Busy Weekend in Early March
Monday, Mar. 10, 2003

So, I haven�t said anything about what�s been going on in my life since last Tuesday. You�d think that was a sure way to keep me from talking about what I�ve been having for lunch lately, but I�ve been meaning to at least mention that.

Currently, I�m back on the black beans/Texas beans/Ranch beans with Tuna. But I�ve recently discovered the Cambell�s premium (or whatever they call the soup when they ape Progresso) Italian Wedding Soup and pretzels. In fact, I�m sure nearly anything is better with big pretzels crunched up in it.

Those tires I ordered Monday, got a shipping confirmation Tuesday moring, were waiting on my doorstep on Wednesday. They ship them just two strapped together with nylon bands with the shipping label on the treads. As soon as I brought them into the house, Mouse hopped inside and fought off all cats for the next few hours. Then lost interest. Velvet got on the tires I laid on their side and did her best barrel roller imitation. Though with her she�s almost getting crushed by them, or running them into a chair (an Ikea Ellne, for those googlers who hate me for mentioning my Ikea furniture without reviewing it (if you want to know about them, email me)).

Tires were put on Thrusday for $31. That�s mount and balance on all four tires. So, $200 tires + $33 shipping + $31 mount n� balance = about $270. If I�d gotten them from Sears they would have cost more.

On the way home from work Thursday, they felt kind of muddy and soggy. I thought it was due to extra weight of the tires or something. Also, the car felt higher than normal. Well, checking the air Friday morning made me realize that it was the back passenger tire was only inflated to 18 pounds. The car felt higher since I was facing a little upward. I put all the tires at 35 lbs, which gives me some good grip, but probably wears my tires prematurely.

After the air, we ate at Atlanta Bread Company. Yes, I didn�t go to work. Aisai and I were both off to go to the INS (immigration and naturalization services) in Bham and also the travel clinic there in The Kirkland Clinic (which abbreviates themselves as TKC and not just KC).

I had my normal breakfast thing. Sesame bagel (69 cents) toasted with cream cheese (another 69 cents) and a medium (I refuse to say tall for them) coffee ($1.39 or so). Aisai got not anything that she normally gets, but stuff typical for her. She ordered a sandwich ($3) which ended up being as big as her head and was a little oily (crossant, swiss cheese, egg, bacon) and a Heath Cafechillo ($4). The only other people in the place, besides the workers and one family, were lots of college gals, not in a group but solo, eating bagels with cream cheese and water. Not a bad way to hang out reading your English Lit assignment for only $1.40ish. �I�m not loitering. See, freshly used bagel garbage.�

We hit the road and got to the INS easily. It would have been more helpful it the driving directions Aisai printed off the internet said �It�s at the airport�, which it was. And while the airport is nice, the INS office is a dump.

Aisai was called first to have her fingerprints done. Aisai, by the way, doesn�t understand any Spanish. While she was joking and being in awe of the super-cool finger print computer, a Mexican man who�d been living in the US for a long time (legally) was about to have his world turned upside down. All the conversation was in Spanish, and it went about like this (but this is very simplified):

Man (about 40, with Son about 20): I didn�t get my paperwork so that I can stay and work.

Bald INS man goes and gets paperwork.

BINS: Why were you arrested in Los Angeles in 1982?

Man: (silence�stalling silence)

BINS: 1982? Los Angeles?

(pause)

BINS: You lived on 182 Olive Street?

(and Olive Street was said in English)

Man: No.

BINS: No?

Son sinks in seat more, as I was doing also trying to hide from this conversation.

Ends up the man was on drug charges. Hmm, poor fellow. Don�t do the crime if you can�t do the time and then get deported to Mexico.

The fingerprinting machine was very cool. Your finger prints aren�t just simple lines that swirl. You�ve got nearly octopus like suckers on those lines. Very cool. I had a little damage to my right pinkie and a chunk missing from my left ring finger that I didn�t know about. All this was free (since we paid them $400 or so earlier).

When we left, we saw the Mexican man�s family in the minivan waiting in the parking lot. His grandson really thought my Miata was cool.

