When It Rains, It Pours

I need to preface this post by saying I got my oil changed in my Audi yesterday; while driving it from Eagle to Glenwood Springs (for a funeral, no less), my "Check Engine Light" (CEL) comes on, and when idling, its bucking harder than those 2000lb bulls at the rodeo.

So I was pretty excited to go to Denver today to pick up my new bike.  Stopped by the bike shop to make sure that Charlie had my new wheels (Mavic C29ssmax) coming in; sho' nuff, he didn't order them yet.  The bummer is that he missed the deadline to get them for $450; rather, I'm going to end up spending the full $750 on them now.

Damn it...I'm reminded time and time again why you can't rely on other people.

Anyways, because of the CEL and the snow that was hitting the area this morning, I chose to drive Erin's 4Runner to Denver.  Made it from Eagle to Avon (20 miles) before I realized I was left with an empty tank.  Then all of a sudden, I started feeling sick and had a headache.  So I took those things as God telling me I had no business going down to the front range to pick up my bike...it can wait.  Not to mention I really can't stand driving the 4Runner - the accelerator is very stiff, the brakes are touchy, and it handles like a refrigerator (all comparatively speaking to my Audi...but still...).

Damn it...was really looking forward to the new Stumpy this evening.

But hey - maybe this was a good thing!  I could make it home to watch the K-State vs. Oklahoma State basketball game!  I sat down to watch the game...gawd the first half was one of the worst officiated portions of college basketball I've seen in a while.  Missed calls, inconsistent calls, ticky-tack fouls being called; it was difficult to watch.  K-State then proceeded to come out in the second half, miss what seemed like 90% of their field goal attempts, and cough up the game.  At home.

Damn it...was really looking forward to the possibility of next Saturday's game against KU being another battle of Top 10s.

Well, I could still get something done today, so I've been cleaning and doing a few chores around the house.  One of which was to refill the washer fluid in the Audi.  So I pop the hood to the car, and what do I see?

That's right.

THE DIPSTICK IS NOT IN THE F@#&!*G ENGINE.  IS THIS A PROBLEM?

Are you serious?  YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS!  (Australian Open fever...)

So after snapping a few pictures (oh yeah - the mechanic is doin' some work for free for me now), I put the dipstick back in and start 'er up to get the oil warm and check the oil level.  Who knows if my car now has gunk in the oil, and needs to be changed again.  I did drive 70 miles with it like this.

Sho' nuff - running just fine.  Now I'm not a car genius, and honestly have no idea if the cause (no dipstick) could create the effect (rough idle), but hey - how else can I explain a car running just fine goes in for an oil change, and comes out worse than it started?

Anyways, tomorrow's another attempt at the trip to Denver for the new bike.

I'm going to go have Moe's BBQ for supper...that's the only thing that never disappoints.