Subject: Weekend Update: January 5-9
Date: Tue, 09 Jan 2001 16:46:52 -0500

In the 60s, there was a TV show called F-Troop and Henry Gibson would
occasionally guest appear as "Wrongo Star".  He was so named because
things would fall apart if he only came near them.  Such has been my
lot since Sunday evening (and before).

My 1990 Plymouth Acclaim has been wheazing and limping along for
several years on bubblegum and baling wire, so we have begun our
search for a replacement car, considering both new and pre-owned
vehicles.  Last week, I test drove a Mazda Miata; a car that has
infatuated me for some time now.  But like many infatuations, the fact
has difficulty living up to the fantasy.  It was very nice, but it
didn't say, "BUY ME NOW!" like I wanted it to say, and the saleman
wasn't in a rush to make it worth my while.  So I began to look at
some more pratical cars, doing much more research and tapping into
friends such as Eric Magnuson who would prefer to go car shopping than
just about any other activity.  And I mean that.

Since then, we've stopped into this and that dealership with the smug
knowledge that we would take our time and get the right car at the
right deal at the right time.  I figured I would take up to March 31 -
the last day of the month and the quarter when salesmen are hungriest
to sell.  Saturday, we did the same thing, combining other chores with
a stroll through a dealership parking lot.  We put some cars on the
list for consideration and started seeing some previous ideas start to
lose their luster.

The weekend was relatively quiet, other than the spa room was
getting drywall installed. Not much else was happening, until
Sunday afternoon.

Sunday afternoon after church, the van turned over with a "chug,
chug, chug."  That's odd, we thought, but the car moved and seemed
okay at traveling speed.  I checked the antifreeze before coming
back to church in the evening and it was a half a gallon down.
I topped it off and ran the engine.  It took me all the way to
church as it has for many years.  After church, the van would
not turn over at all.  Going over all the symptoms, I figured
that I blew the head gasket on the way home in the morning and
by topping off my fluids in the afternoon, I gave it all the
opportunity it needed to seep antifreeze into the engine while
it was resting in the church parking lot.

Larry and Marge Ogden graciously gave us a lift home.  I called
for a tow truck Monday morning.  My wife informed me that the
dishwasher was leaking water into the spa room where the
new drywall was hung the days before.  The mechanic informed
me Monday evening that the engine wouldn't turn over manually
either, which could mean that I need a new engine for about
3-4 grand.  (I hope it can be torn down and rebuilt instead.
Either way, I'm staring at four digits on this one.)

I got a ride to work that Monday morning so that Joy could
take the younguns to a Monday afternoon dentist appointment.
(Getting stuck in the church parking lot the night before was
a God-send in that I would hate to have Joy stuck out on the
road somewhere.) It wasn't until 7 PM that she returned so
I was getting worried about the Acclaim that she was driving!
(Not to mention dinner being so late! ;-) Hey, I can open
a can of ravioli and I proved it!)

She came home all right just as I was finishing off the
Chef Boy-ar-dee.  Then she asks me, "did you see the blood
in the spa room?"  I hadn't checked it since I was home.
It seems that one of the workers (the least experienced of
the three) tripped while on his stilts.  His coworkers tried
to catch him but he cut his hand on one of their tools.  I
spoke to the workmen on Tuesday morning who told me that he
took 35 stitches and severed a tendon in his hand. They said
he thought he'd take a couple of days off.  Yeah, right.

I am afraid to call the mechanic for a more detailed diagnosis
on the van.  I would have preferred the car to die instead of
the "family van" because I could shoot the car and leave by the
side of the road when its time comes.  It looks like Gracie needs
to hang in there a little while longer.  Meanwhile, I may have
to move my timetable up on the replacement vehicle, and I don't
really want to rush that.

All in all, things could be worse.  They really could!  I just
hope that they don't get worse.  Just in case, we're scrambling
for our helmets.

Mark
--
+---_-----------+ Mark Metcalfe, metcalfe@cadence.com
| c a d e n c e | Cadence Design Systems, Inc.    Phone: (978) 446-6451
+---------------+ PCB Systems Division, Technical Communications Manager