Dearest Rachel -
For all that I paean my semi-retired state as being one where I'm completely free to do anything I want to at any time, that's never really been entirely true. There are always constraints to one's supposed freedom, be they physical, moral, logistical, financial or otherwise self-imposed. It might be taking things to a ridiculous extreme to say that I can't fly (apart from going to the airport, purchasing a ticket, and thereby making myself subject to the airline's schedule), but it is a constraint, nonetheless. On the other end of the spectrum of realism and necessity, I rarely go a day (weekends aside) without checking in with the folks; if and when I'm coming over, I feel the need to inform them one way or the other. They've made it clear to me that I don't really have to do so, but they also make clear their appreciation for my behavior, so I will continue to do so nonetheless.
With that in mind, they've already been made aware that I'm not going to be driving to their place today to 'work' at my 'office.' This is because of a constraint I've put upon myself due to external influence: essentially, I actually have things on my schedule to attend to. This is something I'm not accustomed to these days; the assumption I have whenever I get an invitation is to accept because I always think "well, sure... I don't have any commitments to deal with... of course I'm free that day," only to discover that "it ain't necessarily so."
Fortunately, the two commitments I have to deal with – an appointment at my broker's for a yearly review, and a trip to the dentist for Daniel's yearly checkup – are at points in time during the day such that there's plenty of space between them; it's not like I have to worry about any overlap.
Except…
At this point, I can't keep track of everything that I have or have not told you about that's going on in my life. I think I might have told you about the problem I'm having with one of my rear tires, wherein I brought it in to the dealership to have the wheel rim issue dealt with a few weeks ago, except that one wasn't available due to the fact that the car is so old. So, I had no alternative but to limp out of there with nothing more than a promise that they would let me know if they were to manage to scrounge a rim up for me, leaving me to make a stop at the local quick lube place to top it off with air on a regular basis until then.
This wouldn't be so much of a problem if things remained as they were, and I only needed to do so on a monthly basis, or maybe every three weeks or so. And when the 'low pressure' light came on Monday afternoon, I was annoyed, but neither surprised nor particularly put out; it had been just about three weeks, after all, and as long as the rim situation hadn't been rectified, it was going to be a thing going forward for a while. At least it didn't cost anything more than time, which I have plenty of these days, after all.
But when it came on again yesterday, that was a sudden concern. It's not that far to go to get it topped off, but if I have to do this every single day, that's going to be a problem. Clearly, there's more to this than just the effects of a cracked rim.
And, sure enough, there is. See that light spot on the opposite side of the tire as the crack in the rim? That's a nail, wedged into the tire up to the head and just beyond, in fact. No wonder this thing is losing so much air practically overnight.
I suppose there's a small mercy in the fact that the damage was to the same tire that was already suffering injury due to the rim – although the dealership had already pointed out to me that all of the tires were starting to go bald and would be in need of replacement in fairly short order regardless. But for the time being, I figured I would only need to get an emergency replacement for this tire at a local shop.
I tried to go in yesterday, but I literally arrived when they were closing, at six p.m. Thankfully, I realized the situation before the clerk did, and apologized for walking in the unlocked door without paying attention to the hours posted on the outside of it before he could get mad at me for doing so, which defused the situation, especially since I offered to show up the next morning bright and early (rather than at noon per his suggestion, since that would conflict with my broker's appointment).
However, I once again forgot to take note of the posted hours, and assumed that I needed to wait until ten before heading over there, which would likely mean that Daniel would have to pick me up from there so I could get to my appointment on time; as it so happened, I could have been there as early as eight o'clock. Not that it would have made any difference, however – as I was leaving the appointment, I got a call telling me that they couldn't put on a new tire, as the rim was cracked (which I already knew and could have sworn I had mentioned to them about, as well as pointing out the nail. I may have suggested that I could only see the crack in the hubcap, but still...). At this rate, I could have brought the car in when they opened, and they'd still be puzzling over it when I had to be at my appointment.
Thus far, they've offered to put my spare on (which I'm not even sure I have, but if they can find one on my car, kudos to them), and allow me to continue to limp around until such time as I hear from the dealership about a replacement for that cracked rim. I don't know what they'll charge for labor, but at least they're not assessing me for tires (and yes, that's tires, plural – they originally were going to sell me at least the back two, as they couldn't, for whatever reason, feasibly sell me just one. Well, now they're not selling me any). I suppose I'm still better off than her, but I have to admit that, between my schedule and this repair situation, I'm glad that Kerstin hasn't called in my offer of transportation today.
Anyway, that's how things are going for me today – I haven't even had the chance to mention the conflict involving my Saturday schedule, but I guess I'll get to that then. For now, though, keep an eye on me, honey, and wish me luck. I'm going to need it.
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