Gotta Gripe!

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-06-2003
Gotta Gripe!
3
Wed, 12-01-2004 - 12:21pm

Sometimes ya just wanna scream!

Dad had bought a 1995 Windstar about 3 months ago; he let me trade it for DH's 1986 Buick, and has told us to pay him back ($1300) whenever we can, even if it's years from now. SO, all that was well-and-good.

We got all psyched up for our T-day trip to the in-law's, in Abilene (about 8-9 hours north of us). See... we have a history of problems on trips to Abilene. EVERY time, something goes wrong and we end up having car trouble about 200 miles into the trip; a brake light goes out and we get pulled over by a cop, or a fuse blows and we lose *all* our lights at 3am, or a hose blows or *something,* KWIM? We had been driving my 1992 Explorer, and thought maybe it was jinxed, so we were taking the van this time. I'd been driving it around town for the whole time, and never had a single problem with it.

On the trip up there, and *while* we were there for four days, everything was peachy. The car ran like a dream, got excellent gas mileage (for its size), and there were no snafus.

So, we thought we'd broken the curse.... silly us.

On the way back, about 250 miles into the 500+ mile trip, we hear a funny "fluttering" sound. I call dad (he's a mechanic), and he thinks maybe a belt's fraying ("Oh, great," I think...ha-ha), so we should pull over and check. Well, as we pull over into a rest-stop 20 miles north of the next town, the "fluttering" turns into a knocking, which gets louder and louder as we slow. DH gets out, opens the hood, and the belts all look fine... and then two truckers, Terrence and Darren (sp?) walk up, and say "Sounds like you've got a *big* problem.... sounds like you threw a rod." I call Dad, let him listen, and he concurs. I started laughing hysterically so I wouldn't cry.

We're 20 miles outside the nearest town, parked at a rest-stop on the side of the road, with the van loaded up with Christmas presents we're bringing down, and the truckers offer us a ride into town (Thank You again, wherever you are!) while we wait for Dad to drive up (4 hours!) with a trailer to load up the van. We accept, and I get my first big-rig ride (at least *something* fun happened that day!), then we walk to Lowe's, spend 2 hours looking at paint chips, go eat at a Cracker Barrel, and then walk to a hotel bar to await my folks. We all got home at about 2am the next morning.

The really good part is that I now have to buy an entire new engine for the van; we evidently drove it too long before realizing there was a problem and the entire block must be replaced. There goes $700+. I asked dad what caused the rod to go, and his response: "Bad Luck." At least it wasn't my fault, 'cause I maintained the thing perfectly, as did the guy dad bought it from (old customer of his). Grrrr.

And to add to it, this is the same week we have to pay CCCS & RENT! Thankfully, we can finance the engine, but having to pay for it means we cannot buy any Christmas presents (we'd already stretched the budget and covered *his* side of the family, but not mine), so I'm bummed out. My anxiety attacks have started again, so I'm having to cough up an (un-budgeted & unexpected) $40/month to cover meds. The cost of the trip (Paying extra for Dad's Truck's Gas - towing KILLS mileage) bumped off our savings completely, but we've scraped together enough for CCCS. DH's next paycheck will be short b/c of the trip (no paid vacation), so we're going to be about $100 short on rent, and that's if we don't buy ANY groceries for this week. Since we were up in Abilene, we have no fresh foods at all, so Ramen it is! LOL. Just when I thought we were doing okay again... GGRRRRRRR!

I know things will improve in the long run, and that they *could* be a whole lot worse (Oh, please, no!), but sometimes I just gotta whine and get it all out. Mom & Dad are alright with not getting presents this year, as I'm sure most of the rest of my family will be (but they'll get some really cool hand-made cards!). Our Landlord will work with us on the rent, and we'll catch back up and be able to make all our bills. We had hoped to make another Abilene trip for X-mas (foolish pride!), but that's not gonna happen. In fact, I don't think we're going to make another trip until we're wealthy enough to afford brand-new cars with roadside assistance and all that. And, with our luck as it is, there's no WAY we're flying. LOL.

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Avatar for cl_beckymk
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
In reply to: squeegee19
Wed, 12-01-2004 - 12:46pm

HUGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I so know of what you are talking about "the if I didn't have any bad luck I wouldn't have any luck at all" type of thing...just always seems to hit at once but trust me, it does get better eventually a little at a time (and I don't blame you on the flying one!!

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-14-2004
In reply to: squeegee19
Wed, 12-01-2004 - 9:37pm
Heavens, I thought we were the only ones who lived way the heck south in Texas (harlingen). Of course it totally reeks what happened to you, but you can still have a Christmas. Go out and tour all the lighted neighborhoods, go to the free church musicals, and visit the heck out of friends and family. A cool gift for the parents could be a scrapbook of yourselves, etc., with pix you've taken throughout the year. They love that kind of thing. And anything is better than skipping a CCCS payment!!!!
Sympathizing on the border, BB.
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-06-2003
In reply to: squeegee19
Thu, 12-02-2004 - 9:23am

That's a good idea, but we're not really picture-taking folks. :o) Yeah, we're stuck down in the lowest of the low parts of Texas. LOL. I'm not too bummed (yet) about not buying presents for my family, but I am going to dig through my fabric stash and see if I can't get something made for each of them before then.

ITA. We've been doing so well with them lately, and have paid off nearly 10k of the debt this past year; just three more years to go, and I certainly don't want to risk blowing it now! :O)

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