Wednesday, October 9, 2013

The story of my triumph

We went camping last week, and took our bikes, and had a lovely time.  Unfortunately, while we were biking, the rear-view mirror on my car gave up.  It quit, it's a quitter.  We came back to find it completely unglued from the windshield and swinging happily from a cord.  I'm not really sure what could have happened to cause that, considering there was no impact, no pressure, and no force on the mirror.  It was an unseasonably hot October day, but still.

So, we drove all the way home without it.  (By which I mean Colby drove all the way home.  Go Colby!  Doing what dads do best:  all the driving.  Also all the packing and unpacking.  Woohoo!)

Yesterday I took the car in to the shop to see what could be done about it.  (Before you say anything snarky, let's remember that this is a story about my triumph, not about how it didn't first occur to me to fix it myself.  HELLO, YOUR ARMS AREN'T PAINTED ON.  I'm still a little bit frightened that it took me so long to realize this.  How helpless am I??)  They said that they had to order a special adhesive, and between the adhesive and the labor, it would cost $75 and it would be done by tomorrow.  And inside I was like $75?  Seriously?  It will take you 2 minutes to super glue the thing back on.  And outside I was like, okay, I'll bring it back tomorrow.  BUT THEN.  I drove away and decided to call a Subaru dealership to see how much it SHOULD cost me.  He said "maybe 30 or 40 bucks if you take it to a glass-repair place." Ah-hah!  So, not $75?  I'm sitting in a parking lot near the car place while I make this call (safe driving practices, folks).  Then I called a windshield repair place nearby.  He told me that he could fix it but he didn't have the right "kit" and it was in someone's truck (real professional establishment, this) but he could do it tomorrow.  So, I have to drive around with no mirror until tomorrow morning?

And then the light began to dawn, and the clouds withdrew, and a beam of sunshine shone down on the storefront of Advance Auto Parts, which I was parked in front of.  (It wasn't really like that, but go with me on this.  Poetic license.)  And I thought, wait.  I can glue stuff.  I'M SO GOOD AT GLUING STUFF!  I've been gluing stuff since, like, the first grade!  How much can this special glue cost, anyway?

So I walk inside, and explain my problem to one of the ever so kind and helpful tough-looking men working there.  He understands immediately and leads me over to a rack of special rear-view mirror adhesives.  How much could it possibly cost?

$5.29, it turns out.  Including tax.

So basically, they sold me some glue, told me how to use it, AND figured out how to take apart the mirror to prepare me to glue it back on.  How I love that store and its helpful, tough-looking employees.

The point is, I saved us seventy dollars.  Well, actually, the point is, the guys at Advance Auto Parts saved us $70 because they're super helpful.  The best part was that I got to go into Advance Auto Parts, and I completely love going to Advance Auto Parts, because nothing in the world (besides, perhaps, going to Home Depot) makes me feel more empowered and more capable and more, well, tough.  LET'S DO THIS!!!  Like the time I went to Home Depot the day before I went into labor with Eli.  If you ever want to stick out in public, set foot in Home Depot as a 9-months-pregnant woman.  But that's another story.

That car place I first took the car to?  Last month they told me it'll cost me $1200 to fix the air conditioner.  I was already doubtful, but now I'm probably just going to go to Advance Auto Parts and fix it myself.  

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