Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Monday, October 12, 2009

Pumpkin Patch










This last Saturday there was a pumpkin patch on base so Haley and I decided to get up earlier than usual for a weekend and head over there because it started at 9am. Most events that are held on base are free, amazingly free, as in free games, rides, prizes, and food but then occasionally there will be an event that requires payment and you really never know in advance. I think it's just another one of the ways the military keeps us on our toes. I couldn't imagine the pumpkins being free so we stopped at a convenience store on the way so I could purchase some water and get cash back.

When I went back to my car the damn thing wouldn't start, it wouldn't do anything, the battery was dead which is strange since I just bought a new battery for it. Luckily though it kept flickering back to life and I was able start it and get back home, without pumpkins. On the ride home I called my dealership who put into my head the idea that this must be my alternator which is of course no longer covered under warranty. So I called other car repair places to see about getting it fixed immediately. With it being a holiday weekend we had several plans that I didn't want to see broken due to my car. Unfortunately there was not a single car repair shop open in the entire town. I would have to wait until Monday. I was really mad. Mad at all the repair shops, mad at the Marine Corps for sticking me in a small town where all repair shops were closed on weekends, and mad at myself for buying the stupid car that causes so many problems. I was so mad I actually cried which made me mad at my pregnancy hormones. So we were stuck inside this house with nothing to do for 2 whole days. All of our plans were broken and we stayed home, I wrote a paper for my history class, we played monopoly and life and spent way too much time on the couch. It was an incredibly boring weekend.

So finally today the car places opened up and I was able to have my car looked at. It turns out it was a very minor problem, the cable for the battery was "really, really loose" and not allowing the battery to properly charge. Thank goodness, I was so relieved and only had to shell out $45 for the battery/alternator test which is so much better than the $500 I was convinced I would be charged for an alternator (I know that's crazy, but in this town I was quoted $700 for brakes so it's normal out here). And to make things better the place where they had the pumpkin patch still had about 50 pumpkins just waiting to be carved and they were free! So Haley and I headed over there and grabbed 3 of the lumpiest pumpkins we could find because Haley likes her pumpkins with character.