Car Inspection

The simple choices don't always work out the way you want them to. I am feeling good this morning and need to take care of my neglected car. The state inspection was due last month so that comes first. (Don't judge, I was out of state when I noticed it.) I pull into the station, wow, no one in line! Less than two minutes, the inspector comes out. Great! Right away he says that I need new wipers. Do I want him to do them($$$)? Or get them around the corner at the parts store($)? There's no one in line behind me. I'll be right back. It only takes 5 minutes to get the wipers and change them out.  I drive back around the corner to see a car in the bay and two more in line. I wonder what it would have cost to save an hour waiting in the cold and just let them replace the wipers...
The next stop will be to have my oil changed. Maybe I should ask if they can just do that here....

UPDATE:  Turns out that it doesn't matter; they rejected my car anyhow. The front brakes need replaced. It seems like I just had the brakes done on the car, but that was a year ago and only the rear brakes. Oh, and the inspector mentioned that I would need new tires soon. The tread on the front is thin and the rear tires are starting to dry rot.  The good mood that I was in this morning is fading fast. I think that I will just skip the oil change for today.

UPDATE 3/20/2013:  As I have stated in past posts, things tend to work out for the best if I let them. I took my Baja to the Subaru dealer yesterday to have the front brakes repaired. It turns out that they were in worse shape than I understood and need to be replaced; rotors and all. Since I am planning a trip in a couple of weeks I also requested them to change the oil and do the state inspection so that I don't have to make time to return to the previous inspector. During this process they found more wrong than I could have imagined. An oil seal and the water pump have been leaking onto the timing belt. (I've had a timing belt break in a previous vehicle. The entire car just stops dead; irregardless of when or where you are.) The transmission fluid was black. Stop and go traffic will do that to a vehicle quickly. Rotating the tires will take care of that issue for now. A couple other things that I don't remember, but have written down. So three days and $2500 later; my Baja will be ready for that road trip. I would rather find out now and have it fixed than find out on the road somewhere in the mountains or on a toll road with no help around. 

Taking care of Things before it becomes an Emergency

The front load machine we were using had a bearing going out. It still operated OK, but the spin cycle was extremely loud. Even with the laundry room door closed, we were unable to hear the television or a conversation in the nearby rooms. The clothes came out clean and even with the noise the washer spun them fairly dry. The main problem was that we didn't know how long this would last.
We have an American Home Shield policy. (If you've never heard of this, I highly recommend that you check into home protection plans. There are several companies that offer this type of plan.) After procrastinating for longer than usual I called the 800 number and asked for service on our washer. The customer service at AHS set us up with a local repair company (SEARS) and scheduled a date and time frame (Mon. between noon and 5 pm) for a repairman to visit our home. The repairman called the night before to confirm and then again about 15 minutes before his arrival. He quickly diagnosed that it was a bearing. After a trip out to his truck, he reported that it would be at least a couple of weeks before they could get the parts and schedule a repair time. I paid the repairman our contracted repair fee, $75. He also reported back to AHS the problem and his recommendations. The following day AHS called with our options:

1. We could schedule the repair at no additional cost to us
2. We could choose a new washer model and AHS would ship it to us. We would pay them the difference above the repair cost. Depending on the model we chose this could be $0 to $$$$; and take several weeks
3. We could purchase a new washer locally and send AHS the proof of purchase. They would then send us the amount up to the repair cost (about $600)

My LH and I decided to do some online research first. We checked out different retailers and different manufacturers. We read a lot of reviews. We found out that the prices weren't much different between retailers. We also found that the bearing failing is a common problem among front load washers. I don't know if it is design problem or simply overloading of the machines, but if it happens once it is likely to happen again (my opinion).
My LH is a hands on kind of guy, so we next went to our favorite home improvement store (Lowe's). We opened & closed doors and lids, pushed buttons, turned knobs, and read descriptions. We compared prices, capacities, energy usage, and functions. We talked with fellow consumers and sales associates. We discussed what we needed, what we liked, and what we didn't like. We asked questions: Why is it on sale? Does it come in white? Is it in stock? When could it be delivered? Do you remove our old washer? Is that an extra charge?
We made our decision. Our new washer was delivered this morning:

New top load washer.

Now you may not think that other than clean sheets this has little to do with massage, but I'd like to point out the analogy for you. When an injury happens there isn't always a debilitating pain or loss of use. Sometimes it is merely an inconvenience. Someone may not be able sit or lay in a certain position. Sometimes there is pain, but procrastination results in 'getting used to it'. Maybe a person limps or can't reach as far or high, but still functions. The question then becomes, 'How long will this last?' or 'How long before this gets worse?'.

Using a sore or injured muscle can cause it to become worse and cause the supporting muscles to become sore or even injured as well. Taking care of the problem as soon as possible can result in a shorter recovery time and less pain. Most massage therapists will require a 72 hour wait after any injury before performing massage. During this time ICE (Ice, Compression, Elevation) is what I would do or my doctor's advise if different.  A severe injury does require a release from your doctor before massage may be performed.  

We don't get the option of a new body so we have to take care of the one we start with. Regular massage can help maintain a well functioning body. It takes longer and more effort to help repair a dysfunctional body.  

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