It's the little things.

     I'll be honest, dear readers, I'm at a loss as to how to feel.  Today SUCKED, that's for sure, but there were several moments today when things looked to be going SOO much worse, and then something happened to make it slightly easier to deal with.  So I don't know if I should be thankful that today is over and wasn't as bad as it could have been, or if I should be railing against the heavens for the atrocities committed upon me this day...

     Lists, as the inner obsessive in me is always quick to point out, always make things easier to deal with, so I'm going to make a list of the crap that happened today and try to figure out in writing how I should feel about all this.

     Con - My van blew its serpentine belt this weekend, and I had to replace it myself yesterday.

     Pro - It only cost me about $15 to do it (Thanks J.D. and Santiago)

     Con - When I went to pour water in my radiator, it all poured out on the ground

     Pro - Otherwise, the van ran well with the new belt, it even stopped squeaking.

     Con - I had to get a tow truck to tow my van to the radiator shop

     Pro - I didn't have to pay for the tow truck (Thanks, AAA)

     Con - It was going to cost me $280+ to fix radiator

     Pro - I got paid today, and had almost hat much left over after paying bills.

     Con - It was raining and I had to run errands...  On foot.

     Pro - My first two errands were within a block of the radiator shop

     Con - Turns out, van will be in the shop until tomorrow, instead of 2:00, looks like I'm renting a car.

     Pro - Car rental guy is willing to waive the deposit.

     Con - Car rental place is across town, at least two hours walk from my location (in the rain).

     Pro - Out of the blue, random stranger #1 offers me a ride.

     Con - Get to car rental and the car I had reserved over the phone (the last car on lot) is gone.

     Pro - Another car gets returned immediately as I'm talking to the guy.

     Con - Substitute rental is in REALLY bad shape.

     Pro - Get a call from repair shop, van will be done today after all.

     Con - Rentel is so FUBARed I have to cancel a Dr. appointment (unsafe to drive that far).

     Pro - Doctor has a miracle opening next week (waiting list is like months for this guy).

     Con - Uh oh!, van is worse off than we thought, gonna be an extra $125 at least (over budget).

     Pro - Mechanic is willing to accept partial payment and bill me.

     Con - Van will cost me $400+ now, in total, plus $50 car rental.

     Pro - Van could've been in the THOUSANDS if a certain fragile part had cracked (I got LUCKY).

     Con - Oh noes!  Van starts spewing smoke after picking it up, and the shop is closed!

     Pro - Random Stranger #2 (a mechanic) assures me it's normal, will clear up on its own.

     Con - Return rental Eighteen Hours early because van is 'fixt', waste of $50.

     Pro - Rental guy gives me receipt for 1/2 off next rental as compensation.

     As you can see, it's been a roller coaster of a day.  I'm still out $300 for the van and rental, but the van is running better now and this did happen on payday.  This whole day has been overall sucky, and I wish this crap wouldn't keep happening to me.  But.  At the same time, I'm grateful to the fates that this day could have been a LOT worse, but little things kept going unexpectedly right to smooth things out.

     All in all:   I'm not particularly upset, nor am I particularly happy.

     You know what I am?  Most of all?

     Tired.

     I'm going to bed, ya'all.  Goodnight.