Limes with Orange

Well, I never got around to writing the retrospective post about buying a car to replace poor Newt who got smashed last summer. But I did end up finding a beautiful '95 red Honda Civic SI coupe with tinted windows and a flowmaster exhaust (which I thought I was going to replace but I've actually learned to love it). I called her Ripley because--being a bigger, faster Civic--I kind of thought of her as Newt's older sister. (That will make sense to fans of "Aliens" but probably nobody else.)

But I never took Ripley's picture and now it may be too late. Ripley was stolen on Tuesday night. I think I'm still in denial, as I'm remarkably calm. Mostly.

BUT I WANT RIPLEY BACK!!! So if anyone sees a '95 red civic coupe (generic photo shown) parked or driving around Calgary, with a crack going straight up the front windshield on the passenger's side and a burnt out headlight on the driver's side (plus moon roof, rear spoiler, tinted rear windows and flowmaster exhaust, which you cannot miss hearing)... please call the police and report it ASAP. Thanks muchly.

Labels: newt, odds and ends, ripley

As I promised in Here's What Happened, a photo of my poor beloved Honda named Newt... post drunken idiot schmucking into it:


And what you can't see... all of the other wheels are pointing straight ahead, which this one obviously isn't (can you say "bent rear axle," boys and girls?). Plus there are scratches all along the side of my car where the other car dragged against it for a while.

I still don't know if I'm getting any compensation from the insurance company even though it happened over a month ago. And I fear that my dear sweet car may be a write off, because the door doesn't seem to be closing properly... not a good sign in a car with unibody construction. But I'm waiting for the estimate until the insurance company rules yay or nay, because Newt is obviously not driveable at the moment and towing it back and forth from the garage is not the way I want to spend my time or money (or more accurately, my limited number of CAA tows).

The lack of a car is wreaking havoc not just with my daily routine but also my health. You can't see it in the photo, but Newt has tinted windows. And no, it's not to look cool, it's to protect me from the sun because exposure to sunlight triggers Lupus flares. Needless to say, taking the bus leaves me a little overexposed. Especially because (a) the buses in Calgary don't run often enough and they don't run on schedule, so there are often very long wait times involved and (b) for some reason, even though Calgary is probably one of the sunniest cities in Canada, they don't believe in providing shade in their bus shelters... the roofs are clear plexiglass! What the frack?

Anyway, I'll be very glad when this all gets sorted out. And fortunately, my Dad has stepped in so I'll be able to cope even if the insurance company shafts me. But I'm still crossing my fingers that it'll all work out all right.

Labels: health, newt, rant

One of the contributing factors to my mini-rant last week (can you even call a single sentence a "rant"? Oh, I guess that's how I labeled it, didn't I?)... anyway, an overwhelming part of that was the fact that my car got schmucked by a drunken idiot in a rental car (that may or may not have been stolen). I'm fine, my car was parked innocently outside of my apartment building at the time of the accident, but her rear axle is bent and the place where there should be a brake light, a tail light, a signal light... well, it basically doesn't exist anymore (see photo).

With the help of my cousin and his wife, I liberated Newt (that's the name of my poor, wounded Honda Civic) from the impound lot and she now awaits her fate on the concrete pad behind my cousin's garage. I still haven't heard from the insurance company. I still don't know if anyone is going to be held responsible for this (because of the question of whether the offending car was stolen). I still don't know if I'm going to be able to fix my car at all. And until all this gets sorted out, I have no car and I live in a very transit-UNfriendly city.

There were, as there always are, other motivating factors for the rant that I'd rather not go into. But I think those other things became huge because I was already so overwhelmed with dealing with this mess.

But I'm back and I will get to that tag on my previous post within the next couple of days. I promise!

Labels: newt, odds and ends

For those of you who visit here often, you probably know that I have a Honda Civic that I've named Newt and that Newt has had some problems this year. First she went Crunch! And needed a new radiator and hood. Then she stopped in the middle of traffic because she needed a new axle for her constant velocity joint. Well, THEN she started having a slow leak in one of her rear tires. A slow leak that soon became a fast leak. I took it in to get patched and they said that it's way past time that I put new tires on my car. *sigh*

I used to have some lovely Pirelli tires on my old Civic. That was when I was dating a car aficionado and he told me which tires to buy. But I don't think I can afford Pirelli's at the moment and since I don't have a handy car guy for a boyfriend anymore, I've decided to use this discount tires website for guidance. It has some very handy information about which tires are good for what purpose. Hopefully I can find something that will make Newt happy without breaking the bank.

Labels: newt, odds and ends

I have a fun car named Newt. Newt used to be an all red car until she went Crunch. Now she's a fun red and black car. But last weekend Newt wasn't much fun. She stopped playing right in the middle of traffic. Bad Newt. Fortunately a Knight in Shining Armour came and pushed Newt to safety. Thank you, Knight in Shining Armour! It turned out that Newt needed a new axle for her constant velocity joint. Can you say "constant velocity joint" boys and girls? I knew you could. Now Newt is fun again. Now I am happy again. The End.

P.S. I suppose a Knight in Shining Armour is allowed to say "absolutely" once in a while.

Labels: newt, odds and ends

I have a car named Newt. Newt used to be a fun, red car… until she went CRUNCH! Newt was hurt. Badly hurt. Newt had to go to the hospital…er, garage. Newt's boo-boos were expensive. Can you say expensive, boys and girls? But Newt's grandpa came to the rescue. He paid for the doctor…er, mechanic. Newt is better now. Newt is home now. Newt is a fun red AND BLACK car now. The End.


(Yep, Newt is now two-toned. The cost of painting the hood seemed like an unnecessary expense at this time. But hey, you could say that I'm multi-tonal also… or at least my hair is. So I guess Newt got highlights! Or would that be lowlights?)

Labels: newt, odds and ends

I have a car. My car's name is Newt. Newt is a fun car. Newt is a fun, red car. Yesterday, Newt went BANG! CRUNCH!


Now Newt is no fun. Now I am sad. I miss Newt. I hope Newt will get better soon. Then we can have fun again. The End.

(I really have to stop reading those kids' books!)

Labels: newt, odds and ends