Don't Insult the Man with the Rope

Today was certainly one of the more eventful days I’ve had in a long time… I seem to say that a lot lately.

My day started out like any other — driving to work, getting into the daily grind, busting my ass with the local numbnuts that I deal with every day in Computer Services… then things completely went off on a tangent. Apparently, my father awakened this morning with “floaters” in his eye, which quickly degenerated into blurred vision, and a red haze, particularly in the peripheral area of his vision. A quick call to his eye doctor gave him a preliminary assessment that he had a retinal tear, and that an emergency visit would certainly be in order.

Of course, me being the good son and all, I immediately abandoned work in favor of racing to the doctor with my parents. Mainly, I did this to keep my mother from having a stroke with the stress. Thankfully, the news was good. A few shots from the local laser cannon… I mean emitter, and the damage was hopefully corrected. More results in a week; just have to wait for some of the internal cloudiness and bleeding to clear so the doctor can get a better look.

Ah, so… crisis averted, right? Wrong.

Rewind with me for a moment. Picture this: me in my Neon, hauling ass off campus, up the Parkway ramp, and down the road about 5 miles to meet the ‘rentals. Now picture that same Neon, slipping out of gear every time I made a turn or slowed down. Yup, that’s my trip.

I figured it was low transmission fluid — I’ve had this issue in the past (when my transmission pan gasket was leaking like a sieve…), so I’m familiar with how to fix it. I ignored the problem, went to the doctor, and came back outside to find…

a gigantic fucking puddle of transmission fluid all over the ground underneath my car. This leak was not the kind of leak I’m used to — this leak has balls. It went from 0-60 in about 0.2 seconds.

Just what I freaking need, commuting 45 minutes to work every day.

Thank God for AAA. They proceeded to tow me home from near StoCo all the way back to my humble abode, bringing my poor wounded and bleeding Harmony back. Here’s hoping I can solve this leak quickly (and cheaply!). In the meantime, I’m stuck driving my mom’s car. Do not get me wrong, I’m damn lucky to have it, but, well… it just feels wrong.

Long live Harmony, may she heal quickly.