Is May over yet?

Kinja'd!!! "Wagon Guy drives a Boostang" (gimmeboost)
05/30/2018 at 02:01 • Filed to: None

Kinja'd!!!0 Kinja'd!!! 5

The month of May has been a roller coaster. I’m looking forward to the ride being over so I can get off.

Kinja'd!!!

Things started off pretty good, with a TireRack Street Survival course for my youngest daughter in her VW Beetle. Her mom had asked me about some extra driving school for the kid since he had been hitting the side of the house with her car. That actually went well, with the instructors commenting that the kid has a natural rhythm and the car is really more capable than they thought.

Then there was thr track night at Harris Hill. Stef Schrader may love this track, but oh god I don’t. The track is in rough shape and in desperate need of a complete re-pave. I watched at one point a Corvette in front of me break a muffler hangar and then do two laps with the muffler bouncing around in the back. After I got off the track I now have a new rattle underneath my car that I still haven’t found. It was fun, but I don’t see going back there any time soon.

Then I got a call that my phone said was from my ex-wife. She had dialed and put the youngest on the phone. She had broken her key off in the ignition in her Beetle. “It’s going to cost $700 to fix and mom wants to know if you could split the cost with us?” I was hesitant, not because the car needed a repair, but because when they bought the thing I argued against it, and after riding in it for the driving school, I saw first hand that it’s kind of falling apart, and it’s only 4 years old. Of course I gave in, daughter likes her car, but that was $350 I wasn’t expecting to spend.

I work nights. I’ve worked nights for several years now, and I’ve grown to actually like it. I always have at least a couple of days off during the week, and really only work half the month. My boss signed me up for some training in May and June. Half of my month has been as a day-walker with the rest of the world. Driving to and from in the peak of rush-hour really sucks. Fighting for parking at work sucks. having to be awake all day and not take a nap sucks. I’m now happy to be back on my night shift with my team, but I have another two weeks of training coming next month.

For months, I have been telling my middle daughter that she needed to bring me her car to get the brakes on her Mini Cooper fixed. She’s had a brake light on since January. Once her college finals were over, she was at my door to get the work done. Great. I had been setting aside cash for this one at least, so took it to a buddy to get the work done. There went another $550, but the end result is a car that is once again safe to drive, with no warning lights on the dash. At least this one isn’t falling apart.

Then came the episode with the pothole. Another $1800 down the tubes. Yes, I needed tires, but I wasn’t planning on replacing them for another couple of months.

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May wore me out. Here’s to hoping June takes it easier on my bank account.


DISCUSSION (5)


Kinja'd!!! Echo51 > Wagon Guy drives a Boostang
05/30/2018 at 02:29

Kinja'd!!!2

Amen to that, and a toast!
My june starts with bi-annual road tax($$$) and quarterly insurance payment($$$) so that’s about all my money accounted for.

Oh yeah, and the cat we had at the vet to get birth control pills for was pregnant already and is probably about to give birth now, soooo.


Kinja'd!!! Stef Schrader > Wagon Guy drives a Boostang
05/30/2018 at 02:45

Kinja'd!!!1

Hey, it’s the race track where my VW lives! Yep, it’s bumpy. It could definitely use some love in some parts, and certainly favors softer suspensions as it sits.

Also, yeah. May was expensive on my end, too. A move, some out of town trips...eesh. I’ve now got multiple bent wheels on the Lancer thanks to Austin’s trash roads that I have no idea how I’m going to afford to fix/replace. :( My 944 feels like the most together car I own, which stinks.


Kinja'd!!! Wagon Guy drives a Boostang > Stef Schrader
05/30/2018 at 02:52

Kinja'd!!!1

That long uphill straight would be awesome and fast if it were only smooth. I did like turns 4-5 with that downhill corkscrew. My car has pretty stiff suspension geared for autocross. At least I wasn’t one of the Mustang drivers who got kicked out for going over the noise limit.


Kinja'd!!! AkursedX > Wagon Guy drives a Boostang
05/31/2018 at 09:56

Kinja'd!!!1

Yeah, this May has been quite the ride now that I think about it. I had Auto-X events or EvoSchool each weekend except the last and my car has run well and I have improved a lot, I am still frustrated by my lack of skill in some elements. I also upgraded to some RE71's after running RT615k+’s thanks to Discount Tires Memorial Day deal.

On other car fronts, I have been without my ‘16 STI for over a month now due to a title issue (The original ‘New’ title was issued with 18800 miles on it and the car only has 9000 on it). My dealer has had me in a ‘17 Fusion Hybrid. The mileage is nice, but thats about it. I hope to have my STI back by the end of net week at the latest.

My german shepherd turned 10 and he has been slowing down a bit. But I switched him to senior formula food and give him a joint health treat everyday and he has bounced back a bit which is nice.

I turned 38 at the beginning of the month and had my yearly physical. They found that my thyroid looked enlarged so I had to go for bloodwork and an ultrasound. While my bloodwork was in spec, I have a nodule that I have to get biopsied tomorrow. Hopefully it’ll be benign.

So yeah, I know the feeling. Lots of highs and lows this month. I hope your June will be more fun and stable. 


Kinja'd!!! Stef Schrader > Wagon Guy drives a Boostang
05/31/2018 at 10:07

Kinja'd!!!1

Ooh yeah, if you take an autocross setup out there, you’re gonna have a bad time. Spokes tried running there a few years and I remember one stiffly-sprung Boxster losing a door, heh.