Stand by.

I'm losing my pale.

I spent yesterday getting work done on the car. There is a Firestone on base, and I made a noon appointment to replace the serpentine belt and get new brakes. The car was done at 6:30. I brought a book along, expecting having to wait a couple hours. Trouble is, I left it in the car, then gave the keys to Firestone, so it served no purpose.

There were no chairs in the Firestone for me to use, so I sat outside at a picnic table under a tree. I got lunch, sat, went to pee, sat, sat, sat. Colleen got released at 6pm, so I walked over to see her and get dinner. Her foot is injured, so walking is not exactly fun. We caught a cab to get dinner at the bowling alley on base. Did you know, by the way, that every Army base seems to have a bowling alley? Anyway, we ate dinner, got the car, and paid very close to 500 for the whole deal.

Apparently, the brakes were fucked. Needed new rotors and all that jazz. The belt, with labor, cost 100. But there's no more squealing. So the money was well spent, but it still sort of takes the air from your lungs for a minute as you hand it over.

The sitting and waiting wasn't as horrible as one might imagine. The only downside is that I apparently got brutally sunburned. The face is pink and all, but my neck resembles a radish covered in blood . . . and other really deep red stuff. I'm having trouble with the similes today.

Until next time.