Clown Car, Camera Baby and the Exploder

I know how you are all waiting with bated breath to see what has been going on in my life, and now..............your wait is over!

Last Wednesday my F.O.R.D. Exploder started to make the same noise it did a few months ago. I had taken it in in June to have the ball joints replaced. Well, as I was driving to work Wed morn I heard the SAME NOISE again and I started to freak out. Called the shop where the work was done and they could not fit me in until Friday morning. Ok, I will baby the damn car until then. Friday morn rolls around and I take my car down to the shop. They take it for a cruise around the block, put it up on the rack, take all the tires off, check the ball joints, my breaks, my tires and do some general poking around and guess what???? They could not find a SINGLE SOLITARY thing wrong with my car! Are you frikking kidding me? I had been sitting in the waiting room, reading/texting/finger nail biting until the diagnosis was given. It was a huge sigh or reflief but really? What if it comes back? "Well, ma'am, when you hear the noise again drive it straight over." Gee, thanks. Just another instance of a GIRL bringing the car in to have the awful, horrible, ghastly noise NOT HAPPEN for the mechanic.

Later on that day, I called the camera repair shop. Yes, my camera was ready for me to pick up. I drive over there and this is what they tell me: the good news is your camera can be fixed. The bad news is, we have to send it to the manufacturer and it will take 2 weeks to get there and for them to get the price estimate. Then it will take 2 weeks for repair and then another week to ship back. SO you mean to tell me that I would be without my camera for 5 weeks AND you are not sure how much it will cost me???? They tell me it should be less expensive than replacing the lens but other than that, they are not sure how much. No thanks. I took the camera home with me and decided I could wait a while to have it fixed. The camera still takes pictures, I just can't zoom in at all.

2 years ago, before the purchase of the Canon Rebel, we had a Fuji digital camera. The screen went Tango Uniform and we had to send it to the factory for replacement. Well, I was without a camera for Thanksgivign and Christmas and I will not do THAT again. I have no pictures to scrapbook of that years holidays and that is unacceptable!

Yesterday, being I work for an insurance company, Hee Haw sent me an email asking to get a quote on a possible new car purchase. I was enraged, literally shaking, when I received that email. I waited until after my webinar conference was over to start to look at it, only to find out that Hee Haw had called in to my office, spoken with my boss, and got the figures he needed. He ended up purchasing one of these:

His is a darker gray, but nonetheless, here it is. He looks RE-DONK-U-LOUS driving it, and as CHB pointed out, it looks like a Clown Car!!!! That is just icing on the cake! The reason I was so upset about this? He nickel and dimed me out of almost $300 per month in child support, complains all the time about not having any money, and he went out a bought a new car?????? I thought my heart was going to beat straight out of my chest I was so mad! I know I accepted the lower amount of money, I know that he is selfish, but honestly? With all the problems with my Exploder, and knowing that if my car died I am up shit creek without a paddle, I was experiencing some major jealousy over his ability to purchase a new car. Oh yeay, that's because he has an extra $300/month to spend............. but I'm not bitter. Really, I'm not.