Letting the air out

So I was all ready to tell my tale of the flat tire I got on the way home from work last week.

Andy trying to fix the tire even though the lug nuts were rusted on.

How an angel came to help us in the form of a giant, bald man named Al and his beagle, Dixie (who had severe abandonment issues and would not let me hold her more than 2 feet from Al, howling that incredible, ear-piercing howl of which only beagles are capable). Al's giant tools gave us the torque we needed to release the lug nuts and we were ready to go! Except the wheel was rusted on. A call to AAA for some roadside assistance, a few, internet-researched, good and sturdy kicks at the wheel and a canceled call to AAA later, the spare was on.

Hooray!

Until the next morning.

Yep, that's my flat spare you see right there.

Blah, blah, sob story and some time later, I had my tires all fixed up for a mere $20 by the amazing guys at All-Day Tire Shop.

Seriously, if you get a flat, go here. They'll patch it and you'll be out of there in under 20 minutes for $10. I gave the guy who fixed my tire an extra $10 since I was amazed at how fast and cheap it was. Plus, he only had one arm. I know. He was awesome in so many ways.

Um, so yeah.

That seemed like a a pretty big deal at the time.

Let me just emphasize that SEEMED right up there in that previous sentence before moving on.

Because, look what happened today.


R.I.P. Ellie.

The good news is that it wasn't my fault, no one was really hurt and I get to buy a new car.

The bad news is that my car is totaled, I won't get much for it even though it was running fine (and nevermind that new battery or the new brakes I JUST. GOT. INSTALLED) and... I have to buy a new car.

Hey, another bright spot: the driver's side headlight was burnt out and I hadn't gotten around to fixing that one yet.

Now I'm going to go soak my aching back and neck. I think I might need more than a baby panda to ease this pain.