#349 - More Than Just An Engine

I slept in today and luxuriated in it. I originally woke up around five thirty and instead of moaning about it I was extremely grateful because I had plenty of hours left to go to back to bed.

Robyn got up did some painting work to get ahead for Monday while I watched some television and dozed in and out of sleep.

A little after ten I received a text message from the dealership telling me that the car was ready. The car had a new engine installed and I was told they were waiting for an idler pulley to arrive on Tuesday to finish the job. The electronic invoice they sent had the pulley included so Robyn drove me down to the dealership where they said it was all done. The idler had arrived late Friday night and they had installed it this morning.

I was quite impressed with how fast they got it all done. So, for the price of the idler pulley, I got a brand-new engine, all the fluids and the idler pulley. I happily paid my bill and walked out to start up the car. I sent Robyn off, she has her own errands to run, and I popped opened the hood and had a look at the new engine.

A soon as the car started, I heard the noise I associate with a belt slipping, but this felt more mechanical, like metal on metal. I drove the car off the lot and around the bend wondering if the new idler pulley needed a bit of running to get rid of the high-pitched squeak. It got marginally better, but it was bad enough that I knew it would annoy the heck out of me every time I drove the car.

I pulled the car back into the check-in area of the service center and told them about the sound. They took the car away immediately, thinking that the sound was likely due to an over tightened belt for the alternator. I was asked to sit and wait while they adjust it and was told it would only take ten or fifteen minutes.

More than fifteen minutes went by when my service advisor came out to tell me that the serpentine belt was cracked and would need to be replaced. It was likely the original belt from 2015, so I was fine with changing it. Another fifteen minutes I was told.

I watched on of those house renovation shows on the dealership tv and had a coffee. Then I had a water and then I realized that I had watched the entire episode. It was about that time that I heard someone hitting something metal with a hammer coming from the mechanic’s bay. My advisor came back and gave me the keys to a new 2026 Tucson and said to take it home and they would call me when it was ready.

They wouldn’t disclose what the problem was, but I imagine they stripped a bolt or something.

The Tucson drove very well, and it got up to speed with little effort. The transmissions on these new cars as so well tuned. It almost felt too fast and I wasn’t even trying to push the car. The dashboard as a long digital screen and there were more buttons and levers than on a 747.

I got home and Robyn and I decided we should take a walk in the park since it had been so long since we had been able to get there. It was a nice day for it as well, if only a little humid. We took Robyn’s car because the last thing the service advisor said to me was, “Don’t get into any accidents.”

So, I planned on driving the loaner as little as possible.

On the way we spotted a garage sale that had a four-step ladder that I thought we could use, but then we decided to go get some groceries before going on the walk. We passed the ladder on the way home and after putting everything away passed it another time on the way to the park.

The walk in the park was exactly what we both needed and it felt great to move my body and enjoy the trees and a bit of nature. The trail wasn’t too busy for a weekend, and we only saw less than half a dozen people while we walked.

I got a call from the dealership just as we started the walk telling me that the car was done and could I pick it up before four PM. Personally, I think they were more worried about getting the loaner back in time. I had a brief fantasy that they had given me another customers car, and he was there wondering why he couldn’t see it on the lot.

In my mind I would have asked them to meet me before the dealership and give me one of their shirts. Then I would just look like another Tech who was test driving the thing. None of that happened of course, and I made it to the dealership with fifteen minutes to spare.

The car was done. For the third time that day. I had to pay for the belt and installation, but they gave me it for half off because of all the hassle they put me through.

I left, still thinking I got a great bargain, even with the extra price of the belt, it still got a new engine, idler pulley, all the fluids and a new serpentine belt for under three hundred dollars. Hard to find a deal like that anywhere else in the world. I guess it was my time to get lucky. I am thankful that I won’t have to come up with thousands more dollars to keep this car on the road. Our Sante Fe’s have cost us a couple of all inclusive vacations this year.

By the time I got home, Robyn was vacuuming and detailing her car. I was all for getting a little relaxation in and watched some YouTube videos to entertain myself. Later, she came uup to take a nap before her second job and I left the room to let her get some rest.

Kiddo #1 had made some dinner for us all. Baked salmon filets and roasted vegetables all cooked on a single pan sheet. It was nice to see her making a meal for the family for once and I appreciated not having to cook tonight.

