Can't Decide

Today was... difficult. I had talked to Master last night about how if the car was still making the loud power steering noises and was still hard to turn sometimes by the time I got to work I would be leaving work early to go back to the mechanic. They had wanted me to stop by after work today anyway in order to take a look at her anyway to make sure everything was okay. But I got anxious as I was getting worried. What if that quick fix on Friday didn't work?

So I called the mechanic and asked when I could come in. I wanted to get there as early as possible as I was starting to worry more and more. They told me I could stop by anytime I wanted. So I made a quick decision to leave at noon. It was a lot earlier than I had anticipated but my worry got the best of me. I had already talked to my supervisor and he said I could make up the time and then some.

Okay cool. So, off to the mechanic's I go. And it's not good news. Her rack and pinion needed to be fully replaced. Fuck me. Add to the fact that I already knew that the outer tie rods on both sides needed to be replaced. The dollar signs kept passing through my head.

So I made a few calls. I couldn't keep driving her like that without putting myself in more and more danger. Let alone her being on the interstate five days a week with a forty-five minute trip one way. I was able to scrape the funds together and told them to do it all. Go big or go home I guess. I think our account cried a little once that charge came through. Although honestly, they gave me one hell of a deal. We've been going to them for quite some time now and being loyal apparently pays off. They cut the bill damn near in half of what it normally would have been. And even the original price would have been less than what other places had quoted me. That doesn't mean it was cheap, but it was less painful than it could have been.

She should be done by noon tomorrow morning. So I obviously won't be at work tomorrow morning. The only thing I'm trying to figure out is whether I should still go to work tomorrow after I get the car back. If it's at noon, I'll be going out to work for 4 hours basically. I would still need to leave on time as things need to be done. Plus, I would have to go to work Saturday. Or, just take the whole day off tomorrow, unpaid, and still go into work on Saturday. Either way I lose my Saturday and go into work at the ass crack of dawn Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.

One way I save more personal time but spend more in gas. The other way I use more personal time but save gas money. It fucking sucks either way. I've asked Master's opinion, as well as my mother's and my father's. Master says whatever makes more sense to me. My mom and dad seem to agree that I should just take the whole day off. (The first time they have agreed on anything in more than a decade, even if they don't know it since they are no longer married so I obviously asked them separately.)

I still can't seem to make up my mind. I have a feeling I won't be making the decision until the car is back in my possession.

This is the second time this year the car has kept me out of work though. The transmission issue was only a few months ago and I was out of work for three days for that. This time it's half of this day and at least half of tomorrow. I really hope she behaves herself now.