Taking Back The Garage

Now that the basement is almost completely finished, I decided that the weekend would be spent trying to clean the garage enough to allow one of our vehicles to be parked inside.  I have always taken great pride in the fact that, unlike some of our neighbors, we could actually park both vehicles in the garage and still have room to walk around them.  When we decided to start working on the basement though, all that changed.  I still took pride in being able to park in the garage, I just couldn’t.  It’s amazing how much room sheetrock, lumber, bathroom stuff, etc. takes up.

All Aboard!

In an effort to further reduce expenses associated with commuting to and from work, I’ve decided to quit my job and become a ward of the state through the glories of the welfare system.  Actually, that’s not exactly accurate.  What I meant to say is that I’ve started taking UTA’s FrontRunner service to and from the office.

About a month ago, Holly mentioned that Weber State students are able to get free bus passes.  These passes also include passage aboard FrontRunner, Utah’s version of a “high speed” commuter train that runs from Ogden to Salt Lake and back again.  While I question these alleged high speeds, it does a nice job of getting me to work in about the same amount of time that it would take me to drive.  It’s also free for me since I’m a student so it’s really a no lose situation.  The only downside is if I miss the train.  Waiting on the platform for 30 minutes until the next train arrives isn’t fun.

Death’s Icy Embrace May Be Near

I think that I’m dying.  As I type this, I can barely breathe, my chest hurts, I’m sweating profusely, and I want to go lie down.  No, I’m not sick.  I’m just physically exhausted from pushing our car half a mile to our house.  This is probably confusing to you so let me start at the beginning.

Our 1994 Dodge Colt has 198,000+ miles on it and has been trying to completely die on us for the last few years.  We’ve managed to keep it going by replacing the clutch, transmission, fuel pump, and distributor.  Over the past few months, the car has been able to drive shorter and shorter distances each time we take it anywhere.  This hasn’t been too big of a deal because the weather has been warm meaning that I could drive my scooter.  Now that it’s getting colder in the mornings though, I’ve been wanting to be able to feel my fingers when I get to the office.  Yesterday I drove the car into work knowing full well that I might not get home.  I was right.  It died half a mile from the house.

Thank Goodness For Helmets

No, I didn’t crash my scooter.  I am grateful for motorcycle helmets though.  Have you ever been shot by a BB gun?  They hurt.  Lots of stinging and usually a nice welt for the next hour or so.  Well, driving on a scooter at 55 miles an hour is a lot like getting shot repeatedly by a BB gun.  There are lots of little bugs that would normally hit a windshield when you’re in a car that hit your face, hands, arms, and neck when you’re on a scooter.

This morning as I was driving to work, I got hit by at least three big bugs on the visor of my helmet.  One of them left a nice little splat the size of a dime.  I’m so glad that it didn’t hit me in the face because it would not have felt good.

We’re Fuel Efficient

With gas at nearly $4.00 a gallon, Holly and I are looking for any way to save money that we can. We don’t do a lot of driving but I manage to go about 30 miles each day to and from work and Holly seems to be spending a lot on gas for the van. She doesn’t drive far but costs seem to be adding up due to the fact that it’s a van that doesn’t get great gas mileage.

We’ve been talking about it for a few years, but after running some numbers, factoring in current, and probable future gas prices, we finally decided that it was advantageous for us to purchase another vehicle. No, we didn’t get a hybrid and we still have both the van and the Colt. We bought a scooter.