This ain't any usual day, that is for sure...and this is not by pure coincidence...that it happened just to add to the stress that I'm already feeling...now that my graduation recital is slightly short of two weeks...
I was looking forward to violin class today...Somehow, for godness knows what reason...I started off my day with a good spirit...I think it is one of the wonders of the world...that I am able to blog and share...without inserting an expletive or two...here and there...
With much determination, I decided to leave my house on time this morning...instead of being the usual 5 minutes late that I always was...especially for violin class...I felt completely at ease...it was a traffic jam all the way...but I didn't mind...nor did I care...I had the time to spare anyway...and five minutes on the road...a needle burst my bubble of happiness...
I forgot to bring my violin...it was sitting in my room...probably reflecting sadly and chiding me for forgetting the very thing that I left my house for...how absent-minded...never mind...that just allows me to reach my violin teacher's house just on time...so I drove back home...and OUT again...
Have you ever read about the Murphy's law??..."whatever CAN go wrong, WILL go wrong"...One of the most famous sayings of the year...I used to smirk at it...tease it...and call it a bluff...but I'm starting to believe it...as you will understand as you read on...
I was nearing the Sungai Besi highway, almost reaching my violin teacher's residence...when I smelt rubber burning...damn, that is not good, I thought...probably its the brakes...never mind...fix it later...then I switched gear to allow a car to over take me...and that was when I saw it...SMOKE...
Shit, the engine is burning...I stopped...in the middle of the freaking highway...and slowly guided it to the left side...but it was smoking so hot, that in a moment of panic, I turn off the car engine...even before I made it to the emergency lane...
Put on the hazzard light...no panic...I am, after all, a very experienced person...when it comes to cars breakin' down, I am blessed by it so much I've lost count...and you don't wonder...my car has been on the road for bloody 26 years!!...Heck, it is older than I!!...so its no surprise that this old baby breaks down on me...its time for me to give it an over-haul...but because the car is so antique...the spare-parts are almost obsolete...thus, making it freakin' expensive...
Lifted up the bonnet...that babe was so hot, it create condensation on the pair of specs that I was wearing...can you believe it...my car engine is even hotter than the environment around me...which is already one of the hottest day of the year so far!!...
I had to let the engine cool down first...before I could speculate what went wrong with my car...so there goes my violin lesson...I called my mechanic...because he lives so far...it would take him an hour to reach where I was (inclusive of the time being stuck in traffic)...so while waiting for him, I walked down to the toll office to get some nice guys to help push my car to the side...I can sense the traffic slowing down already...all obviously curious about what this sweaty, perspiring girl, with a bunch of wire as hair...and no hair-band to push her hair down...was doing...abandoning her car...in a quest for walking a mile long...to goodness knows where...
I certainly chose a wrong day to dress nice...long skirt, high heels...a shirt NOT made of cotton and DOES NOT absorb sweat...is definitely not ideal for one to go for a stroll on a hot day...let alone walk a mile long...by the time I reached the office, I looked as if I just jumped into a swamp...and out of it...not pleasant looking at all...but surprisingly, was in a good mood...don't ask me how...God sustained me...
I managed to push my car into the emergency lane...traffic seems to be moving faster now...less busy-bodies around...then I planted myself against my car...blasted my mp3 player...and sang to the heavens...I don't think the angels have heard a scarier version of Armando's Rhumba, than mine...
Mechanic came...and told me his diagnosis...I promise you...I don't hate this guy...he is a nice guy, my mechanic...doesn't treat me like a dumb blonde...and takes his time to explain to me several things that was wrong with the car...but I have to confess I am afraid to hear him speak...because it seems to be (though it wasn't so)...every sentence he brings forth, burns a hole in my pocket...its an additional hundred here...a fifty bucks there...yadaa, yadaa, yadaa...the pains of being an owner of a 26 year old car...
I managed to get the car fixed before the clock strike 11pm...that is almost 12 hours, since the break-down happened...lets just say that though I endangered the lives of probably millions of people on the highway...by suddenly switching off the engine at the last minute...I managed to save myself half a thousand bucks...if I were to continue driving, my engine would have brunt through...and I would have to get a new engine...now that several parts are burnt, I just had to pay for the spare parts...and workmanship...and that was almost half a thousand bucks as well...
Head gasket changed, valve gasket, 4 water jackets, fan clutch oil, engine servicing...labour...well, I don't think I am being over-charged...but its not like I had a choice...so...there goes my half month pay...I think I will have to stick with oat meal for a couple of weeks now...
And you would have thought my worries for the car was over...
"Hey, you gotta change your wheel bearing, before your wheel falls off completely." ( I took the liberty of translating it to English for reader's convenience)
"How much will it be if I fix it...and can I do it later?"
"Sure...it can last a week...it will be RM150 at least"...
I'm telling you...if it wasn't for the manual gear and its driving performance that I enjoyed so much...I would have sold this car to a junkyard...and even they don't want it!!...I am paying for this baby's health until my nose bleeds...heck, this baby even has an insurance...and the owner (me) does not!!...
And this is followed by a 2 hour black-out in the middle of the night...causing me to lose a few hours of sleep...
