Alleluias and Car Woes

First off, let me say Happy Easter to all my friends and family out there. My Easter Break went very well for the most part, and I was able to celebrate the holiday with my immediate family. Our Easter started out at a packed Mass, but at least this time we had seats in the Church as opposed to the other occasions when we sat in the balcony. When we got home and before we did anything else, we took a family picture on our couch, along with some Easter decorations:

Then my mom took a picture of me and our dog, Halo, on the couch. I was wearing my "Where my peeps at?" shirt that I got for Easter a couple years ago. Notice the yellow candy Peep that we all know and love.

After all the pictures, we started cooking our Easter lunch/dinner, and also made some hard-boiled eggs. My brother had to work at 4:00, so we decided to eat around 3-3:30. We had a brown sugar ham, scalloped potatoes, broccoli, crescent rolls, and a carrot cake for dessert. Boy was that stuff good! My mom had decorated the table with Easter baskets, eggs, and flowers, and wanted me to take another picture. So, here it is:

Afterwards, we spent the evening watching movies and ordered a pizza for "supper," not to mention a little bit of that Easter candy! All in all, it was a very fulfilling and relaxing day, and a very Happy Easter.

Now that I've gotten the good story out of the way, it must be some time for a sad/depressing/bad story. You may recall that I have had several car-related incidents over the last two years. Well, I guess I wasn't done with those incidents. After Easter Mass, as we were trying to leave the parking lot, I couldn't start my car. My dad and I looked under the hood for a minute, and he adjusted the battery lines just a little bit. I tried to start it again, but this time it actually worked. We all speculated why this would have happened, and I suggested that it could be a starter problem, however, no one agreed with me. After that, I really didn't think anything of it, and just went on with my life.

Monday afternoon, I had several errands to run. This included going to the bank, getting my oil changed (I did have to drive back later that afternoon), and getting some lunch. Once my mom and I got to Wal-Mart to do the oil change, the attendant couldn't get my car to start to move it into the garage. After many futile attempts, he decided to test the battery, and found that it was "dead as a doornail." So, he recommended that we buy a new one from the auto section, and since the old battery was purchased there, we knew exactly what to buy. That cost me about $75, and he said he would install it himself. After doing that, he attempted to start up the car again. Once again, the car would not start. He couldn't explain why this occurred, but speculated that it could be an alternator problem. Unfortunately for us, Wal-Mart doesn't do work like that, so we had to make other arrangements. By this point I had gotten hungry so we went and got lunch, and called my dad to explain everything. He decided to come down and take a look to see if this was work he could do by himself, but quickly determined he could not, due to the position of the alternator in the car.

We then decided to try and get the car towed to a mechanic that we have used on several occasions. However, since it was getting later, we thought it may be difficult to get the car in before closing time. So, we determined that I would have to stay an extra day and miss my Tuesday classes, and get the car fixed that morning. But, being my persistent self (mostly because my mom kept telling me to be optimistic), I tried starting the car one more time, and it worked. We then immediately drove downtown to the shop I mentioned, hoping that they would have the time to work, or at least determine what was wrong.

When we got down there, they were surprisingly not busy. They looked under the hood right away and quickly gave their diagnosis and estimate. It turns out it WAS the starter (as I had suggester earlier) and I got an estimate of close to $300. I really didn't have much of a choice, since the lady who owns the place told us Saturn starters run expensive. (She ordered a rebuilt part, so that price was very reasonable when compared to a new one. Plus, I was paying for the convenience of having all the work done that day.) The work itself took about an hour, and we were out of there before their 5:00 closing time. So, after all was said and done, I had paid a little more than $400 to get a new battery, a new starter, and fill up with gas. I still hadn't gotten the oil changed, but I decided just to add some fresh oil and get the oil changed once I got back. I eventually left home around 8:30 and pulled into the parking lot here around 12:00. Not only did I unload suitcases, etc. but also a cooler full of candy, the leftover pizza, and a couple of hard-boiled eggs.

Now I am back at school for the last month of the semester. Not only is the last month the time for final exams, but it is also when all of the professors want to throw in projects and papers. As of right now, I have a paper due next week and two tests on Monday. I haven't looked over the syllabi lately, but I know for sure there are more than that coming up. But, I am looking forward to summer, so as long as I keep that in the back of my mind, I should get through all of this just fine.

Well, that's all I have to write tonight. I hope everyone had a great Easter weekend, spending time with friends and family, hopefully. I know I will enjoy the next few days as I finish up all those yummy Cadbury eggs...