Some of you may recall that in the spring, we had to shell out 5 grand to replace the engine in our 10 year-old Camry. It took our entire tax refund, my SS check, Mr. W's pension and part of his pay, plus the quarterly Wal-Mart bonus. * Luckily, we had enough food in the fridge and dried beans, rice etc. ( I am really good at stretching, lots of soup and stews) to make it through the 2 weeks, and a landlord willing to wait for the rent because we have never been late.
Now the car is is intermittently refusing to start. Mr. W is taking it to the dealership tomorrow to have them figure out what's wrong and have it winterized, etc.****
I am not happy. I just need to whine. You would think that since they had the car for 3 days in the spring and worked on it to the tune of 5 grand, they would have fixed everything and looked for other possible problems. Apparently not.
Sometimes it feels like every time we take 2 steps forward, we have to take a leap backward. I also realize that in the grand scheme of things, this is minor. We are alive. We are are healthy ( I lost 15 pounds once my thyroid meds were adjusted, and Mr. W's ankle issues are responding to treatment). We have a roof over our heads. It isn't a terrific roof, but we do have an apartment. We have food. We have clothing. We can afford cable and the occasional movie, small luxuries. Our 3 cats are good. Things could be much, much worse. Trust me, they have been.
I turn 70 on Tuesday. Last year was the first time in 10 years that we could afford to give each other presents. We were able to buy a Barbie to donate to a local charity. We weren't scrimping to do Xmas dinner. We were able to.invite the guys he worked with over for dessert. Those are small things, I know. But for us, they were huge.
This year? Depends on what needs to be done to the car. I think we really need to replace it with a new one, but after bankruptcy, getting a loan is hard. He will be looking into a dealership.loan, likely at a ridiculously high rate, but that may be our best bet.
We will.manage. I know that. Don't worry about us. Really, don't. I just needed to vent, so I am not burdening my husband with my whining. Sorry, Kossacks, but I don't want to dump this on my two closest friends because they have their own issues right now. One lost her job at the age of 60. The other has a child struggling with depression and a husband who was laid off a few years ago and now makes half of what he used to.make and travels for his job 70% of the time, so she is almost a single parent. I just needed to vent. Good thoughts are appreciated.
Wish I could blame this on Trump. I will say that the damage he has done to the country hasn't helped, and those that already have money, seem to be taking greater advantage of those who don't. That Toyota dealership is owned by a man who pretty much has a monopoly in the area. He is the only game in town, and he exploits it. We would have to drive to Connecticut or Boston to.find a Toyota dealership he doesn't own ( He also owns Honda and Nissan dealerships). He has his customers by the balls and exploits it. Small time Trump type. Having the Cheeto in the White House just makes it easier. The Culture of Greed has been strengthened. The poor and working class get screwed with.more glee.
****Some of you auto buffs may not understand why we aren 't more knowledgeable about automotive matters. Just because you know something , doesn't mean everyone does. We all.have different talents and skills sets which reflect those talents.
Here is an example.
You need to buy a new suit. You go to the store, find one that mostly fits and then may have it altered to.fit perfectly. How many of you could start from scratch, but the fabric, cut out the pattern pieces because you NEED a damned pattern, baste it together, fit it on yourself or a dummy with your particular measurements, and then finish it, add the lining, etc.? Probably none of you because you don't in the skill set, don't care to.learn the skill set and accept that other people with the knowledge will d o a better job. Besides, you just want to.buy the suit, not become a tailor.
Try remembering that when you are tempted to be condescending to.me because I don't know how to do X with the car, or even understand why X is necessary. I am not a mechanic. I have no interest in becoming one. I don't care how the car works. I just want it to work.
The same way you just want a suit that fits you and could care less about the tailoring process. I wrote this because last time I wrote about the car, I was lectured by car buffs who like to tinker and couldn't understand why Mr. W and I weren't at their level of knowledge.
*Yes, Wal-Mart gives quarterly bonuses to.employees. My husband does Online Grocery Pickup, carrying the orders to people waiting in their cars. He has customers who ASK for him. He has a fan club He has been featured on their website a couple of times. He pets dogs, tells jokes, got people singing Xmas songs last year, talks to kids. If he had gone into politucs, he would probably be a Senator, because he is smart and funny and genuinely liked. he goes the extra mile to.work.with them. He listens.His store is smaller than the Superstores, but does the most business in his region because he and his co-workers work their butts off to make sure customers have a pleasant experience. They do NOT get tips, but customers actually go online or call to praise them-- and that helps them earn larger bonuses. So if someone at Walmart does a good job-- take 5 minutes and let corporate know. They keep track of it at both local.and regional levels.