so deck those halls, trim those trees
Dec. 21st, 2024 10:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gwynToday is steroids day, which means I won't be sleeping till at least 5 a.m. if I'm very lucky. Even doubling up on my lorazepam won't help, so since I have been bad about updating, it seems a good time to do it.
It still feels so weird to not be doing Yuletide this year! I'm on the pinch hit list so I see them fly by and every once in a while I think "yeah, i could maybe do that" but then when I see details, I realize that I'm all Principal Skinner and like "no, it's they who are wrong and I was correct not to sign up." I just wouldn't have been able to do the characters they wanted, because most of them have been focused on characters I wouldn't have offered. Tragedy!
I'm also getting used to my new chemo schedule--the only once a month thing feels so weird after a year and a half of weekly visits. I won't bore people with the details of trying to get financial assistance for chemo, but the switch to Medicare was such a clusterfuck last month and now with the dread of the incoming "administration" I'm pretty scared for my future on it, but eventually I was able to get my drugs all worked out, and now I'm just waiting to see if any of my treatment from the 5th, or my upcoming treatment, will be denied or approved.
Unfortunately, I think all that time trying to solve the issues may have contributed to my number markers going back up--I was plateaued at 0.2 on the magic number for months, and then I got some movement, and Dr Li started me on a new drug to see if we could shake it down to remission and I was pleased that before I even started it, I'd had movement down to 0.1. But my blood work on the 5th showed I was back up to 0.2. Bleh.
For some time, I have known I needed a new car; I love the Beetle but she is nearly 20 years old, and for a few years the passenger door had stopped responding to the electronic key opener, and then last year, the damn driver door stopped. So when I get in I have to lock/unlock manually, and if I have a passenger, I have to reach over and open the door. It's super inconvenient for things like groceries, and would have been intolerable if I was still fostering doggos.
I finally decided to take it in to my mechanic when one of the signal lights went out, and at first, I thought it would go okay, but I took it in Tuesday and it's still there. Apparently, they had to get the driver door part again because they were sent the wrong one, and that was after it took them most of the day to diagnose just where the failure was (it was apparently fine in terms of the signal going through but the latch portion was eroded and failing, so the signal wouldn't do anything). Then it turned out that there's a part of the latch apparatus that simply isn't made anymore.
There were never a lot of Beetles on the road anyway; it was never VW's biggest seller, which is why they keep cancelling them and stop making them. So there aren't any around of this little part, and VW doesn't offer them to shops, so...the guy spent like the whole day trying to find it at places that part cars out, and had no luck. The owner is going to try to make it himself this weekend, I guess. I...am not feeling hopeful.
The shop is small, and I had to park on the street when I brought it in, and when they move cars around in the bays and the little lot, they park on a busy street. Which is fine, but...this time not so much. I guess someone hit a bunch of cars, including mine, and tore off my drivers side mirror. I love the Beetle's mirrors because they have defrosters and shit on them, plus they're that kind that fold back. I wish someone had folded mine back.
Their insurance will take care of it, and they've already ordered a replacement, but it will drop my trade-in value to have had a major feature replaced, which bums me the fuck out since it's not a high sale or trade-in value in the first place. You'd think the fact that Beetles are kind of rare now would help the value, but I guess not. The mirrors aren't painted, so they will have to paint it after Christmas. I was trying to be philosophical, and I could hear the almost fear in his voice when he called me on Friday about all of this, but I seriously almost cried.
The only funny part was that I asked him "I know this is a really weird thing to ask--" and he was like "no, no, whatever I can do, please let me know" and I said "but I have this Jack in the Box antenna ball on my antenna, could you take it off and put it in, like, the cup holder or something? Even if it's behind the locked gate over the weekend, I just feel like someone would steal it and they're not being sold anymore, so you have to pay bucks for them on eBay and it's always been my--" and then I burst out soblaughing when I said it was my good luck charm. (I had actually had to replace my old ratty Jack ball earlier this year, which is when I learned how hard they are to replace. Antenna balls aren't a big thing anymore because most newer cars don't use antennas that stick up like that.)
I know I haven't been in any kind of emotional state for sadness since the election, but this whole thing has left me unbelievably down. Being without a car sucks in a city where you can't easily get places on public transport--my ex offered to loan me their Subaru, which they loan to their neighbors all the time so he's eager for me to take it, but I feel weird about it. He took me to the store far away Friday, but of course I forgot something crucial, and I just hate Instacart because they always fuck up my order, although the guy who did it Thursday was pretty good.
Anyways, if my car survives, it'll cost me a fortune and then I have to figure out how I can afford a newer car and pray that this tariffs shit takes a different turn. My head hurts just thinking about it all. Plus it's a new year soon, with all the insurance deductibles!
Christmas is soon and I will probably just be here on my own, hopefully finding some things to read in Yuletide. Blues seems to alternate between peppy and troublesome and listless and pained, and I do often wonder if we're getting to the end stages, but he is hanging on, so I will get him some special treats or cook something that he loves to beg for. I hope if you celebrate, you have a lovely day, and since Hanukkah starts on the 25th, if that's your holiday, I wish you love and light.
It still feels so weird to not be doing Yuletide this year! I'm on the pinch hit list so I see them fly by and every once in a while I think "yeah, i could maybe do that" but then when I see details, I realize that I'm all Principal Skinner and like "no, it's they who are wrong and I was correct not to sign up." I just wouldn't have been able to do the characters they wanted, because most of them have been focused on characters I wouldn't have offered. Tragedy!
