so my car overheated this morning on 290 headed to school. i noticed my power steering was going and racked my brain as to if i'd noticed any ATF puddles lately; when my gaze finally meandered over to the temp gauge it was just about at H, as in "what the Hell are you doing still driving me, please." i pulled over, called kz as i turned it off, got hit on by the cares van dude, had a tow truck arrive within 5 minutes, and resolved to wear these attention-getting pigtails more often. i got my hair cut, too. seriously, so much is going on, i could have made 4 posts, but why bother.
haircut: may not seem like a big deal to you, but it's been center-part, straight-cut and super long ever since the "little dutch boy" chin-length incident my junior year of college. and the momentary lapse in judgement that caused the "daryl hanna in her 'splash' era" DIY bangs about a year into my relationship with kz. bless his heart, he didn't leave me. anyway, i promised him i would keep it long for the wedding and then do some serious weed-wacking for all the years of split ends for which i needed to atone. i went to the pricey but reliable salon nearby and had a stylist consult during which i tried to impress upon her that i was no strumpet and really didn't want to add 45 minutes of morning hair-care prep so i could arrive at school looking like a harlot. she complied nicely, took 4" off and gave me a little tykes (tm) 'my first style' angle cut in the front. she said i can come back and try some of the grown up cuts when i figure out if i can handle this much. it looks good so far and i can still put it up, which is all i really cared about. she managed to sell me an overpriced conditioning spray but i balked at the idea of a round brush, a hairdryer, or anything falling under the term "product." the whole shebang still cost me as much as my new water pump (parts cost, that is).
my new water pump: should be here on wednesday. i had my car towed to a nissan dealership down in metrowest. they hooked me up with my battery fix before and i had a good, honest and cheap experience, so i thought going back would be decent. thanks to the tow truck driver's insights, my laptop with my FSM pdf's, and intermittent chats with kz, i was able to tell him that the innermost of my accessory belts had spun off and broken, and the water pump pulley was off-kilter. it's the same belt that drives the power steering pump, so that explains that. i figure that at worst, i drove 2 mi going ~75 with my car overheating; the coolant overflow reservoir was boiling like a popcorn hopper when i pulled over, and steaming like mad. so there's a decent chance that my motor is still ok, but that remains to be seen. they diagnosed a failed bearing in the water pump, which caused it to seize and kick off the belt. good news: i only need a new water pump (~$80) and belt (stock size, $20, thank god). bad news: book labor is $400-500. did i mention we're still paying for a wedding...yeah. i serously considered us just doing it ourselves. other than the when (next weekend? assuming no complications), where (generous friend's garage?) and how (beg someone with a trailer to tote it 45 min north?), it seemed like a great idea. so i'm leaning towards just bending over and exhaling, and letting the dealership proceed next week.
not the most successful first 2 days back at work post-wedding, considering i left at 2.30 yesterday after wasting an hour eating ice cream on the quad, but hey. i'm a married woman now. priorities.
