Yesterday, after two weeks being a passenger, Amanda was ready to take her first solo trip out of the house. She was to drive to a bridal store for a fitting for a friend's wedding at 4pm, and when she left the house at 3:45, I figured I'd see her in a couple of hours. I wasn't prepared to see her in a couple of minutes, clearly upset.
It seems her car battery was dead. This just a week or so after I changed her turn signals, which made me the prime suspect. We tried jumping, but neither of us could find the instructions, and I didn't realize that my car needed to be running to fuel her battery.
Anyway, that didn't work; I had to hastily stuff Alastair into his car seat, get Amanda into my car, and run her to the store. After dropping her off, I raced to Sears, where everybody under the Sun wanted to talk about my MINI, bought a battery and a battery-charger, and raced home to do the swap.
I've never replaced anything so fast, and had the car ready before Amanda was due to be picked up. I was so proud, and fully expected to surprise her in her own car. Just at the apex of my pride, she called to say that her friend was bringing her home. I was so disappointed.
Oh, well. Now I can say I've changed a battery, too.
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Today was my first day back at work. Nothing much to speak of, except that I felt like a jukebox, with only one tune to play: the "How do you like being a new dad" tune. Yep. I think I had the exact same conversation at least 12 times. Perhaps I'll publish the lyrics of that tune, so that people won't have to ask.
It's not that I mind repeating myself. I don't get tired of talking about the new experiences, but I'm an efficient person by nature, and it pains me to be repetitive. If I could gather all the people at work into a room and have a 20 minute Q&A session, I'd be much happier than answering the "Is he sleeping at night" question 20 times. The answer never changes, so why should it be repeated? In fact, the question never changes, either. Collaborate, people!
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I finally ordered an exhaust and short-shift kit today. I ordered them from a really cool guy in Florida. Check his site out and support him if you can: www.myminiparts.com. They're making their own in-house exhaust, weighing in at a scant 21 lbs and producing the same power gains as all the big players. The tone is said to be sporty, if a bit loud, but not "rice" at all.
The shifter is a B&M, and Pete (the owner?) actually tried to talk me out of buying it. He's of the opinion that an SSK is not a good choice in a Cooper, although he admits that the shift box feels like mush. Evidently he thinks that the B&M will make the shifting very difficult. We'll see, but I found the guy to be super nice and even willing to undermine his own sales to keep a customer happy. I miss that about modern dealings.
While I was in the spending mood, I ordered a new shift-knob and a rear-window sun shade. Now Alastair will be thoroughly protected from the Sun while he's in the back seat.
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