3 vehicles, 2 people, only 1 that works...

So, what a couple weeks. Somehow Billy, the Operational Manger at work, found out that I had a manageable caseload that allowed me time to think about other things, do side projects, etc. so as you can imagine that didn't last for long. Work was alright this week--the usual frustrations associated with working as a gatekeeping agent and still trying to maintain a Social Worker identity, but whatever. My own problem, right, 'cause I must've known what I was getting into...? Ha ha.

We are, as per usual, fully committed to having vehicles that don't work or break down or whatever. The Pink Polo first went to a guy named Will to deal with the clutch, brake pads and discs, oil and air filter change, distributor cap, spark plugs, etc. We paid 500 gbp for the car, so I knew it would need work. It's the equivalent of a 500CAD car. Will is one of the handy guys that helps Alan out around haying time (ie now) and Alan arranged this while we were in Edmonton. Well, one things leads to another and while Will managed to do the oil and filters and plugs alright, he also managed to tear off the seal between the gear box and the clutch, put the pads and discs on backwards, and do something to the starter as well. So, Adam the kid down the road is the mechanic for VW (wish I'd known that at the time...) and he comes and fixes the brakes and identifies the problem with the starter and the seal. But, he doesn't have the equipment necessary to fix either.

Then in comes Doug. Adam's dad gave my Doug's number, and Doug took the car to his shop on Monday July 30th. And it hasn't been seen since. I call Doug daily and say, "Hey, Doug. Meredith here. Just checking on the progress of my Pink Polo..." and Doug invariably says something along the lines of, "My mechanic's on vacation, it'll be ready in a couple days...My mechanic's sick, it'll be ready in a couple days...We're waiting for a part, it'll be ready in a couple days...., etc." Now, while it might seem the most logical course to just take the freaking thing to another mechanic, but that would be number 4 in the tale of ridiculousness and utter naiveté on my part, so at this point I'm just taking my lumps and waiting. Doug had to take off work early on Friday, but swears it'll be ready for Monday afternoon, so we'll see.

Also, Mike broke down on the A49 on his way into town just now. He is awaiting retrieval and taxi assistance as we speak. His scooter is going to head into the shop and he'll get a loaner. When that happened to me, I had a crap blue scooter loaner for 4 weeks. Hopefully his is better than mine.

Go ahead and laugh--it's alright. It's actually kind of funny. We ditched vehicles for a reason a couple years ago, so this is just a reminder that when we don't need them we shouldn't have them, or something.

Anyway, on to bigger and better things. The last few weeks have actually been alright, aside from the family stuff that's been happening. Erika and Lester were here for a week prior to their return to Edmonton--they're there now. That was wicked awesome fun, and also sad, as we won't see them now for at the very least 11 months, assuming we all return to Edmonton for June '08. Mind you, Facebook makes the world seem really tiny, doesn't it?

So, a couple weeks ago a coworker of mine named Sandra invited us over to her house for dinner and we went by and hung out in their back yard and chatted and had a really good time. Very funny people. Then, last night another coworker of mine named Ruth had us over for dinner at her place in Shelwick, which is just off the back road we use to get into town. We actually rode our bikes, which was fun, but kinda treacherous on the return as it was cloudy so it was like pitch black on the road coming home. Apparently you can get a ticket here for driving without a light on your bike, but they'd have to be able to find us on the dark country road first, right....? Ha!

Otherwise, it's no longer flooding here, and has actually been quite sunshiney. I got a totally wicked sunburn last week at work as we decided to do supervision outside on the bench in the yard behind the building, and it turned out we were back there for like 2 and a half hours. But, that doesn't matter, because now it's a awesome tan, right?

Oh, also, we locked ourselves out of our impenetrable fortress of a house on Wednesday morning. Tuesday night at like 11:30 or so, our upstairs neighbor sounded like he was having either a world-class meltdown/freakout or was getting into a fight with someone else. So, as we normally just leave our key in our front door to prevent ourselves from getting locked out, I got nervous and went and took the key out of the front door and put it on the shelf inside. Needless to say, when we went to have coffee outside in the morning, when the door slammed we both realized that the key was inside and we both just froze and said, 'shit.' There was talk of scaling the side and breaking windows and such, but in the end Saint Alan pulled through and found the spare key. We've gotta get that guy the best Christmas present in the world.

So, next weekend we're off to Ledbury to have beer and chill with another of my coworkers, Geoff. And then from the 25th to the 27th we're heading to Amsterdam to hook up with Claire and ride a canal boat. Well, I'm going on a canal boat. And then, I really can't believe it, Daniel arrives on the 14th of September. My god, that went fast. So, as of today we've been here for 111 days (less 8 back to Edmonton). *wow* Doesn't feel like it's been that long--mostly 'cause when we don't have car troubles we have work or house troubles, and between those 3 things time tends to move very quickly.

All negative stuff aside, it was an altogether good week. I enjoyed my coworkers and my job, and we had some fun. What more can we ask for right? Mid-week I will post some pics of various things we've been up to. Oh, right, we have started a Monday-night Yoga class that one of my coworkers facilitates. Right--me doing Yoga. But, it's a way to pass the time and meet people, so that's cool. Next weekend we're going to an intercultural music event in Leominster at a Moravian Church. Should be interesting--don't worry, it's not a cult.

Hope everyone at home is alright, and that your chilly weather will take a hike and return August to its full glory. Thinking of you!

(((hugs)))