Gotta Love me!

Sunday, July 06, 2008

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Hard Tales Web

Well, we're adding another website to our control, www.hardtalesmag.com. I'll begin working up to the preliminaries this weekend, and see how the owner would like to approach the site from a different, wider angle..

God Shows His Grace... Once more

I'm telling you - and whether you believe it or not, doesn't matter, because I am thoroughly convinced that He exists, there is a Santa Claus!

The CU turned down my application for a loan to pay for the repairs to the van. $720 and some change for the total bill. Turned out the fuel pump was the culprit. $400 for it's replacement - then, while removing the gas tank, a leak was revealed in the tank, right beneath the strap that had rusted itself to the tank! There I stood, with the mechanic, watching the gas stream out of the hole that appeared when the strap was removed from the tank. Damn.. another $150 plus labor to replace the tank as well as the pump - again not expected, and certainly beyound my financial reach to afford.

I called Jeff, from the shop (I was basically stranded at this point) in Lancaster to plea for a ride home, as I wasn't going to be driving home today. He picked me up and listened to me complain for a couple of miles, and then shared his grief that he had to lay off 42 people tomorrow (Tues.) in order to keep his libraries under the new budget that passed on Monday. Well, I thought, I still have a job, so I guess I'm blessed in that respect. Again, God shows His graces to me through other people.

This morning, a friend was driving me to work, and offered to front me the money needed to get the van back. He's a good friend, and offered before I could even ask for his help. It was like he was sent to me! Again! God's graces shower down on me when I least expect it - the miracles are flowing like water from a tap, and I'm rejoicing the windfall!

Moving right along, I'll be picking up the van in the morning, probably after the meeting, and be back on the road in time to attend the Abate meeting Wednesday night.

Shit - this has been a rough few days - getting rides to/from anywhere I've needed to get to, and preparing to get rides here at all, but the lessons I've learned from it are invaluable to my spiritual conditioning, bringing me closer to the Lord of All things.

While it didn't come to the conclusion I wanted it to, the final result is I have the van back, and we're going to have money for Christmas after all - Thank you God! I remain, forever in your debt, and can only repay to you by doing the same for others when called.

Caravan Shits the bed...

I guess I should be grateful it died in the driveway, and not somewhere miles from home. Yes, I am grateful about that, but I am now sitting, home, on Monday morning waiting for the truck to come to tow it to the shop. I'm a bit fearful of the financials, as it looks like it might be an expensive repair, especially if the fuel pump has to be replaced. Otherwise, it could be less expensive, due to some faulty electrical problem. I'm no mechanic - with the help of a friend, we replaced the fuel filter, thinking it was clogged, and therefore not proving gas to the motor.

After replacing the fuel filter, we realized the pump in the tank was not 'whirring' like it usually did, and that the relay made a double-click noise when we turned the key to start the engine.

Even though I'm no mechanic, basic trouble-shooting skills tell me there could be an issue with the power to the fuel pump, not actually the pump itself. If this is the case, a diagnostic of the electrical could reveal the culprit, and with some quick work, we'd be able to tell which relay is causing the problem. Replacement of the relay would be my first line of defense, but I was unable to remove the relays from thier holders, looked like some corrosion was evident there too, which can be more evidence of a bad electrical circuit - which provides power to the fuel pump. Fuses? Don't know about that - why would there be a fuse to such a vital componnent? Why not?

Well, either way, I'm praying that the repairs will not drain my finances to nothing, or more, so that we can have a Christmas here. Otherwise, I may be looking at getting rides to and from work everyday for the next week, and even then looking at begging to borrow the money from someone to get my van back. I really hope it doesn't come to that - please Lord, show me your grace here..

Back to pacing the floor as I wait for the tow truck to come..