I went and topped up my windshield washer fluid and washed the car windows inside and out. A thin film was beginning to develop on its interior surface and there were plenty of bug splotches on the exterior from our trip to the cottage.

I also cleaned out some of the garbage that other people had left behind. All kind of jewellery, bottle caps and receipts were jammed into the door handles and cup holders.

I jumped on to Amazon and ordered two new umbrellas for myself and Robyn. All the free Hyundai ones I had went missing and so did all the other umbrellas in the house. The kiddo’s have a way of taking things and discarding them places.

I bought a small umbrella that was supposed to be good in strong winds and was just under twelve inches tall. The second one was less that six inches long and not as good in windy conditions. I thought I’d try them out and see what one I liked the best. The bigger one has a black exterior and a red interior. I thought the two-toned look was sharp.

I played a game of chess, which I lost and then went in to eat dinner. Robyn was busy buying tickets to go see a movie tonight and asked if I wanted to go. It was a movie called At The End of the Street, or something like that. I watched the trailer and it looked kind of dumb. There were dinosaurs and the acting was poor. I had some writing to do in the evening anyway, so I declined, but at least I wouldn’t feel like I was missing out on something.

No FOMO for me!

After dinner, Robyn left for her hour of service work, and I retreated to the porch to write. The temperature had cooled down considerably and it was pleasant to sit and tap away at the keyboard as the world went on about its business in front of me.

The kiddos and Robyn are seeing the movie a ten PM, so Robyn decided to do more painting work while stayed on the porch. The sun set and all the landscaping lights went on around our front garden giving the place a warm magical look. I could hear crickets in the distance over the sound of passing cars. I was smart enough to set up the Thermacell before any mosquitoes showed up this time.

If anything was going to ruin the perfect evening on the porch, it was those little blood sucking vampires.

I put on an interview with Harlan Coben who is a writer that has many of his books turned into Netflix shows. The books themselves sell extremely well too. The interview is by David Perell who seems to have the ability to talk to some of the most famous writers alive on the planet. Most of his interviews are just over and hour long and there is always some kernel of wisdom to pull out of the talk. I don’t know much about Coben but am interested in hearing about the craft of writing from anyone who has as much success as he has over the years.

The interview was interesting and Coben said many things that my teachers have taught me, just using different words.

Everyone left for the movies while I watched the interview. Me just stalling when I should have been writing. And then I had the nerve to watch two episodes of The Gentlemen. Even Harlan Coben would say I am just a hobbyist writer. Professionals work when others just think or talk about writing. Whatever is going on with me, I need to start writing fiction daily. Maybe it’s time to create another challenge, like a short story a day for thirty days. Tomorrow is going to be a long writing day for sure.

I did see that Coben had a book about writing for sale on Amazon that just recently came out. It has only two stars, but no written reviews yet. Maybe the guy just has some haters or maybe it was fans who thought it was another of his novels and was disappointed to be reading about his life and process.

The question is whether I will stay up late tonight and get some writing done. I feel that would be the safer option. Leaving things until tomorrow is my usual play and one that hasn’t been working lately for me.

Having said all this, the last two episodes of the Gentlemen have been gripping and might be the best of the entire series, although there were some great scenes in the first series. The duke’s brother coked up, wearing a chicken suit while brandishing a double-barrelled shotgun comes to mind.

The season finale was certainly worthy of my time.

I think Netflix made a mistake releasing all the episodes at once with this property. One week would have been fine since the show is so good. I hope they get a third season, but the streamers are so hard to predict.

Robyn and the kids returned from the movies and said they had a good time. It was odd to hear that the movie started Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGreggor. Odd in that it looked like a lower budget movie to me, and they seem to have better credentials than to star in something like this. But at least the rest of the family seemed to enjoy themselves.

Robyn returned with some leftover popcorn that was incredibly salty and this is coming from a guy that loves things salty. She also brought me up a cup of tea to help fuel my writing for the evening. I am sure she was a little disappointed to see me watching the final moments of The Gentlemen instead of writing my assignment.

She reported back to me that the car was running great, and she felt better driving it. I feel that a clunk used to happen when the car was changing gears and that has gone away with the new engine installment.

I am still impressed by the smoothness and speed of the 2026 Tucson I drove earlier today.

But the hour is getting late, and I am not sure if I’ll continue writing into the wee hours or get a good night’s rest and start fresh tomorrow.

I’ll let you know how it went tomorrow.

Until then.