Say No to Harm

I ordered a bag to hold stuff I want to grab quickly when exiting the house. Found a low cost leather bag for $18. Seemed like a great deal. Then the thing came in the mail. It was enclosed in a clear plastic wrap. There was a sticker on the bag that stated the following:

NOTICE: The State of California requires us to provide you with the following warning: WARNING: THIS PRODUCT MAY CONTAIN CHEMICALS KNOWN TO THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA TO CAUSE CANCER< BIRTH DEFECTS OR OTHER REPRODUCTIVE HARM.

WTF? The cancer scare was bad enough. But other weird harmful effects? No thank you. I considered sending the thing back to the company. But they would just probably sell it to somebody else. This thing is going straight to the dump. I can't believe this company tried to pawn off this lethal bag to me.

This will make me think twice about ordering from this company again. What other products did I buy from them that had lethal chemicals but they were not forced by law to warn me about?

Goodbye Pastel

My mechanic gave me an estimate of how much it would cost to fix the Volkswagen Beetle. The estimate was the same amount I initially paid for the car. In other words, it was too much to handle. It will be easier just to buy another Beetle and roll the dice. When you buy from individuals or fly-by-night dealers, you get what you pay for.

I just hope there are no electrical problems in my next car that prevent me front starting it up. The next car may very well be a Beetle again. The family hopes so at least. I got a lead on a 2001 Beetle in another state. Just need to drive by and check it out.

For a while I wondered how I would despose of the Beetle. I could have it towed to a dealership and sell it for parts. Or I could donate the car to a charity who would come tow it themselves. In the end I just sold it to my dealer. He will know what to do with the car. Even he will probably not attempt to fix this thing. It is busted up.

Highway Obstacles

I was driving my Beetle on the highway to go visit my friend. Traffic was moderate. I was behind an 18-wheeler truck. Decided to change lanes to prepare for my upcoming exit. In the middle of a lane change, I ran over a truck tire that was on the road. Sensors started lighting up on my dash. The engine was making a bad sound. I felt like I was dragging something under the car.

I pulled over far to the side of the road. Looked underneath my car. There was no truck tire left. Just some plastic from the front part of my car dragging on the ground. I pulled it off and tossed in on the floor in the back seat. I drove down the highway a bit slow. Pulled off onto another road. The car engine continued to make strange sounds. Then I turned off to a less busy road.

As soon as I down shifted, the car stalled. Lights on the dashboard continued to be lit. I figured this was it. I pulled over to the side of the road and called my mechanic. There was no way I could drive there. He referred me to the tow company they work with. The tow company came really quickly and put my Beetle on their bed. My friend also came to give me a ride. Today I returned to the mechanic's to determine the damage. He told me he took a quick look under the car and found a lot of stuff busted up.

The Fates have spoken. Most likely it will be time to dump the Volkswagen Beetle. My mechanic said he would take a closer look and come up with an estimate later this week. The cost of the car is low enough that it will proabably make sense to buy another car instead of trying to fix it.

Monster Golf

Kit Kat and her friends have been wanting to try this Monster Golf for a long time. Based on the name, I thought it meant you played with large golf balls. Nope. It is an indoor, glow-in-the-dark putt putt golf. Monster refers to the monstrous obstacles in your way. Our family decided to try out Monster Golf for ourselves.

We took separate cars. I told Kit Kat we were trying the route with the shortest distance but longest time. So she would beat us there. Little Kat came with me as my navigation. I drove my Volkswagen Beetle. As we were on the second to last leg of the trip, Kit Kat called Little Kat. Then Momoko wanted to talk with Little Kat. What the heck? Why were these people bothering my navigation man?

Little Kat and I arrived safely, despite the cell phone calls. Next time I will instruct Little Kat to turn off his cell phone during the drive. Glow in the dark meant that light clothing also glowed. When we started, the first hole was free. However we quickly came up on a family in front of us that was slow. We had to keep waiting for them to complete their hole. That made it annoying.

Half way through, Momoko decided to skip a bunch of holes. The rest of us charged on. Little Kat and I both got a hole-in-one on the same hole. The boy in front of us cheered when he saw it. Momoko joined us for the 18th hole. We all got holes-in-one on the last hole. It is the easiest. During the game, we made Kit Kat keep score because she said it could get us a coupon. I was disappointed when they only gave the player who came in last a card that said try harder. Fail.

