Weekend Routines

One of my weekend routines is to fill the Vue with gasoline immediately before or after I purchase groceries.  I had planned to do that Friday, but the lines were crazy busy when I got to the store, and it was no less crazy when I left. 

I did not run errands yesterday, and today when I was out and about, that was the last thing from my mind.  I usually only use 6-8 gallons of gas a week, and the tank is 22 gallons.  So there is no urgency to the matter, but I might want to fill 'er up this week. 

Car Repairs

Finally, my car is repaired.  It was expensive, but less than the cost of a new car, and I have put little maintenance into this particular car: oil changes, batteries, tires.  A couple of other small repairs.  I am thankful that it is done, and hopefully, I can feel confident in my car's performance again for a while.  Peace of mind is worth something.  

Courtesy Van

Unexpectedly, I had to take my Saturn Vue into a repair shop, and I use the dealership, Scoggin Dickey  as per GM since Saturn no longer exists.  I was not planning to take my car in for service today, but when the battery maintenance light came on, I decided that going to the dealership for repair, was more important than getting to work on time, and dealing with a dead battery at the end of the day in the wet and the cold.

Scoggin Dickey has a courtesy van that helps with rides to where customers need to go. I took the courtesy van to work, but had to take a detour by my house, as I had to drop off my purse and cell phone, which are considered contraband at work. I arrived about an hour and fifteen minutes late.  But, I worked late, since the dealership did not call me about the status of my car, having told me they were very backed up when I brought my car in this morning.  Mid-afternoon, I called the dealership, and my car was still in line for service, and I asked to have the courtesy van pick me up from work at 5 PM, no matter.

The courtesy van arrived as scheduled, and the driver called in to check on the status of my car. We were told it would not be serviced until the next day, so the driver took me home instead of to the car dealership.  

The driver said the most extraordinary thing to me:  He acknowledged the service department is very busy, and the loaner cars they have are not being returned at the rate to help new customers, so the courtesy van has an obligation to get customers where they need  to go.  He implied I could get a ride to work in the morning.  I told him I could get a ride to work in the morning, but I would need a ride to the dealership after my car was repaired. 

This man told me he has worked for Scoggin Dickey for 4 years, and was hired as a part time driver, but only recently has been made full time.   I think it is extraordinary that he sees his job as a "courtesy driver" as a responsibility to take care of customers. I have to wonder what kind of employment environment empowers this man to take that kind of responsibility for providing courtesy rides to customers.  This is extraordinary.  

Car Maintenance

So I was congratulating myself about taking a trip over the weekend to charge the car battery. Today, it was a cold and wet morning, and as I drove to work, the battery maintenance light came on.  I was just a few minutes from work, but decided to turn around and take the car to the dealer, Scoggin Dickey, which is across town.  I had no desire to deal with trying to get a jump start for my car at late afternoon, in the cold and wet. By the time I arrived at the dealership, the battery maintenance light was off.  I did not care, I wanted it looked at, this has been an ongoing problem with my car. 

The service writer at Scoggin Dickey said they were very behind from the day before, and I would need to leave the car for the day, at least. I took the courtesy van to my house, to leave off the "contraband items" that I would have locked in my car, because they are not allowed at the prison where I work.  By late afternoon, the dealership had not even evaluated the car.  I was told they would get to it on the next day. I hate being without a vehicle, but I  was able to arrange a ride to work with a co-worker.

Battery Maintenance

The service writer at the auto dealer told me I do not drive enough to charge my battery, that it takes 45 minutes to just start charging. He suggested I get a charger.  Instead, about once a month, I take a long ride in the car, about an hour or hour and a half.  Sometimes I go out of town.  Sometimes, I ride around Lubbock and look for changes. There has been a lot of development in Lubbock, and I like to stay aware of what these changes are.  I had been for a ride in a while, so I went out yesterday.  It was a pretty day for a ride. 

Discount Tire

The Saturn Vue has a tire pressure sensor warning light, and mine went off this past week.  I thought it might be a response to the cold temperatures that moved in this past week, so I did not immediately get it checked out. But, I eventually went to Discount Tire, which is where I do my tire business.  They checked my tires, and the technician said I had one tire that was very low, and I should ask for a flat tire repair, which is free.  It was 5:15 PM on Friday, and they close at 6 PM, and the technician told me they had a two hour backlog.   I had hoped to get my grocery shopping done that night, so I decided to return to Discount Tire the next morning.  The technician suggested that I be in the parking lot by 7:50 AM, as they take the parking lot customers first when they open at 8 AM. I over slept, so did not get to Discount Tire until sometime after 9 AM.  The attendant who took care of my service need was very apologetic about the wait time, but saw I had a book, and I said I did not care how long I waited. It turns out he, his wife and his sons, who are in the military, are all readers.  I told him to thank his sons for their service, and said I did not care how long I waited, I had a good book.  I also told him I had had the tire checked the night before, and decided not to wait for service. He said he left at 7 PM, and the technicians were still working.

