same old, same old

Many of my friends frequently label me as having the worst luck with vehicles of anyone they know.

And you know what? They're right. I have owned three vehicles since I started driving. Every one of them, during the time I've owned them, have totalled up more money in repairs than I paid for them. I don't buy particularly expensive vehicles, but they're not $500 rust buckets, either.

It hold true for other vehicles, too. When I worked for a courier company I got the reputation as 'the grim reaper' because almost every time I took a truck out, something mechanical in it died horribly.

The other day when I was driving back from Radisson -- where I'm teaching confirmation -- I noticed that the fan on the engine was running and wouldn't stop. I thought it was the thermostat (a relatively inexpensive fix) and brought it to the shop today.

It wasn't the thermostat. It was just about everything else, though. Intake manifold gasket (which was done when we bought the van); head gasket (ditto), transmission warning code, yada, yada, yada.

Translation: around $4000 in repairs that should (need) be done. On a 9-year-old Pontiac minivan with nearly 250 000 kilometres on it. Is it worth it? Not likely. But we can't afford anything newer right now, not at least until I've been working for a few months and have some idea of income. Right now, all we have is outgo. But also, we can't afford the repairs that are needed right now -- not until I'm working.

Of course, the irony of this is that if it could have waited for a few months, we wouldn't be in a pickle right now. But Murphy's Law being what it is, I'm not really surprised.

But you know what? For some reason, I'm not really worried. I'm sad and I'm tired, but not really worried. Maybe I just have enough on my plate right now. Maybe it's that we have enough in our savings to buy a cheap replacement if the van dies totally. Maybe I'm finally getting a handle on this 'faith' thing. But I just think things will be all right.

At least, I'll keep telling myself that.