I asked Kit Kat and Momoko to stick around until I was sure I could start my car. As I popped the hood to reconnect my battery, the lever that opens the hood broke off. It is poorly attached. I always have difficulty reattaching it. However the batter connection was easier this time because I brought some work gloves along. Plus I got a wing nut on the bolt that tighters the lead to the battery. Got home safely. The kids and Momoko went to see a movie. I am going to meet my friend from college for dinner.

Visit with Mom and More Driving

Yesterday my mom had trouble breathing. She called my brother, who came home and brought her to the emergency room. My brother spent the evening with her at the hospital. Mom stayed overnight. I visited her with my brother and dad. Mom said she was not doing well. She seemed weak and very tired. She needed to nurse to move onto the bed. I will return this weekend to see her again.

I was supposed to practice manual transmission driving with Kit Kat at noon. Had to cancel that for the hospital visit. When I got home, I started working out in the yard. I brought out a whole jug of ice water. Drank the whole thing down. After mowing the front yard, I was exhausted. I barely could find the energy to bag the grass, use the weed wacker, and blow the grass off the driveway. Forget about the back yard.

For July 4th, the family went to a hamburger joint. I had their large burger. Always get a pile of pickles on the side. Also got cheddar cheese plus jalapenos to each with my fries. I was still thirsty from working outdoors. Luckily they have some fancy soda machine that has around 30 choices to drink. I refilled my cup many times.

At home I took Little Kat to the local school for some more practice. I had him try some three point turns, some U-turns, and parallel parking. Poor Little Kat hit the curb a bunch of times. Maybe I should say my car was poor for the abuse. The good news is that Little Kat drove to two of Kit Kat's friend's houses, then drove home. He is advancing nicely. He plans to have his dad teach him the finer points of parallel parking.

Driving Instructor

Today Kit Kat and I took our Volkswagon Beetle to the local elementary school. There we had Kit Kat practice driving a manual transmission car. The main lesson was getting the car going from being stopped. That is one of the hardest things to do with a manual transmission car. Kit Kat is still trying to find that sweet spot where you do not stall, and you do not jerk the car around. We also had her take it into second girl for the first time today.

In other news, Little Kat got his driving learner's permit. He can drive as long as an adult is in the car with him. We went Target shopping for some XBox goods today. Target did not have much merchandise. And their prices were higher than Amazon. I decided not to buy anything. On the way home, we swung by the local elementary school. I had Little Kat drive the car a bit.

Little Kat took a nap this afternoon. I went back to work. In the late afternoon, I woke Little Kat up. We gassed up my car. Then we returned to the school for practice. I had Little Kat do things such as three point turns, stopping at stop signs, using turning signals, and driving backwards. Half way though our practice, two police cars come up to the school parking lot. Luckily it looked like they were just there to talk to each other.

At the end of Little Kat's lessons, I had him take the car out on the road. We drove to Kit Kat's friend's house. She lives on a cul de sac. Little Kat was disturbed that he took the car up to 30 miles per hours. He did fine. Next I need to teach him how to drive me home. Maybe tomorrow.

The Return of Pastel

My trusted mechanic was unable to fix my green Volkswagen Beetle. The thing drains the battery to dead in 5 to 6 hours. So I planned to sell the car today. However my mechanic mentioned that the battery would be fine if I disconnected the battery when I was not driving it. I figured it was a hassle. But we could keep the car.

Kit Kat and I went to the mechanic today to pick up the car. He showed us how to disconnect the black lead on the battery to prevent the battery draining. It was raining hard. So my mechanic pulled the car into his shop to show us. He also jacked the car up high so I could see the other problem underneath causing loud noise when the car runs.

Kit Kat and I got into the car. Then I tried to drive away. The entrance to my mechanic's shop is always crowded with cars. I stalled a few times as I tried to back out of the narrow shop, and navigate between all the cars there. We parked and I got my bearings. Then we filled up the gas tank. It was weird pointing the gas nozzle straight down into the back of the Beetle.

We proceeded to the local elementary school. Kit Kat started up the car from stop twice without incident. Then I took over. Kit Kat yelled that there was a turtle in the way. She got out and moved the little turtle to the woods. Then we proceed to have Kit Kat stop and start the car five or six times. She stalled a few times because she did not give it enough gas. It was still a smashing success.

Tomorrow we may go take the car to get the emissions tested as required by the state. Then on to more practice.