Except for when I was in Boston and the occasional trip out to the Subaru dealership because of a good deal on something or other, I haven't taken my car to anyone but Pete. He's a friend of my uncle's from Mechanic School and I trust him, because my uncle trusts him, and he's never let me down.

Anyway, so I got up yesterday morning, did a bit of work and then got on the horn to Pete, who told me to bring it in after 9 am the same day. If I did that, they could drive me home, work on the car during the day and have it for me that afternoon! Hooray!

So I took the car down there and Bob, the one-armed mechanic, drove me home. (Seriously, the guy had one only arm. I couldn't bring myself to ask what had happened for fear it was a car-repair-related injury. And also, it seemed rude to ask, "so dude. What happened to your arm?" So I held my tongue and continued to think up possible scenarios for arm loss, all the way home.)

I was back at home and back at work by 10 am and shortly thereafter, Pete called me back.

"Your brake pads. They're worn out," he said.

This was becoming a theme. Shortly prior, mdmhvonpa had left a comment suggesting same.

Obviously, I was not surprised by this diagnosis, since Pete had told me on the phone that he thought it was that based on what I told him. However, my left front axle was nearly broken, also, he said. And that, apparently, was critical: if it busted while driving it would destroy the transmission, which costs upwards of $2,000 to repair. So he quoted me the cost of the axle replacement, I gave him the go-ahead for both repairs (what else could I do?) and asked if they could change the oil too, while they were at it.

And then I cried.

And then I got back to work. When Bob the One Armed Mechanic showed up around 4:30, my car was waiting for me - all happy and fixed up. And it now drives like a champ and Pete didn't even charge me for the oil change! BONUS!! :)

When I got to Boston in the fall of 2004, I'd had the front right-side axle replaced. Seems I'd driven on it for god-knows-how-many thousand miles from Portland to the east coast. I did hear a not-so-happy sound for a good portion of that drive and it's only by luck that I managed to make it there without any trouble. So now I've got two good axles in the front, fairly new tires and wheels and another 30,000 miles before I need to replace the timing belt again.

My LORD but cars are a pain in the rump! Still, given the planned journey north in two weeks (of a couple hunnert miles) and a trip to the coast before that (if it works out) I'm glad this all came to a head now rather than then. It was a slight inconvenience yesterday - especially considering how much work I had to do - but again, better to have gotten it done and out of the way.

Today, I'm thinking Rennie and I will head to the park for a little while - it is beautiful here in Portland but not too warm and the exercise will do us both good. Happy June, everybody! (And oh-my-god, can you believe it's already June?? Where did the time go?)

Oh yes - and speaking of my vacation, I'm still collecting book ideas! There have been some great suggestions so far - several I'm considering! I think what I'll end up doing is taking the whole list of suggested books to the library before I leave for my trip and checking out as many as I can find. When in doubt, choose them all!! (I just love the library. :)