Having just spent nearly $600 to replace a hole in one of my AC hoses, I am going to take a moment to chronicle the sequence of events that led to this repair bill. Before you read on, I want you to think really hard if there is some way this can somehow NOT be my fault and somehow be blamed on someone else.

Ok, here’s the full story. Nine years ago, Lish and I purchased a 2002 Honda Civic and that car has been fantastically reliable…knock on wood. Two years ago, the battery died and I proceeded to Costco where I paid $72 for a new battery. Mistake #1: Looking at the reference guide at Costco I failed to realize the difference between the 2.0 Liter and 1.7 Liter 2002 Civic. The 2.0 required battery 51R and the 1.7 required 51. Really? There’s a difference? I had no clue which engine I have but in retrospect, I have the 1.7 but of course Costco only had 51R so that’s what I bought. Aren’t all 2002 Civics the same? No they aren’t.

I got home and proceeded to install my brand new battery. Mistake #2: I found that the terminals on the battery were in opposite order in comparison to my old battery. No problem, I’ll just turn the battery around. Sure it was a little difficult to fasten the cables on the terminals but I got it to work. The only problem was the arm that props the hood did not quite fit properly. No problem. I was able to bend it slightly to fit it in the holster. Great, apparently batteries can be slightly different and still fit. In retrospect I can hear my mom saying “Never force things!” That life lesson is applicable in so many situations.

A year or so later (I do get oil changes more frequently than that) my mechanic pointed out that I had the wrong battery. Of course mechanics are always trying to upsell things and I have conditioned myself to deflect any and all upselling attempts. Six months later, same story, same result. I honestly don’t remember him warning me about the battery but I checked my receipts and sure enough, it’s on the receipt. By the way, ignoring the mechanic was Mistake #3.

Fast forward to Wednesday, August 24 where my AC was no longer cold. Very distressing but the car has 140,000 miles so I stressed about it for a few days before a couple colleagues convinced me that recharging it was easy. I proceeded to O’Reilly’s (formerly Kragen) to buy the can of Freon and found that the process of recharging really was as easy as my friends described. The cold air lasted all of four days at which point it left and I knew I had a problem. I guess this could be considered a mistake. That was $30 I didn’t need to spend.

Wednesday, August 31 I proceeded to the mechanic to ask them to take a look at my AC. I suppressed the urge to tell them I thought rats had probably chewed through an AC hose. Good decision. The mechanic called me later that day and said “I told you this was going to happen.” The hood arm had finally rubbed against an AC hose long enough that it wore a hole in the hose. This is an aluminum hose not a rubber one. Total repair for this was $575!

The good news is that I have AC in my car again. I also learned that you can return a battery to Costco for any reason within three years and they will give you a complete refund. Of course they don’t carry the battery I need and I had to pay $50 more for the right battery at O’Reilly’s. At Costco, I was convinced they sold me the wrong battery and I needed to write a letter to the powers that be at Costco to let them know they are misleading their customers. I mentioned this to the returns people at Costco and they got all confrontational with me saying “Why did it take you two years to know you have a problem?” I then proceeded to take photo evidence and get the broken hose from the mechanic until I got home and reviewed my picture of Costco’s battery guide. Crud! I am totally to blame and had at least four opportunities to avoid this $575 bill. Anyone see a way I am not to blame here? I didn’t think so. Mom, I think I finally learned the lesson you tried to teach me 25 years ago and it only cost me $575 to accomplish that.

In my last post I talked about my friend Todd and his chemotherapy.  One of the ways we are showing our support for him is to participate in the Relay for Life with the American Cancer Society on May 21.  Our company has formed a team and I would love for you to either join us or sponsor Alicia and me.  You can do so by going to:

http://rfl.tierra.net

One of the ways I’ve been raising money is by having a “typo” jar at my desk and dropping a quarter in every time I fail to find the typos in my emails.  Someone at work used it as a swear jar and another anonymous donor put $100 in.  I doubt any amount of swearing or typos warrants a penalty that steep but it’s for a good cause.  Anyway, for all 5 of my readers I would love to have you partner with me as I raise support for this worthy cause.

Thanks to my good friend George, I have been in the mountains near Lancaster leading worship for a men’s retreat.  I didn’t realize it until I got to this camp that I HAVE been to this place before in what was easily one of the most memorable and formative summers of my life.  It feels like yesterday but really it was 14 years ago.  Am I really that old?

I came to The Oaks camp with my traveling music group In Pursuit or “Impersute” as one of my fans once called it back in the summer of 1997.  We often hear “hey wasn’t that the year the travel group recorded a CD?”  Yes but that was the other group.  Let me tell you about this group that I was a part of.  We were raw and unpolished musically.  Seriously, I have heard some of our recordings.  We weren’t very good.  We did however, have genuine chemistry and love for one another and a deep desire to worship God and have others join in.   We didn’t get along all the time but we were certainly committed to putting in the work to make this group the best it could be.

Today as I ran in the snow (6 cooooold miles), I looped by the amphitheater for old time’s sake.  I remember a particular alter call night where I was given the opportunity to lead whatever songs came to my heart as kids shared testimonies and spent time in prayer.  I recall George falling asleep behind the drum set.  I remember this camp (LA District Senior High) was toward the end of our summer when it’s so easy to look forward to going home.   Regardless, I really felt God was revealing new aspects of Himself that I didn’t know before.

I loved leading worship and worshiping with these 7 other college students.  I remain close to a couple of them and have drifted from others but make no mistake, Angela, Stacy, Jenny, Amy, Jim, George and Erik are friends for life.  That’s one thing I still don’t understand in life.  Why do people have to be in our lives for a season and then so often those seasons pass?  There are so many friendships I have had that I wish were still vibrant and alive.  Apparently that’s not real life.  People move, jobs change, we fall out of touch, etc…  Regardless, the summer I spent with those 7 people is something I can only smile about.  I consider myself lucky to have had the opportunity to return to The Oaks and think about my friends.  I love each of them and I hope for the opportunity to see them again.  If we get to worship together again, that’s just icing on the cake.