Eli ([personal profile] eub) wrote2002-09-23 09:37 pm

cars are from hell

Now that a replacement arrived for the car title I lost somewhere in the move, the plan for the day was
3) register car in WA, which since it's a '97 means
2) get the car emissions-tested, so it's good luck to
1) top off the tires.

Unfortunately some of my valve stems are the ""convenient"" no-cap ones, and one had gotten gunked up enough that when I finished filling the tire it wouldn't re-seal and I was frantically fishing for a ball-point pen and sticking the plastic cap into it while the air ran out. Finally I got the valve ball reseated, but the air left was not enough to drive on. More quarters for the air dispenser. Eventually I got the valve down to a slow leak at the same time as the tire had a bit of air in it. Time limit of a few hours to fix it before it goes flat; adds piquancy to red lights. The guys across the block didn't do tires, but suggested Les Schwab up past the cemetery.

So I cooled my heels there for an hour and a half (busy day). The crosswords were all filled in. I still had that spare copy of Ada in the back seat that I'm trying to unload, so I read that. A book that in a tire-shop waiting lounge takes some concentration to get into.

They got it done, though, and charmingly charged nothing for it, which was a nice gesture that made me less annoyed with the afternoon (can't hurt sales either). Stages (2) and (3) of my master plan are rescheduled for tomorrow.