Twelve hours at work…
May 4, 2004, 12:56 AM
This is what happens when we don’t have enough help at the Service Desk. So I worked extra beyond my regular shift to cover the Service Desk. And I did pretty darn well, too. Sometimes on a regular day, I get fatigued in the last couple of hours. On days when lunch doesn’t agree, I get fatigued soon after lunch. This, by the way, led to my no-rich-foods-for-lunch rule, which came about after I ate some of the very rich (and very expensive) “Cherry Cheese Delight” that we sell at the Deli proceeded to not agree with me, and wrecked the entire second half of my day.
Still, today I was going like gangbusters from 11:00 AM when I came into work, through my hour-long lunch break where I had a hoagie and some fruit, and right on through to 11:00 PM when I finally was able to get the heck out of my little Service Desk cave.
And just think… I’ve made it through however many days I was scheduled for, and now I’ve made it to my two days off! And what am I going to do for these days off? Gooooooooooood question! I know that I’m going to spend at least a little time on the phone, trying to find a good price for a garage to put new brake pads on the Previa. Additionally, I need to also find someone who can look at my car’s air conditioner and tell me what’s wrong with it. Since trust me… no air conditioning during the warmer months is HELL. And considering that the air conditioning was weak in 2002 and non-existent in 2003, I have a feeling it may just need a “recharge”. Of course, it might just be more than that, which means it can get quite pricey.
Continue reading…Categories: Food and drink, Shopping, Toyota Previa, Walmart
Three days, three different sets of license plates
April 21, 2004, 9:56 PM
I think that the Previa is going through a bit of an identity crisis lately. As you know, the Previa is now mine, and I’ve also mentioned how I had to wait to put the temporary plates on the car, since they were cardboard, and it was raining cats and dogs outside.
So anyway, yesterday, the weather was nice enough to change the license plates. So I unscrewed the screws on my old leaves-style “CITY PLZ” plates (it stood for “City Please”, a holdover from my directory assistance days), and removed them. I preserved one plate, scrubbing it clean with the dish sponge and some dishwashing liquid. It now is on the bulletin board in my room as a memento.
So after pulling off my old plates, I put on the cardboard temporary plates. And that was it for last night. I might as well have procrastinated a little longer, as you will see…
So fast forward to today. I get the mail, and what’s in the mail? My real plates! Say hello to “SCHMNWB” on my car now. Plus I have some very cool plate frames, with my Schumin Web logo on top, and my URL in red on bottom. I custom-designed it for myself.
So anyway, honk if you see me driving around.
Categories: Toyota Previa
The van is MINE!
April 13, 2004, 4:18 AM
It is official! The van is now MINE and MINE ONLY! So now to just figure out when to start cleaning it up/out. Since now that it’s mine, I need to take some serious ownership in it. I also need to put the new temporary license plates on it, and take off the old ones.
Yes, temporary plates. I actually have “multi-use” tags right now that are made of cardboard that DMV issued me. I have yet to put them on, since I’m waiting for either time in the garage, or some nicer weather. Either way, since these are cardboard, I don’t want to mess ’em up putting them on the car while it’s all soggy. Thus to give them a fighting chance of survival until my real license plates come in (customized, as always), I’ll put them on while the car is dry.
Then once the new plates come in after a few weeks, off with the cardboard tags, and on with the new! And also by then, my new license plate frames should have arrived, which will make it all just look really smooth.
So that’s the highlight of my day yesterday, making the car mine in title, and ordering my new license plates.
And next up? Another DC trip. I enjoy those.
Categories: Toyota Previa
What a busy day it was today…
April 8, 2004, 11:13 PM
Somehow, people can smell when there’s only one of us on the Service Desk, and so as soon as it’s only me on there while the other person goes to break or something, everyone and their mother decides to come to the Service Desk with a return, a list of a bazillion money orders, and a few MoneyGrams. And of course let’s not forget people cashing payroll checks, too. Lots of stuff.
Meanwhile, as plans currently stand, the van will be MINE by Monday! That’s right, MINE! No longer will it be my parents’ car that they let me use. Now I will own it outright.
I’m talking this car:
Categories: Toyota Previa, Walmart
You do not know what two days off will do for you…
December 30, 2003, 11:03 AM
After having two days off from Wal-Mart, I am now officially ready to go once again, ready to take whatever the customers are willing to throw at me. Especially since Monday was basically a sleep day, where I basically slept for most of the day. A much-needed day of R&R, especially after a great photo day in Roanoke on my other off-day.
My car’s also ready to go, too, as we replaced a burned-out headlight that was discovered on the way home from Sunday’s Roanoke trip. Quite the longevity, too, when you think about it. My father and I discussed it while replacing it, and realized that on this 1991 Toyota Previa, which we bought in July 1990, we were actually replacing the original bulb. That’s thirteen years with that same bulb, believe it or not. The other headlight’s bulb was not original, having been put in during repairs after we hit a deer in 1994.
Categories: Myself, Toyota Previa
Fixed!
November 3, 2003, 12:22 PM
Well, my car’s exhaust problem is fixed. Basically, my car was running very loudly for the last few months, since, as we found out, the “flex pipe” was shot. I have no idea what that is, but I need one in good condition to pass my inspection.
It was very strange to drive the car after it was fixed, since now there’s no roar when I accelerate. It’s quiet!
Categories: Toyota Previa
Rear-ended!
September 4, 2003, 11:27 AM
What a way to start the day… I’m sitting at a light on Route 608 on my way up to JMU, when all of a sudden, I’m hit! Nothing major – just a minor fender-bender, and no one was hurt, and it wasn’t my fault. But my rear bumper now sags a little on the passenger side due to being knocked loose by the collision. That will probably end up having to be reattached or replaced. And that was the only damage, too. And I still made it to Harrisonburg, though I ended up getting there considerably late.
I also think it’s somewhat ironic… I have that “I need a car” quote up on the site beyond when I intended to change it, and I end up having an accident. Even more ironic is the fact that in 1997 I did my site up with a whole “Great American Road” theme, and the week of its debut, I got into a real doozie of an accident. No injuries, but the car was out of service for a month. I don’t know… maybe automotive features on my site are bad luck.
Categories: Toyota Previa
Flat!
August 15, 2003, 8:26 PM
Flat tire… loads of fun, indeed. I still made it to the office on time, though, since I did it two blocks away from the Office on Youth. What happened is I took a right turn off of Johnson Street onto New Street too sharply, and ran the back right tire into the curb in such a way to make it split. The car was able to limp the two blocks to the parking lot, and then I changed the tire during my lunch, and so I’ve got the (filthy) spare tire on there right now. Tomorrow, Dad and I are going out to get a replacement tire at Eavers Tire in Stuarts Draft.
This should teach me not to overcompensate when making right turns. I’ve occasionally ridden up on curbs before while making right turns, but never to the extent of destroying the tire.
This also ought to learn me (excuse the poor grammar) to occasionally clean the wheels, because I got years’ worth of track dust on my hands. Even though I didn’t get any on my clothes, still, good thing I was wearing all-black today, because it wouldn’t have shown.
Categories: Toyota Previa