When It Rains It Pours & Temporary Bachelorhood

About 2 weeks ago Amy called me on her drive home from work to tell me that her car broke down--overheating, no power steering, heater didn't work, AC didn't work, etc.  AAA towed it to our mechanic and they found that the metal bracket that holds the serpentine belt tensioner pulley in place had cracked.  This is a very unusual occurrence--if that part breaks it is typically the plastic pulley to break not the metal bracket.  The pulley was installed barely over a year ago, so the mechanic was able to get a free warranty replacement from his supplier.  I opted to replace the serpentine belt (since it had been flopping around loose in a running engine), so labor and the belt came to $115.

The same day that I picked up Amy's car, my tooth broke (see prior post).  After seeing my dentist last Monday to start the process of getting a crown more money flew out the door.  Our dental insurance covers 60% towards crown work.  The 40% left for us to cover amounts to $500.

This past Friday I took my car in for an oil change after dropping Amy off at the airport (more on that soon).  I opted for the free brake inspection and tire rotation they offer, and I'm glad I did.  The mechanic called me out to my car and showed me this:

That's a 6-8 inch tear where the tread meets the sidewall.  So I spent most of the day Friday finding a good deal on tires.  The oil change, new tires, and a front end alignment came to $490.

If I had a choice on how to spend $1100 in 1 week it would not be on car and tooth repairs, but such is life.



As I mentioned earlier, I took Amy to the airport on Friday so she could fly to Baltimore to participate in the national Bus Roadeo for Paratransit vehicles.  Last year she was part of her company's Roadeo team that took 1st Place team at the California state competition.  3 of the 4 team members (including Amy) were in the top 10.  At nationals last year in Indianapolis Amy placed in the top 20 and one of her coworkers took 1st place (there is no team award at the national level).  This year there was no state competition in California.  However, Amy was one of the 2 drivers her company chose to send to compete in the national event.  The competition (written test, safety inspection, wheelchair securement, and road course) was Saturday and Sunday.  Amy placed in the top 15!  And her coworker placed in the top 10.

The roadeo is one part of a week long expo on paratransit services.  There are presentations, vendor exhibits, and a variety of workshops.  Amy's company is paying to have her stay for a 3 day "Train the Trainer" workshop.  Amy's current job is to help train the new hires, test them for their class B license (she's DMV certified), and teach them how to be a paratransit driver.  Now she'll be able to do her job even better

In the past year at work:  Amy was asked to join the roadeo team after impressing her boss during a routine refresher training, Amy was invited to apply for the trainer job she has now (better pay, better hours, and better benefits that being a driver), Amy was sent to be trained and certified by the DMV to administer the class B license driving test (her supervisor is the only other trainer who is DMV certified), and Amy was sent to Baltimore for a week (at company expense) to compete in the roadeo and go through more training.  In short, Amy is awesome and her employer knows it.  =)

Amy left on Friday and wont be back until this coming Saturday, so I'm living the bachelor life for a week.



Stay tuned tomorrow for my weekly weigh in.  Spoiler alert:  I lost weight!