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Danielle and I took Roxie over to the Orion Oaks Dog Park today, where she got a bunch of exercise and lots of time to play in the lake, which was making for a very nice day. However, right as we pulled out of the lot, something went weird with my car and the engine came under lots of load, nearly stalling. I quickly made a U-turn, pulled back into the parking lot, and rolled into a space just as my car stalled.
A quick investigation under the hood while trying to start the car showed that something along the serpentine belt‘s path, as there are both visible metal shavings (small and glitter like) around the belt area, the belt was smoking slightly after the car ceased running, and an attempt to start the car made the engine jerk and rock as if there was an unreasonable load on it.
It didn’t take very long for the tow truck driver to arrive, and even more fortunately Bob and his wife Debbie came out to wait for the tow truck with us and then drive the three of us back to my area. Getting the car loaded on the truck was fun because there wasn’t enough space in the lot to directly align the truck with my car, so as the driver winched the vehicle on to the flat bed I hung out of the vehicle steering it (with no power steering) in reverse so it’d move straight on to the bed. Then, do to a slightly similar situation at Shelby Tire (my preferred local shop) I had to slowly roll it down the ramp and into a parking spot.
After getting the car situated at the shop and dropping the key in the slot and Roxie at my house the four of us set out for dinner at Azteca’s, a wonderful Mexican place located in a strip mall just north of M-59 on the west side of Mound. Note that this place is not to be confused with the much less good local chain Grand Azteca, but it is located very close to Erma’s Frozen Custard, the perfect place to head for dessert after eating.
Now everything is set and it’s just time to wait and figure out what it’ll take to put the car right again. Thankfully Danielle is here and I’ve got leftover biryani from Friday’s dinner, so I should be able to get a ride to and from work and have no need to go out for food. I considered biking in, but even with the new panniers I’ve yet to figure out an effective way to carry a laptop, without which I can’t do my job. Instead I think I’ll leave the laptop there tomorrow and try riding in on Tuesday.
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