Rough Roads

The 2009-10 school year was a tough one. There was no one thing on which I can place blame for the toughness; but, since it didn't kill me, it has presumably made me stronger. If that's the case, I should be quite the strongman by summer's end, for the first few days of post-school have made me actually want to go back to work.

Things actually started out pretty well. I finally received my IRS refund, which was promptly re-directed to credit card bills, putting me within a month of getting one card wiped out. Saturday morning, I was suited up and on my way to Boerne Lake for the Trisition workout, when the battery light on Buckbeak began to flash. The car was later dropped off at the local garage who had answers for me: As expected, the alternator was shot. A new one would be ordered (to the tune of $400, plus $200 in labor), plus another $100 or so to fix the engine coolant leak. Good thing I nearly had that credit card paid off.

Sunday was expected to be an eventful day. It, too, began awesomely enough with a 50-mile outing with D--- through the New Braunfels area. After that, it was off to drive a bus for the band's performance at graduation, which, apart from the lack of A/C for part of the trip, went fine. However, just as we pulled in to the Coliseum, N--- called; her grandmother in Ohio was found slumped over in her room at post-surgical rehabilitation facility and could not be stabilized. She was not expected to last the afternoon. Sadly, she did not.

N--- did some checking and airfare is just too outrageously expensive for me to go. Add onto that my still trying to get admitted to TAMUK for grad school, arranging for a house inspector, managing Marzipan, and getting my car fixed. Fortunately, N--- is at peace with this; her grandmother is no longer experiencing the physical discomforts of this world and is, rather, "with the Lord." A real concern is how her grandfather will adapt to life without his partner for the past half century. There is family close to him, but, if you think about it, say a little prayer for his well being.

I chatted with the mechanic about an hour ago, and the car was still having electrical issues, even with the new alternator installed. As expected, they're working on it. That, I suppose, is really all we can do to work on our own charging needs: to "work on it." Despite my impatience with wanting my car back (got to get N--- to Austin airport tomorrow morning for her flight out; Frontier had no available flights out of SA until Thursday), I realize that some things just cannot be rushed, especially if you want them fixed properly.

Again, say a prayer for the Joneses (N---'s mother's family) that smoother roads may lie ahead. Thanks for reading.