It's Gettin' Hot In Here...

So after two months and two days of being without my car, I finally got it back yesterday (Thank You Jesus!)

The guy who repaired it did a good job. New hood, new bumper, new front headlight. Looks great.

Even with the latest repairs, my "Kenya" still needs a lot of work. She drives very sluggishly, and the air conditioning doesn't work. I need to get both checked out, but as always...there's just no money. So...I make do until.

Today I went to AutoZone to get some of that stuff in a can that's supposed to flush the A/C system (or something like that.) The little can thingy cost me $59.04 with tax, which I thought was pretty pricey, but hey...it's summertime and I need A/C in my car, so...I paid it.

Of course, since I know absolutely NOTHING about cars, I asked the guy in the store how to use the stuff. He explained and then I just asked, "Is there someone here who can show me?"

Thankfully, he said he would.

So we headed out to my car, he hooked up the "can thingy," told me to start my car and turn the air on FULL BLAST. I did, and nothing blew but HOT air. At that point he told me that there's "something else" going on with my A/C and that I'll need to have it checked out elsewhere.

Great...I just spent $59.04 on that "stuff." Now what?

Again...he very graciously offered to give me a refund.

He also gave me some numbers of places I can call to see about getting the A/C checked. Of course...none of those places will look at it this weekend, so I will have to wait, and keep riding with the windows down until some time next week. Thank goodness I wear my hair "natural" so a little bit of wind won't hurt it.

One thing's for sure. I seem to have more money going OUT (or at least NEEDING to go OUT) than I have coming in. There's just never enough for everything.

Here's a list of what I need:

* A/C fixed in my car
** New refrigerator
*** New clothes (so that I don't have to keep rotating the same five outfits every week)
**** New furniture (it's so old, it's embarrassing...which is why i NEVER have guests over...EVER)
***** New TV (My current on (and the ONLY one we have is TEN years old at LEAST. And it only displays about 60% of what's being output. It cuts off part of the picture on both the left and right side, so I only see what's directly in the middle. As an example...a HERSHEY'S commercial came on one day and all that I could see was the SHE in the middle. The HER and Y'S were cut off.)

So yeah...those are just a few things that I need but they ALL have to wait. When you live paycheck to "almost paycheck" as I do, a WHOLE LOTTA stuff simply WAITS.

Even with all those NEEDS, I still manage to keep a smile on my face. Folks who see me outside of The Dialogue Den have NO IDEA about my life and all that's going on in it. Quite honestly, there's whole lot going on in my life that I don't even write about here. I just don't think people are ready...nor do they care.

If you see me in passing, or at an event and ask me how I'm doing, my knee jerk reaction will always be "Fine," even when I'm not.

Most times the smile is genuine. Many times it's not. That's just where I am right now.

If I had my way, I'd start that Go Fund Me campaign that I wrote about a couple weeks ago. But I'd only do it if I knew that folks were going to contribute and not judge or criticize me for what I need the money for. Knowing that the money would go toward HELPING ME get to a better place mentally, and financially should be enough. But I know the world doesn't work that way.

So...I shall continue to wear my smile and know that "this too shall pass."

Through it all...God's got me.

On this "30 Days of THANKFULNESS: Day 19" - I am THANKFUL for God, who walks along this tough journey of life with me.

Now Let the DIALOGUE begin: Do you know of any INEXPENSIVELY priced auto shops in the Los Angeles that can fix my car's A/C? INEXPENSIVELY priced are the operative words.

Talk to me!

Til next time...