Kit Kat Car Trouble

Kit Kat went to happy hour with Momoko. After that she planned to drive straight to work. Momoko said that Kit Kat's car was acting up. The "check engine light" was one. Kit Kat drove the thing to work. However, Little Kat had to meet her at work and escort her home in case her car stopped working.

The next day, Little Kat and Kit Kat took the car to our mechanic. As usual we planned for Kit Kat to use my car while hers was in the shop. And I would borrow my brother's extra car. This is happening too often. Time to figure out the end of life for Kit Kat's car.

Momoko considered buying Little Kat a new car this time. Then I could let Kit Kat drive my second car. That did not work out on many fronts - too much money for a new car. Plus Little Kat loves my other car. Now we are thinking I will sell my current car to Momoko for Kit Kat to use. I will go get myself another car.

Dining Failures Abound

Dinner is cooked by Kit Kat, Momoko, and Little Kat. They split the week up. I have other weekly chores to make up for not cooking (cutting the lawn, raking leaves, etc). Recently there have been some screw ups with dinner. There was a hot dog night without mustard. Then there was baked potato soup night without cheese.

Three strikes and you are out. I am not going to let it get to there. Time to implement a new process for managing the ingredients that go into dinner each night of the week. Tomorrow we start. All cooks need to submit a menu with detailed ingredients required. Then they need to shop. Afterwards there will be a check that items purchased match the required list.

This is just phase one. The basics. Later we will tackle staples that are shared among multiple chefs. Also will eventually need to address scenarios where ingredients are used up during meals other than dinner. This should not be too big of a problem. Organization and diligence will overcome the slack here.

Traffic Trouble

Today is my class night. We only meet once a week. So I have to make it count. I got to work early. Made sure to knock out the high priority tasks so I could leave on time. When my boss told me to take care of some extra tasks at the end of the day, I alerted him that Monday's are school nights for me. Therefore, no working late on Mondays.

Kit Kat came home from her work day job. She told me the route to my college was jammed up. Apparently a dump truck lost its payload when it crashed. Momoko also called me up and warmed me about a garbage truck backing up traffic on my route. Ouch.

I decided to take the long way to school. It is also fraught with traffic. But at least it is a predictable slow route. Momoko got me some nachos on the road. I ate them while I waited in traffic. Not easy. Not recommended. But I had no time to stop off for dinner due to my detour.

I did end up making it to class on time. I knew other students would be trickling in late. A lot of people take the road I do to get to college. I was glad I got there on time. The instructor was walking us through some challenging topics in class. These topics would help with my lab and next week's quiz. Plus it is essential knowledge for my field.

The End Draws Near for the Monte Carlo

Little Kat went shopping with Momoko this weekend. When they came back home, they had bad news. The car I let Little Kat drive was acting up. I just dropped $1300 to fix assorted problems with it. The thing already leaks when it rains hard. I thought this might be the end.

We took the car to the mechanic. They were closed. I tried to get a car rental. They were closed too. So we just parked the car in the mechanic's parking lot. Little Kat returned today to ask the mechanic for an estimate.

I started thinking about what I would do next. I previously had three cars. But I got rid of the Scion xB. Little Kat and I both drive a bit for school and work. We make full use of both of my cars. Wouldn't you know it? This was the week Kit Kat wanted to borrow one of my cars when she puts hers in the shop.

So I thought perhaps it was time to get a two door Fiat 500. I love how it fits in any parking space. Little Kat prefers a coupe or sedan that has a trunk. Then again, I always wanted to have a truck to haul stuff. Momoko things a Nissan Altima would be good for Little Kat to drive the family around.

Turns out the problem with Little Kat's car was a broken ABS wire. Total cost is $370 to repair. I am going to fix it. However the writing is on the wall. I need to prepare for the purchase of another car. I should have done that when I offloaded the Scion xB.

Fire Pit Causes a Tumble

After dinner, Momoko suggested we go out and enjoy our fire pit. The weather was chilly for September. Little Kat had set up the pit with newspaper, kindling, and logs. We all went out and sat around the fire. I brought a drink with me. The wicker table was not stable enough to put the drink on.

When the fire was roaring, I went in to get a cushion to put on the wicker chair I was sitting in. A lot of the smoke blew my way. I shifted my weight to flip the wicker table to see if it could be secured underneath. I heard the chair make a funny sound.

I did another motion in the chair. Nothing special. I heard the strange noise again. Both front legs of the wicker chair gave out. I tumbled backwards. Luckily I was okay. The chair, however, was put in the garbage pile for a future trip to the dump.

Kit Kat did not join us at the fire pit. She was out with her friends celebrating a birthday and going to a play downtown. Little Kat searched for sand to put out the fire at the end. Not finding any, he resorting to spraying down the fire with water from the hose.