We felt we were running late, and Aisai had bad Yahoo Maps directions to the Kirkland clinic. We got as close to it as Aisai knew from memory and ate at Burger King. Rather than getting my normal, a Whopper no ketchup no mayo and then adding Iguana Gold sauce to it, I have a Western Whopper no ketchup no mayo, and then added Iguana Gold Sauce to it. The difference is bacon and some cheddar cheese. I think I liked the addition of the bacon, but I�m not fond of cheddar. Plus, the Gold sauce is kind of an island curry sauce and cheese and curry don�t mesh in my book.

Aisai called the clinic and we got there with their directions. We were about three blocks away. We knew this, but we didn�t know which way to go.

I was vaccinated for Measles, Mumps, Rubella, Diphtheria, Tetanus, Typhoid, and Hepatitis A. I also had the titer for my Hep B vaccs I got from the city a few years ago done. Aisai got the same minus the MMR and add Hep B vaccs. Her arm started hurting from the Tetanus that day. I never really got an ache from it. She also got sickly on Saturday, where I just got weak. But on Sunday, we were both wrecks. We went to worship, but had to go home before classes. I felt like I was going to throw up all day, I still don�t feel so hot.

Oh, but the drive home from Birmingham: The car was tracking oddly. When I�d accelerate, it would push (I�d say pull, but I know what was going on now) right. When I�d remove power, it would pull to the left. Well, it was that pesky rear passenger tire. I had assumed that the shop had improperly inflated it, but no, it had a leak. When I pumped it up, within 7 miles of home, it had 16 pounds of pressure.

Since I knew it had a leak, I pumped it up to 37 since I�d be below 30 after a while.

Saturday, I took the car in and they replaced the valve stem. It was messed up. Many people stared at my car there. One young boy liked it too much and I�m glad his mom talked to him about getting too close to it. No one touched it. I�d hate to freak out on a stranger�s little boy. Just�no touchy my painty. (fanatical spazm face)

When I got home, the car was nice and warm, as was the day. Oh, it was a great day. So was Sunday when we slept all afternoon. But when I got home I changed the oil.

I had rethought the Castrol GTX for the Miata and had picked up some Castrol Syntec. Aisai�s car can slum with the GTX on her next oil change. I also decided to try another filter, the Bosche 3330. Now, it�s unfortunate that it�s the 3300 that fits my car. Aisai ended up calling AutoZone after 20 minutes of my trying to get it to thread on. We had to get the Miata off the ramps so the Focus could get out of the garage. Aisai pushed as I steered. (She�s afraid of the manual transmission, which really didn�t matter since there was no power to the car since there was no engine since no oil, yadda yadda)

So, another $5.50 for another filter that doesn�t seem to have a backflow preventer but costs as much as the Purolator PureOne which does. Then we go for Taco Bell and a drive over Monte Sano Mountain, and then stop at Aisai�s mom�s house.

Brad, my nephew, was there as well and we ended up going on a drive over Green Mountain while Aisai acted as tech support for her mom�s printer and cell phone. It got cold during the drive so we had to stop put the top up. Tom, Brad�s dad, called about something and let Aisai know that Brad had a really good time driving around in the Miata. It had never occurred to me. See, I do that all the time.

Really, for less than $8000, I got a near perfect 10 year old Miata. It�s very fun. And it�s odd that people with $35,000 SUVs envy me. Heck, they could buy my car 4 times. Or three times and get superchargers for all of them. Or twice and get stage II turbochargers (so 400 hp rather than 128). Or get one, put on the Stage II turbo, Koni adjustable shocks, whatever those good springs are, new sway bars, a roll bar, get a hard top for the rainy months, and go for a handful of vacations to the Bahamas.

Hey, man, it�s whatever your priorities are.

Addendum: At Taco Bell on Saturday, I got a double decker taco and a nacho supreme. I�m used to getting double decker taco supremes but since I got the nacho supreme, I thought that too much supreme at once might be bad. Sunday night, we also had TB and I got a double decker supreme and a nacho supreme. I was right, too much supreme at once. In fact, though I�ve always got the DDTS, I think I like the DDT better.