Tsk...Murphy's law...heesh...
I was looking forward to violin class today...Somehow, for godness knows what reason...I started off my day with a good spirit...I think it is one of the wonders of the world...that I am able to blog and share...without inserting an expletive or two...here and there...
With much determination, I decided to leave my house on time this morning...instead of being the usual 5 minutes late that I always was...especially for violin class...I felt completely at ease...it was a traffic jam all the way...but I didn't mind...nor did I care...I had the time to spare anyway...and five minutes on the road...a needle burst my bubble of happiness...
I forgot to bring my violin...it was sitting in my room...probably reflecting sadly and chiding me for forgetting the very thing that I left my house for...how absent-minded...never mind...that just allows me to reach my violin teacher's house just on time...so I drove back home...and OUT again...
Have you ever read about the Murphy's law??..."whatever CAN go wrong, WILL go wrong"...One of the most famous sayings of the year...I used to smirk at it...tease it...and call it a bluff...but I'm starting to believe it...as you will understand as you read on...
I was nearing the Sungai Besi highway, almost reaching my violin teacher's residence...when I smelt rubber burning...damn, that is not good, I thought...probably its the brakes...never mind...fix it later...then I switched gear to allow a car to over take me...and that was when I saw it...SMOKE...
Shit, the engine is burning...I stopped...in the middle of the freaking highway...and slowly guided it to the left side...but it was smoking so hot, that in a moment of panic, I turn off the car engine...even before I made it to the emergency lane...
Put on the hazzard light...no panic...I am, after all, a very experienced person...when it comes to cars breakin' down, I am blessed by it so much I've lost count...and you don't wonder...my car has been on the road for bloody 26 years!!...Heck, it is older than I!!...so its no surprise that this old baby breaks down on me...its time for me to give it an over-haul...but because the car is so antique...the spare-parts are almost obsolete...thus, making it freakin' expensive...
Lifted up the bonnet...that babe was so hot, it create condensation on the pair of specs that I was wearing...can you believe it...my car engine is even hotter than the environment around me...which is already one of the hottest day of the year so far!!...
I had to let the engine cool down first...before I could speculate what went wrong with my car...so there goes my violin lesson...I called my mechanic...because he lives so far...it would take him an hour to reach where I was (inclusive of the time being stuck in traffic)...so while waiting for him, I walked down to the toll office to get some nice guys to help push my car to the side...I can sense the traffic slowing down already...all obviously curious about what this sweaty, perspiring girl, with a bunch of wire as hair...and no hair-band to push her hair down...was doing...abandoning her car...in a quest for walking a mile long...to goodness knows where...
I certainly chose a wrong day to dress nice...long skirt, high heels...a shirt NOT made of cotton and DOES NOT absorb sweat...is definitely not ideal for one to go for a stroll on a hot day...let alone walk a mile long...by the time I reached the office, I looked as if I just jumped into a swamp...and out of it...not pleasant looking at all...but surprisingly, was in a good mood...don't ask me how...God sustained me...
I managed to push my car into the emergency lane...traffic seems to be moving faster now...less busy-bodies around...then I planted myself against my car...blasted my mp3 player...and sang to the heavens...I don't think the angels have heard a scarier version of Armando's Rhumba, than mine...
Mechanic came...and told me his diagnosis...I promise you...I don't hate this guy...he is a nice guy, my mechanic...doesn't treat me like a dumb blonde...and takes his time to explain to me several things that was wrong with the car...but I have to confess I am afraid to hear him speak...because it seems to be (though it wasn't so)...every sentence he brings forth, burns a hole in my pocket...its an additional hundred here...a fifty bucks there...yadaa, yadaa, yadaa...the pains of being an owner of a 26 year old car...
I managed to get the car fixed before the clock strike 11pm...that is almost 12 hours, since the break-down happened...lets just say that though I endangered the lives of probably millions of people on the highway...by suddenly switching off the engine at the last minute...I managed to save myself half a thousand bucks...if I were to continue driving, my engine would have brunt through...and I would have to get a new engine...now that several parts are burnt, I just had to pay for the spare parts...and workmanship...and that was almost half a thousand bucks as well...
Head gasket changed, valve gasket, 4 water jackets, fan clutch oil, engine servicing...labour...well, I don't think I am being over-charged...but its not like I had a choice...so...there goes my half month pay...I think I will have to stick with oat meal for a couple of weeks now...
And you would have thought my worries for the car was over...
"Hey, you gotta change your wheel bearing, before your wheel falls off completely." ( I took the liberty of translating it to English for reader's convenience)
"How much will it be if I fix it...and can I do it later?"
"Sure...it can last a week...it will be RM150 at least"...
I'm telling you...if it wasn't for the manual gear and its driving performance that I enjoyed so much...I would have sold this car to a junkyard...and even they don't want it!!...I am paying for this baby's health until my nose bleeds...heck, this baby even has an insurance...and the owner (me) does not!!...
And this is followed by a 2 hour black-out in the middle of the night...causing me to lose a few hours of sleep...
Tsk...Murphy's law...heesh...
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