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.
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.