Return to Scenes from (sur)real lifeThe story thus far... (written on the 25th of September)
We had a refrigerator go bad. It's tragic when it happens, but I suppose it's the social climate we live in. (I wonder if there's a reformatory for bad appliances?). Luckily, it was only a rickety fan motor ($71 plus change for parts & labor).
The Achieva wouldn't start and I didn't know what to do at first, since I don't have a repair book. I thought it might be the charging system, and I haven't got a clue without technical guidance. Since we don't have a tow rope, getting it to a repair facility (other than the driveway) would have been difficult. Today, it occured to me to remove the battery and take it to Sears (my wife's suggestion. My first instinct was to take it to the Auto Hobby Shop at the base) to test it for a bad cell or something. As it turned out, one (or more) cells had given up the ghost. It (the battery) was rated at 630 cranking amps, but was only capable of wheezing out 156 - not enough to rotate the crankshaft at all, let alone with enough verve to actually start the car. Fortunately, there was still some warranty time left on the old electron reservoir, so a new one only cost 30 bucks.
My son (aka: Son) is really changing fast! He now says "Hug-Kiss!" (in addition to "Daddy did it", "Gimme dink!" and "I dood it!"). He's walking most of the time, but whether he walks is dependant on how sleepy he is (or isn't) and whether he feels like he's had enough attention today. Monday when I came home from work, I was changing into civvies in the computer room when he walked in, turned around and walked out. It's funny to watch him go. He takes a few steps, stops to recall how this balancing stuff works, takes off for another few steps, then gets on all fours (for a breather, I suppose), then gets back up and staggers down the hall. He walks like Frankenstein's monster - stiffly and with his arms stretched out in front (presumably to fend off ambushes by errant gravity).