Grrrrrrrrr......car repairs!....grrrrrrrrrr again....

Last November I took my Jeep into the dealership to get an oil change and have them look at the right front tire area as it felt like there was something rubbing.

By the end of the day, the repairs cost me almost $1,000.

And...at the end of the day, I had a new problem - a leak in the left front differential.

Please note...I said "left front"...not the side where the rubbing was. They had replaced the differential fluid they said.

And, since that day in late November, I have taken the car back to that dealership 5 times to have the same problem fixed.

Five. Yes, five. As in one, two, three, four.....

One time they insisted that they had "tested" the car, that there was no leak.

I conducted my own "test" by placing cardboard under the car. I took the test results with me to the service department and gave it to them.

They were not pleased.

Yesterday I took the car back again....same problem. Oh, and a different problem, not related. The blower stopped working ($17 for the part...$124 to "test" it)..and the air conditioning just doesn't seem to be working very well ($89 )

And today...as I drove to work I smelled a familiar smell. When I came out after work - there was a distinct puddle again under the left front tire.

So, when I got here to the house I called the dealership. I asked for the name of the service manager and the owner/general manager so I could mail them. She asked me to hold and put me through to the service department.

The same guy I have talked to since November....

I told him what was going on - again. Again, he blamed the Chrysler tech's as they were the ones supposedly telling them how to fix my Jeep. Again he tells me I have to bring it in.

Again I tell him I will have to see if I can find someone to follow me the 30 miles to their dealership and give me a ride to work....again...for the SIXTH time...

I hung up and called Chrysler. I explained everything to the guy who answered. He looked up my records and confirmed what I had told him. He put me on hold to "talk to his supervisor".

The supervisor got on the line and again I had to give all my information so she could look up the record. And then she asked....

"What do you want us to do?"

Excuse me?? Excuse me???? I want my freaking car fixed!

I proceed to tell her had my car been new it would have been replaced - lemon law. And, I proceeded to tell her that I had been considering buying another Chrysler product (I have...) but not now - and I DEFINITELY will not buy from the dealership located in Beavercreek, Ohio!

"So, what do you want us to do?" she asked again.

I took a deep breath. "Lady, I want my Jeep fixed. It did not leak before I took it to that dealer and now it does. I have had to take it there FIVE freaking times and they can not fix it. I want it fixed and I want it fixed correctly. And I NEED YOUR HELP TO GET THAT DONE"

"Ok", she said. "Hold on while I call the dealer".

She calls...I hold...she finally comes back and tells me that she has discussed it with "Mike" and that they will get my car fixed and they will get a few others involved to make sure that happens.

I will believe it when I drive my Jeep home and do not smell that smell or see piles of smelly gunk under my car again..

So, I will call ole Mike tomorrow and see if I can schedule to take my car in this week or see if they want me to wait til Monday....and I will tell them I need a rental car....

A FREE rental car.

We'll see what happens...

Ok....

So I've been on the job two full weeks now.

Or..as my friend Karie calls it - the "tree house"...

The office I sit in is up a flight of metal stairs...in the middle of the plant.

It shakes.

A lot.

The first time it happened it scared the hell out of me.

A forklift was unloading some material off the shelves on one side of this little office tree house thing...and you would swear you were in the midst of an earthquake.

And no, I did not run screaming out of there....

But I did think about it :)

My new boss is an okay guy. Quiet. Very quiet. Doesn't like to explain how to do things. He hands me something and says "Here"...

And...I am to figure out what in the hell to do with it.

I am learning more about chemicals than I ever thought I would - or wanted to. And, I am realizing how dangerous this place I work at could actually be. But...

I am the safety assistant! So, its gotta be safe!

Right?

Right??

Awwww come on!!!

Anyway...its a job. It's not what I had hoped. It's a paycheck and that's it. It's not in my gut like the last job.

I am giving it a chance, or at least I am trying. And, its not like I can just quit because I can't. But I can continue my search for something else.

And I am....

Did I really say I had missed working???

Someone smack me now!

At some time (or two or three) in the last few months I talked of how I wanted a job - of how I NEEDED a job...

And now, four days into it....

I am one tired old lady!

Good lord I didn't realize how quickly you get out of a routine of working day in and day out. Getting up at 5am each day, trying to go to bed earlier than you have been....

arrrrghh! I am NOT a young woman anymore!

Damnit! I don't want to feel old! I don't want to be this tired!

And yes - I AM GRUMPY!!

The new boss seems okay. Kinda quiet, but nice. Busy as hell so he hasn't had a lot of time to show me the ropes. He has said I've done good on a few things (writing a summary on the effects of lead for one). And, the last two days I have completed a 10 hour OSHA training class - then rushed back to work and attended some training classes there - no lunch (but that's ok...I can stand to lose a few pounds - or two - or ten). The office is upstairs (open stairs - open metal stairs....eeek...), the ladies room is across the plant and up another set of stairs....

Can you say "work out?".....

And yes - I AM GRUMPY!!!

(notice there were three !'s that time?)...

Anyway, tomorrow is Friday. I've almost made it through my first week.

And I'll go back on Monday...

If they still want me :)

I feel like a kid....

Well - almost.

Ok, just sorta kinda.

Tomorrow I have my first day at a new job. This is the first time I have had to do this in over 8 years.

I have to be there at 8am for orientation (Flashback to freshman year in high school...).

So, I went out and bought some padded paper and a clip board.

To take notes...

Ohgoodlord...will I be known as the clipboard lady?

I am nervous.

Will they like me? Will I do a good job?

Should I pack my lunch?

See!!! I told you!!!

So...tomorrow is the day.

I hope I survive...