I'm also getting used to my new chemo schedule--the only once a month thing feels so weird after a year and a half of weekly visits. I won't bore people with the details of trying to get financial assistance for chemo, but the switch to Medicare was such a clusterfuck last month and now with the dread of the incoming "administration" I'm pretty scared for my future on it, but eventually I was able to get my drugs all worked out, and now I'm just waiting to see if any of my treatment from the 5th, or my upcoming treatment, will be denied or approved.
Unfortunately, I think all that time trying to solve the issues may have contributed to my number markers going back up--I was plateaued at 0.2 on the magic number for months, and then I got some movement, and Dr Li started me on a new drug to see if we could shake it down to remission and I was pleased that before I even started it, I'd had movement down to 0.1. But my blood work on the 5th showed I was back up to 0.2. Bleh.
For some time, I have known I needed a new car; I love the Beetle but she is nearly 20 years old, and for a few years the passenger door had stopped responding to the electronic key opener, and then last year, the damn driver door stopped. So when I get in I have to lock/unlock manually, and if I have a passenger, I have to reach over and open the door. It's super inconvenient for things like groceries, and would have been intolerable if I was still fostering doggos.
I finally decided to take it in to my mechanic when one of the signal lights went out, and at first, I thought it would go okay, but I took it in Tuesday and it's still there. Apparently, they had to get the driver door part again because they were sent the wrong one, and that was after it took them most of the day to diagnose just where the failure was (it was apparently fine in terms of the signal going through but the latch portion was eroded and failing, so the signal wouldn't do anything). Then it turned out that there's a part of the latch apparatus that simply isn't made anymore.
There were never a lot of Beetles on the road anyway; it was never VW's biggest seller, which is why they keep cancelling them and stop making them. So there aren't any around of this little part, and VW doesn't offer them to shops, so...the guy spent like the whole day trying to find it at places that part cars out, and had no luck. The owner is going to try to make it himself this weekend, I guess. I...am not feeling hopeful.
The shop is small, and I had to park on the street when I brought it in, and when they move cars around in the bays and the little lot, they park on a busy street. Which is fine, but...this time not so much. I guess someone hit a bunch of cars, including mine, and tore off my drivers side mirror. I love the Beetle's mirrors because they have defrosters and shit on them, plus they're that kind that fold back. I wish someone had folded mine back.
Their insurance will take care of it, and they've already ordered a replacement, but it will drop my trade-in value to have had a major feature replaced, which bums me the fuck out since it's not a high sale or trade-in value in the first place. You'd think the fact that Beetles are kind of rare now would help the value, but I guess not. The mirrors aren't painted, so they will have to paint it after Christmas. I was trying to be philosophical, and I could hear the almost fear in his voice when he called me on Friday about all of this, but I seriously almost cried.
The only funny part was that I asked him "I know this is a really weird thing to ask--" and he was like "no, no, whatever I can do, please let me know" and I said "but I have this Jack in the Box antenna ball on my antenna, could you take it off and put it in, like, the cup holder or something? Even if it's behind the locked gate over the weekend, I just feel like someone would steal it and they're not being sold anymore, so you have to pay bucks for them on eBay and it's always been my--" and then I burst out soblaughing when I said it was my good luck charm. (I had actually had to replace my old ratty Jack ball earlier this year, which is when I learned how hard they are to replace. Antenna balls aren't a big thing anymore because most newer cars don't use antennas that stick up like that.)
I know I haven't been in any kind of emotional state for sadness since the election, but this whole thing has left me unbelievably down. Being without a car sucks in a city where you can't easily get places on public transport--my ex offered to loan me their Subaru, which they loan to their neighbors all the time so he's eager for me to take it, but I feel weird about it. He took me to the store far away Friday, but of course I forgot something crucial, and I just hate Instacart because they always fuck up my order, although the guy who did it Thursday was pretty good.
Anyways, if my car survives, it'll cost me a fortune and then I have to figure out how I can afford a newer car and pray that this tariffs shit takes a different turn. My head hurts just thinking about it all. Plus it's a new year soon, with all the insurance deductibles!
Christmas is soon and I will probably just be here on my own, hopefully finding some things to read in Yuletide. Blues seems to alternate between peppy and troublesome and listless and pained, and I do often wonder if we're getting to the end stages, but he is hanging on, so I will get him some special treats or cook something that he loves to beg for. I hope if you celebrate, you have a lovely day, and since Hanukkah starts on the 25th, if that's your holiday, I wish you love and light.
no subject
Date: 2024-12-22 10:23 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-12-22 04:38 pm (UTC)I never got the chance to try out the new Beetle but I drove a 74' one for many years and loved that car. Still miss driving it but I had to give it up as the maintenance costs got too much and I wanted heat in the winter. I stuck with VW cars and had a Golf and Jetta, which were also great cars.
Happy Holidays!
no subject
Date: 2024-12-22 04:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-12-22 08:11 pm (UTC)Borrow his car. Don't feel weird about it! He wouldn't offer if he didn't want you to borrow it! He knows what's up!
no subject
Date: 2024-12-22 08:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-12-22 09:48 pm (UTC)I hope you and Blue have a peaceful holiday week, with no further auto misadventures!
no subject
Date: 2024-12-22 11:25 pm (UTC)Borrow the car! My car was at the dealer for just over a week and I would have been able to make arrangements, but it was a lot easier to deal with coz they gave me a loaner. It's so much less stressful when you have reliable transportation, even if it's not a good as your own car.
I hope that you Blues have a comfortable and comforting holiday season.
no subject
Date: 2024-12-22 11:38 pm (UTC)I'll be spending my xmas day mostly reading Yuletide in my pajamas. I will virtually clink my mug of tea against yours from afar. May the fic-reading be sweet.
no subject
Date: 2025-01-13 08:15 pm (UTC)