK when cool but as everything heats up and expands the connection shorts or is lost. Pro'lly not the problem, but at least checking that stuff is free.

car~ma Daniel.

My sister wants to go to Oktoberfest. it would be just the two of us. There is talk in the Mom circuit that my sister may have realized she made a mistake when she married the asshat. I'm not sure what to do. I put some Baileys in my coffee.

Oh, Daniel, how frustrating! Much car~ma.

Someone shoot me now. I just spent two hours at the medical walk-in unit to get a cream for my stupid fungal infection. Only, no one believed me that that's what it was. I'm all, "Look. I've had this four times before. Give me the damn cream, and let me go home."

"No, this really looks like a bad bite. Are you sure you haven't been bit by something? How about your neck? Has you neck been stiff? Have you had a bad headache that you couldn't explain?"

@@ "Um, I've had viral encephalitis. I know where you're going with this track of questions. I feel fine except for this itchy fungal infection on my arm."

Where is everyone? Am I going to actually have to do work?

Get to work, bug. Those kids need some tutoring. Or is this some other kind of work?

I'm doing my edits on my book so I'm trying not to socialize. And I'm eating cookies.

I'm here! I went to the library today and then to see if I could trade in some books at the used book store, they only took some. I still have a huge bag left and I'm going to hit up another bookstore tomorrow.

And I went grocery shopping and I have to laundry with the detergent I bought. While I'm doing that I'll be catching up on my dvr'd stuff. And getting serious about cleaning out the fridge.

Get to work, bug. Those kids need some tutoring. Or is this some other kind of work?

Actually, I'm trying to avoid tutoring work for a couple of hours. The students are sending me papers to look at, but I don't get paid for work outside the sessions (I know, I know! I'm such a pushover!), and I have schoolwork that *must* get done by Tuesday. So, I need to be doing that schoolwork. You know...setting a good example for my students!

But I don't waaaaannnnnaaaaa!

And I'm eating cookies.

I'm for this part of the plan, anyways. I'm eating twizzlers. And making a plan with myself of what I MUST complete before I'm allowed to watch Desperate Housewives at 9pm.