I went in for an Oil Change and got a whole lot more.

 

Today, I had an appointment to bring my car to Mavis for a simple tire rotation and oil change.  Unfortunately, my visit cost a bit more than expected, and will still need me to visit them again tomorrow....

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Around 2 pm, I drove over to Mavis, expecting that I would only need to have my oil changed and tires rotated.  Unfortunately, I know that when the service manager brings you into the service area to show you a couple of problems, that I will always end up spending much more than planned on the visit.  Today, I was shown a nail that punctured the tire without allowing air to leak.  (Thankfully, I had road hazard coverage to reduce what I paid for a tire replacement.) Then, he showed me a valve stem that needed to be replaced.  The problem was that it has a tire pressure monitor attached, so the whole thing would need replacement.  About $320 later, my car left Mavis, only to need a scheduled return visit.

Once I left Mavis, I decided to go to Trader Joe's to pick up some food.  While on the way, the TPMS  idiot light went on - when it should usually be turning itself off.  So I completed my shopping trip and drove home to take care of some business.  I was no longer in any mood to go out again, so I called Mavis and explained the situation - and was told to come back tomorrow.

Later on, before I went out for the evening, I found out that one valve stem had a hard to remove stem cover (it was made of metal instead of plastic).  So I removed it with the help of a pair of pliers (hoping it's OK), and tested my tires' air pressure.  I think that they over inflated ALL of my tires.  So this is something I'll mention when I go back to Mavis.

If I'm right, the mechanic working on my car got a little bit sloppy and lost track of what he was doing.  If so, we'll find out tomorrow morning.  Now to change into Marian mode and spend the evening with some friends....

 

 

PS: The next day, I had to bring the car back twice.  Mavis said the left rear tire was a little low on air, and this stopped the TPMS light from turning on again for 20 minutes.  As soon as it came back on, I immediately returned to Mavis, where they did a complete reset of the TPMS system, and took the car out for a test drive. Hopefully, the problem has been resolved for the last time.

I have a feeling that the tire shop was right about this one - a short post

 

For a long while, I've had to worry about a slow leak in one of my tires.  About once per month, I'd find that an "Idiot Light" would go on, telling me that one of my tires needed inflating.  Well, the first time this happened, it was the TPMS Sensor in one my wheel hubs which was replaced.  Later on, I had a true slow leak that was annoying, and probably related to wheel hub damage that would only be noticeable when the car is on the lift.  This was a problem that I lived with, instead of trying to get it fixed - even after replacing a set of tires at the end of their life.  And then, after the wheel hub was repaired, I had another slow leak on the same wheel - this time, the tire needed repair.

Just before I went on my trip to Hawaii, I checked the air pressure in the tire to be safe, and then parked for a week and a half at the hotel. During the trip, I occasionally wondered about the tire, and whether it would still be inflated when I returned to the hotel to pick up my car.  It's been a month since then, and I haven't had to inflate the tire yet,

Why am I thinking of this?

I'm living more and more of my life as Marian, and I don't want to call AAA (or another service) for help when in gender-nonconforming presentation.  There are still too many people who think that people like me are freaks.  And I don't want to lose a certain privilege that seemingly cisgender people have - an expectation of being treated with "respect" (but not necessarily with honesty).  The one time I needed to call AAA while presenting as Marian, I was able to switch into Mario mode before the tow truck came.  Since I no longer bother keeping a change of clothes in the car, I feel that I could be at greater risk if my car were to break down on the side of the road. 

It was a busy day. And yet, I forgot to do some things.

I had several things on the docket for today.  And yet, I slipped up on one of them....

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To start the day off, I had to go to Mavis to get my tire pressure sensors looked at; the TPMS warning kept going on and off for no reason at all.  Next was to get my Covid booster shot, and then I had to cross the river to talk to the cable company (again) about my bill payments.  In between all of this, I was supposed to call a potential girlfriend to chat for a while before going to see MWL for the evening.

The trip to Mavis went well.  As I expected, one of the 4 sensors was failing, and was replaced quickly. There was also a slow leak in one tire that got fixed at the same time.  So, $125 later, I was out the door and off to get my booster shot.  On the way to White Plains, I tried to call this potential girlfriend (let's call her CWS for now) but she wasn't able to answer the phone.  She said she'd be free after 3, and I could call her back then.

Getting the booster shot was easier than getting the original doses of the Pfizer vaccine.  When I went to the Yonkers vaccination site, I had to deal with a very short line before getting my arm stuck.  This time, I went to White Plains, and didn't have to wait at all.  It was strange to see the inside of the Westchester County Center space turned into a vaccination facility. But it was nice to find out that parking at their lot was free - something that would not have been the case before the pandemic. 

Unfortunately, I forgot to call CWS on my way to the one Cable Company Store open today - I'll try to call her tomorrow. But I got lucky with the cable company.  It seems as if my payment from mid/late September finally was posted.  But the extra payment I made was not posted.  So I'll have to see about that next week. While there, I decided to replace a pair of old, worn out remotes.  They are different from both of the old units I used in the past. Hopefully, they will last longer than the old ones.

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Now that I was free for the day, it was off to MWL's place.  We ended up going to see the new James Bond film.  I won't give away any secrets here.  But if Daniel Craig had to leave the franchise, this was a good story for his Bond to exit the scene.  For a film that is over 2 1/2 hours long, it didn't feel like this was so - the film moved at a reasonable pace towards its conclusion.

Once the film was over, we went to the diner for dinner, and then gabbed until midnight.  Since my coach does not turn into a pumpkin, I made a bee line to my apartment to finally get some rest....