If I was quiet this weekend it’s because I’ve been immobile outside of family chores, and I didn’t think a second post about running the Burbank Ikea circuit would be very exciting.
The immobility comes from car troubles that have plagued me since early last week and at one point derailed my blog into a discussion on laundry.
I was headed to the gym that fateful day when I heard a pop coming from my engine, followed by what sounded like a rubber band flopping around.
After weeks of screeching sounds coming from the car when it turned on, needless to say I did not wind up going to the gym. I brought the car back home and it has been sitting idle in front of the driveway ever since.
Dad and I looked under the hood and found a completely shredded serpentine belt.
When I say spaghetti in the car, I’m not kidding.
Mondays are street sweeping days, so the car couldn’t stay idle forever. Thus I called AAA this morning and had it hauled off to our preferred mechanic.
Mom and I drove behind the tow truck on the way there, which gave me the opportunity to photo the damage from a different angle:
Luckily for my plans later this week, the issue was fixable in a matter of hours. No need to lose my vehicle overnight.
So I spent the afternoon driving around with Mom doing chores. We stopped by my Grandpa’s complex to pay his rent, got a document notarized and delivered, did some shopping and delivered a few held-up items from Friday’s Silent Auction.
By 3:00 p.m. the car was ready.
That’s more or less where the story ends, but before I left the mechanic I got to see a few of the parts that were replaced. The main one was the busted up A/C Compressor that actually had rubber remnants burned into the wheel.
Pretty incredible.
To some extent I suppose my immobility was a blessing. Earlier today there was an active shooter situation at the Del Amo Mall that’s still being covered as I write this.
I know it’s somewhat cliché at this point (which in itself is a horrible statement on gun control in this country), but it’s hard to imagine that kind of thing happening so close to home.
My family frequents that mall. It hosts our usual movie theatre. It’s where I went to see Detective Pikachu with Aly, and Bumblebee with my friend Juan going back a bit.
This is a bit more visceral than Gable House Bowl was a few months back because I hadn’t been to that bowling alley in years. The Del Amo situation is so visceral that I’m not entirely comfortable with how I feel about it just yet.
So I figure let’s stick with car talk and leave it there.
To any of my local friends who may wind up reading this, I hope you’re safe today.
Jason's Blog - Work in Progress 