boogieshoes | unexpected distributor cap was unexpected (Reply)

so, yesterday ended with some unexpected drama. i was driving home when my car just up and died on me. made it over to the curb safely, and after a couple minutes of panic, remembered i had towing service with my car insurance.

fortunately, everything worked pretty smoothly to get me to the Goodyear shop local to my apartment. thank you muchly to the Emergency Motorist Assist guys, who were nice, and also to the tow-truck guy, who i'm horribly sorry i didn't carry cash so i could tip you. the Goodyear guys figured out it was my distributor cap and replaced cap and 'fixins' within an hour of me getting there, so nice work.

the car is a 1995 Toyota Camry. truth to tell, i've been satisfied with it so far, but it's just getting to that point. in addition to brake pads, which are normal maintenance, i've replaced front and rear shocks, *all* the seals and gaskets on the car, have plans to fix the stabilizer bar assemblies, and now it looks like i'll probably need to get the timing belt replaced as well. the items *being* replaced were/are all original to the car, so it's not like it's not a quality vehicle, it's just that it's interfering with my ability to save for a house.

and also, my fun fund. basically, i've decided no more going out to eat on weekends, no more SCA events, no Liberty Con this summer. which sucks, but i currently just don't have the $$ to do these things. getting a newer car won't get me more $$, but might increase my insurance levels. and i'm probably only into this car for the amount i would have paid had i bought it off the market, as opposed to off my mother. so it's not being *overly* expensive, just inconveniently so.

but when is it ever convenient to pay for extra car bills?

and that's the state of my life right now - aggravated, but ok.

-bs

ETA 16.45: actually went into the YMCA and 'worked out' for 5min. it was more like 500 strides. on the stair climber? i thought it was an elliptical, but it didn't have the swinging arms thing i've seen. or maybe that's another machine. primary goal today was to learn my way around and get a feel for the place, anyway, so that's good. and also, learn about any hiccups i might have. so the first thing i realized is that i need to get a flat of water to park in my car and grab a couple bottles on the way into the gym. and also, when i get to that point, i'm not sure how i'm going to snag a spotter to help me with the weights. but right now, i'm concentrating on cardio and calorie burning to get my weight down. go me!