Long time no post

I know, I know...I have become a blog slacker again. I update Facebook with small posts so often that I don't bother to come on here and write long posts. It is also a matter of convenience, I can write a quick Facebook post from my cellphone. When I am home, my time on the computer is usually consumed by Team Fortress 2 (At least it is a better addiction than WoW...."Hi, my name is Mike, and I have been WoW free for over 1 year now")

Anyway, where to begin. I guess with the Jetta...what a fucking fiasco that has been. So, back on June 19th, the Check Engine Light came on. I had taken it to the shop a few weeks prior because I knew it wasn't running right, but that shop said that everything looked fine. So, this time, I took it to a different shop, and their first comment to me about the engine was that the dipstick had shot most of the way out of the engine! Turns out that the camshaft wore down to the point that the exhaust valve didn't open enough and exhaust went backwards through the intake and down past the piston rings into the oil pan causing the dipstick to dislodge itself. Not only was the camshaft worn, but 2 of the followers had HOLES IN THEM.

So, camshaft + followers + oil cooler (because of metal flakes) + timing belt (it was about due) + water pump (came w/ timing belt kit) + oil change + labor = $3800 Fine...get it fixed, pick it up on Thursday and go to take the Rabbit to my sis in B-more so she can borrow it till she leaves for Fla. The shop is near BWI...by the time I get on 295 North-bound just inside the beltway, I am now broken down. Car lost all power, let out a huge cloud of smoke, and sounded awful. I got the car over to the shoulder and called the shop while they were still there. They towed it back and still have it (and never called/emailed this afternoon to give me the update like they were going to).

So my master plan to have all of the bills paid off once the BMW was sold is now shot to hell because of car repairs. Oh, and the day after I found out how much the Jetta was going to cost to get repaired, we got a huge rock chip in the windshield of the Rabbit so now need to put in a new one. Also, the front tires on the Rabbit are down to the wear bars (when we were taking it to VW for service they didn't rotate the tires) so I am getting tires for the Hufs, putting the Hufs on the Jetta and the Biolines (Jetta's rims) on the Rabbit. Bills are now doing better, though, now that the BMW is sold (to Carmax unfortunately b/c in this economy, no one will pay that much for a used car...not even a BMW dealership). We don't have that monthly car payment anymore + we got a good chunk of money to put towards bills.

There are more stories to tell, such as the new desks, Chrissy's b-day party, and our day-trip to Cape May, but I actually need to "wake up" soon to go to work. Joy! Thanks for listening to me rant.