I waited less than an hour and a half. although the attendant said it could be two hours or more. I have to think the attendant was instrumental in advancing my service ticket.  He did not say it, and I did not ask, but it makes sense to me.

This is the second time I have had a tire from Discount Tire with a piece of metal in the side wall, and beyond repair, so replacement was less than $25 dollars.  I am amazed and delighted at the service.

I am not sure how they stay in business, but I am a customer for life, based on this kind of service. I also like the free air check service they offer.  I can do my own, but I will gladly wait some 40 minutes, as I did Friday night, to have it done.  It is easier on my knees and back. 

Traffic

Living in Lubbock, we generally do not have much traffic problem.  I am blessed. I go to work before the heavy traffic occurs, and I leave work before the afternoon rush hour. On Fridays, I usually do my weekly shopping at Wal Mart, and get home before the heavy traffic occurs.

Today, I left work and ran a quick errand before I bought gas and went shopping at Wal Mart.  I finished my shopping about 15 minutes later than I usually do.

By this time, the traffic in the parking lot was heavier than usual, as was the traffic on the access road.  It was not so much the traffic, but the craziness of the drivers: 

People were weaving in and out of lanes, cutting in front of cars, and going against the grain of traffic in the parking lot to get to a more advantageous way to move onto the access road.

This was nuts.  This was not the sane driving I usually enjoy in Lubbock.  

I learned my lesson.

Again, a Light

This morning, when I started the car to go to work, the tire pressure indicator light was on.  I drove for about a mile and a quarter, and the light went off.  I had decided not to go back to have the tires checked again, since they were okay, if over inflated, yesterday, and they did not look any different today.

Dashboard indicator lights are wonderful, only if they work correctly.

Driving

I live down the street from a fairly new YWCA facility.  In the summer the place is very crowded, and the customers park on the street. The parking on the corners made it difficult to see oncoming traffic. I contacted the city councilman for my district and asked if "no parking signs" could be placed one or two parking spaces in from the corners.  That happened.

Yesterday, I was driving down the street.  A car was coming out of the parking lot to this facility.  The driver came out of the parking lot and almost hit my car, coming into the lane I was driving in.  I slammed the breaks on my car to prevent the accident.  I don't think the other driver even saw me.  

That angered me a little.  This isn't the first time that customers for this facility seem to drive as if they own the street.  Mmmmm.

Crazy Driving in Lubbock

I was driving through Central Lubbock about 2:15 today, and saw a couple of crazy maneuvers.  I was at the intersection of Indiana and 50th, as I was going East.  The South bound lanes on Indiana at this intersection are a right turn lane, 3 straight ahead lanes, and 2 left turn lanes.  When the light turned greed for the South bound traffic, I watched as a car in the center straight  ahead lane crossed the two lanes on its right to get into the CVS parking lot on the Northwest corner of that intersection.  Their was a space, but also vehicles driving South in both lanes.

So, I turned South at Indiana, and was in the left most lane.  There is a light at the intersection of Indiana and 58th St., and going South there are 3 straight ahead lanes, and one left turn lane.  As I approached the intersection, the light changed to green, and the first car in the left turn lane crossed well in front of me to the middle straight ahead lane, and continued South on Indiana, eventually working its way to the right most lane. 

Hmmm. The first driver cut it close with the traffic going South, the second driver had lots of space to make his move.  But it still is not a usually accepted practice. 

The Strange Little Man at the Gas Pump

So, when I approached the gas pumps this morning, they were all full, but I chose to pull up behind a man who was already well into the act of filling his Hyundai.  Or, so I thought.  As I sat there, watching him fill the gas tank, he stood there and stopped and started the gas pump. Over and over and over again. Until it became comical. But so it continued, and continued, and continued. Until, finally he was using his hip to bump the car.  I can only speculate that he thought that the more he bumped his car, the more the gasoline settled, and he could load more.  When I went up to the pump to fuel my vehicle, it was interesting:  he paid $25.01 for gasoline.