This is the day that never ends, it just goes on and on my friends.....
**Warning: this blog post may contain traces of griping and sarcasm. However, please be assured that I am writing this to process a long and tiring day....this is not a typical day for me, and I still love Caracas and I especially love my teammates. Also, no insurance brokers were harmed in the writing of this blog post.
ACT 1
9:45 am. As I said to Angela this morning, "Do you ever have one of those days when you wake up and you already wish the day was over?" It has just been a long and tiring day...It started this morning when we drove to another part of the city to get an insurance inspection done on my car. Angela came over and we headed out to pick Chris up (who had already been out with one of the pastors from church). Traffic, of course was ridiculous, and it took us about an hour and a half to get to the destination. I need to add here that my GPS states it is a 7 km trip that we took. I didn't quite understand where my insurance broker was telling me to go, so we got to the general area, parked at a pharmacy and let the guy know where we were. Of course, it turns out we were just around the corner from where we were supposed to be so after meeting up with him and figuring that out, we pulled into the shop only to be told that they couldn't inspect the car because it had not been washed. Say what. I wouldn't say it was dirty, just dusty but it had to be clean. I don't remember him saying it had to be washed...but maybe he DID say it and I just didn't understand. That's usually how I roll. So we left with the resolution to return again tomorrow with a clean car.
ACT2
Coming back from the inspection, the car began to overheat while we were on the highway. Thankfully, Chris was driving and right away slowed down, pulled over and turned on the heat to get it away from the engine. So that was us, driving on a perfectly balmy day in Caracas with the heat on full blast. At least I know now that if a freak blizzard ever blows through Caracas, I can live in my car as needed and it will be much warmer than my house. It turns out that there is a problem with the coolant level (as in the level consistently goes down as it leaks out...hmmm). So I will keep it topped up with water, so I can get to my inspection tomorrow and then try to get it into the mechanic asap.
Intermission: Insert various emails, phone calls, and conversations that I won't get into but really didn't do much to alleviate the stress of the day!
ACT3
We all picked up the kids from school in my car and went to the car wash to do our solemn duty of washing the car. We went to a car wash in the parking garage of a mall. Which to me, always seems like a strange, but genius place to put a car wash. They have quite the set-up as a line of men take their turns pre-treating, power spraying, and sudsing the car (by hand!) before sending you through the automatic bay with the spinning scrubbers and a rinse. The kids were so excited and decided that the spinning things were made of feathers. Peacock feathers I think it was. Then you get out of the car so they can dry it off, vacuum it and detail the inside. I wonder what the guy thought about my cushion on the drivers seat. Hey, short people need to see out the windshield too. The funny thing is that Chris was driving, so maybe they just though he likes to be comfy.... Thankfully, there was a little shop to buy treats etc while we waited and it was good to relax for a minute. I bought a bubble gum scented air freshener. Lukas and Mackenzie got "nerds" candy and a serious discussion about Willy Wonka ensued. Chris got me outfitted with new windshield wipers. And off we went!!
**I must say that I am not used to having a car this clean. In Canada I usually just washed it myself which meant I usually only went to the car wash 2 times a year: once in the summer and once in the winter. And I always did a terrible job because my glasses would get all misty, the soap brush was twice my height and my arm got tired of waving that power rinser for what seemed like an eternity.
ACT4
4:00 pm. We arrive at my place, empty the trunk and realize that in the hustle of getting in and out of the car and removing valuables while they vacuumed the car, some important papers got left at the car wash. Without them, I couldn't go back for the inspection tomorrow. So Chris and Angela graciously went back to the car wash on their way home, and just as I'm writing this and was praying about it, I received word that they got the papers. So we are now set for tomorrow!
ACT 5....?
I am thankful that I am home safe, enjoying the quiet. Thankful that we can laugh about this now. Thankful that I can trust that God is in control even when I feel like banging my head against my freshly washed car. And thank you Chris, for your kind reminder that although it has been a crazy day, it's not over yet! We'll see.....we'll see...
ACT 1
9:45 am. As I said to Angela this morning, "Do you ever have one of those days when you wake up and you already wish the day was over?" It has just been a long and tiring day...It started this morning when we drove to another part of the city to get an insurance inspection done on my car. Angela came over and we headed out to pick Chris up (who had already been out with one of the pastors from church). Traffic, of course was ridiculous, and it took us about an hour and a half to get to the destination. I need to add here that my GPS states it is a 7 km trip that we took. I didn't quite understand where my insurance broker was telling me to go, so we got to the general area, parked at a pharmacy and let the guy know where we were. Of course, it turns out we were just around the corner from where we were supposed to be so after meeting up with him and figuring that out, we pulled into the shop only to be told that they couldn't inspect the car because it had not been washed. Say what. I wouldn't say it was dirty, just dusty but it had to be clean. I don't remember him saying it had to be washed...but maybe he DID say it and I just didn't understand. That's usually how I roll. So we left with the resolution to return again tomorrow with a clean car.
ACT2
Coming back from the inspection, the car began to overheat while we were on the highway. Thankfully, Chris was driving and right away slowed down, pulled over and turned on the heat to get it away from the engine. So that was us, driving on a perfectly balmy day in Caracas with the heat on full blast. At least I know now that if a freak blizzard ever blows through Caracas, I can live in my car as needed and it will be much warmer than my house. It turns out that there is a problem with the coolant level (as in the level consistently goes down as it leaks out...hmmm). So I will keep it topped up with water, so I can get to my inspection tomorrow and then try to get it into the mechanic asap.
Intermission: Insert various emails, phone calls, and conversations that I won't get into but really didn't do much to alleviate the stress of the day!
ACT3
We all picked up the kids from school in my car and went to the car wash to do our solemn duty of washing the car. We went to a car wash in the parking garage of a mall. Which to me, always seems like a strange, but genius place to put a car wash. They have quite the set-up as a line of men take their turns pre-treating, power spraying, and sudsing the car (by hand!) before sending you through the automatic bay with the spinning scrubbers and a rinse. The kids were so excited and decided that the spinning things were made of feathers. Peacock feathers I think it was. Then you get out of the car so they can dry it off, vacuum it and detail the inside. I wonder what the guy thought about my cushion on the drivers seat. Hey, short people need to see out the windshield too. The funny thing is that Chris was driving, so maybe they just though he likes to be comfy.... Thankfully, there was a little shop to buy treats etc while we waited and it was good to relax for a minute. I bought a bubble gum scented air freshener. Lukas and Mackenzie got "nerds" candy and a serious discussion about Willy Wonka ensued. Chris got me outfitted with new windshield wipers. And off we went!!
**I must say that I am not used to having a car this clean. In Canada I usually just washed it myself which meant I usually only went to the car wash 2 times a year: once in the summer and once in the winter. And I always did a terrible job because my glasses would get all misty, the soap brush was twice my height and my arm got tired of waving that power rinser for what seemed like an eternity.
ACT4
4:00 pm. We arrive at my place, empty the trunk and realize that in the hustle of getting in and out of the car and removing valuables while they vacuumed the car, some important papers got left at the car wash. Without them, I couldn't go back for the inspection tomorrow. So Chris and Angela graciously went back to the car wash on their way home, and just as I'm writing this and was praying about it, I received word that they got the papers. So we are now set for tomorrow!
ACT 5....?
I am thankful that I am home safe, enjoying the quiet. Thankful that we can laugh about this now. Thankful that I can trust that God is in control even when I feel like banging my head against my freshly washed car. And thank you Chris, for your kind reminder that although it has been a crazy day, it's not over yet! We'll see.....we'll see...
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