Life Goes On-10/31-Miles, Owies & Boo's

My mother's car is due for its Safety Inspection and Emission check prior to getting it Registered and Licensed. By the end of this month. Oh, ya, it's the end of the month. That's not to say I haven't had plans to get it done earlier, it's just that for a variety of reasons today became crunch day.

This cars road miles are few and far between and mostly jaunts of less than 5 miles each way. My curiosity got me to wondering if it had even gone 1,000 miles in the last 12 months. Hah! Less than that with only 688 miles. With that in mind I'd previously decided it needed the similar pre-emission test Road Trip that my little blue truck gets: get on the freeway and travel approximately 60 miles North away from congested traffic to blow out the carbon in the engine. (This is recommendation from the tech at the County testing station when my truck failed emission, and he learned it had spent most of the previous 4 months sitting in the driveway. It worked.) So, up earlier than normal and head out. 60 miles later I exit and do the McD's drive-thru for a diet coke and head back the same 60 miles. Next stop was the car service shop I use to get safety and emission.


Imagine my surprise to drive up on the last day of the month and find my choice of all parking spots along with open service bays. What?! The place should be loaded with all the last minute people like me but I'm glad it's not. Inside there were no patrons in the waiting area and I'm beginning to believe I'm living in an alternate universe. Keys turned over and I get my choice of chairs. Timing is everything! Five minutes later 2 other customers are in the waiting area and within another 10 minutes 4 more customers have filled up more chairs. One of those was a young mother who brings in a stroller with a toddler and baby. I was impressed by her ingenuity using her foot to rock the baby in its carrier while balancing a tablet on her lap that was playing cartoons for the toddler while she texted on her phone. Impressive.

Being first in the queue it wasn't long before my name was called and the car was done. It passed with flying colors.  Next stop is county DMV and the drive-thru renewal windows. Oh, now I know where the waiting line is. All three lanes 4 cars deep and it s-l-o-w progress. Took about as long to get the renewal sticker here as it did to get the car inspected and emission tested. However, finally done and this days task is completed.


NEXT on the to-do list:
The tooth troubles have continued and I need to confirm with the dentist what he'll probably tell me: ROOT CANAL! Call his office and get the answering machine saying to call back at 1:30pm after they return from lunch. Okay, I give them until 2:00pm but again got the answering machine so this time I leave a message explaining my problem and ask they call me. No call returned. Yikes.

NEXT on the to-do list:
A Cancer connection? Because I'm in the Nadir portion of my treatment and possibility of infection or abscess of tooth I'm not sure what the implications are, so I call my C-Dr office to ask if there is anything I need to know or do? The chemo nurse called me back later and after some discussion phoned in an order for heavy-dose antibiotic to be taken prior to a root canal.

NEXT on the list:

Oh, as I'm preparing the bowl of treats for the Trick-or-Treaters I realize the dental office may have taken the day, or afternoon, off to prepare or do school kid things today. Hope they call me in the morning and it isn't the 'off' of their every-other Friday they work.

BUT, we did get a few doorbell ringers so I could get rid of some of the goodies that were ready for them.



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