Sometimes, you just shouldn't even bother.

The A/C in my Volvo hasn't worked for some time, and in Texas, that means that the car is about six weeks away from being unusable.

Seriously.  Like, I would have to take a change of clothes for each stop along the way, and it would be cooler and more comfortable to take a bicycle, or perhaps put myself in a commercial oven and have a truck take me where I want to go.  My car gets HOT, and no way to cool it off in Texas?  Useless.

So I took it to a highly reputible mechanic, and he confirmed that indeed, when you flipped the switch, there was no air blowing.  Using his super-technical mechanical skills, he determined that my blower moter was out.  Thanks, Dude.  Price?  "Well, it IS a Volvo.."

Uh huh.  So I scraped together the funds for my repairs (thanks, Mom and Dad), and I gave the go-ahead.  Yesterday, I got a call from him, and he told me that there was ALSO a "bad relay." 

Bad Relay?  Turns out it was actually some electrical part that costs well over 150 bucks, and he was NOT talking about the time my swim coach made me swim backstroke at a meet in high school and the other teams lapped me during my Fifty Meters of Backstroke Hell (I SUCKED at backstroke, y'all... who wants to swim on your back where you can't see where they are going?  That's fucked up).  I was also informed that I was not getting my car back yesterday.  Life is SO much fun!

So today, when my mechanic called me, I was really excited, because I just KNEW it was all fixed, and I would be able to drive in refrigerated goodness in no time at all.

Or perhaps not.  Turns out I have a "hole in my core."  Don't know what the fuck that means, but I'm out of money, so for the next month, I'll have AIR blowing in my car (a vast improvement) but it won't be CHILLED air unless I have a Slurpee in front of the vents (a method that is both ineffective AND expensive... just like our goverment).

Am I upset?  Not really.  It won't be "fuck you" hot for at least another month, and I'll perhaps have a new "core" by then.  And if you feel sorry for me, don't.  I have no car payment, and haven't for years.

Nothing but a gem... solid to the core, I would say, even.

I am in a similar sitch. I have a 13 year old Nissan that runs great - except well the heater is stuck on. Yep. If I chose to dig around for three hours pre-summer I can usually cause the air to to just trickle out, but I have to reverse it for winter. (I live in San Diego though so it's a bit cooler, yet I am no where near the beach here)

The joy. And yes having no car payment and super low insurance has made it all worthwhile. I should have fixed it a few years ago, but now it seems like it's too late.

Not like I drive much because I am trying not to be an oil slut, but when I do it's a bit cozy.

a great big Hello to you!
sorry to hear about your car troubles....damn texas and it's heat. i love it here though. we have a little bit of everything...we have beach, we have plains, we have green, we have mountains, and we have desert. not to mention, cactus.
i almost sat on one...you know, the little tiny ones that kinda blend in with nothing that i should have seen anyway? yeah, those kind.
the heat here is unbearable, well, in another couple of months it will be. i just can't wait! i live north of houston and the humidity mixed with the hellish heat just almost makes it unbearable. oh and not to mention the lack of trees which seems to be accumulating....and the pavement...oh the pavement. acres and acres of pavement! all of which contribute to the heat.
i have a 02 honda civic, its pretty spiffy but the air conditioner, i haven't got to try it out yet, but im hoping the air conditioner is just as good as the heater.
lol, i used to be on a swim team too. i hated back stroke, that was my worst, but oddly, i got a few first place ribbons doing that. My best stroke, which everyone thought was weird, was butterfly. i did it kind of funky, but that didn't stop me from giving everyone else a mighty good spanking!
well, before this turns into a novel, i'll let you go and write you later!

bye bye!
-Lea!