hondas are hot-rods--dig?

saturday: got 2 desperately needed new tires on my poor car, who had been driving around (that's right, on her own, no chaperone to make sure she goes the right way down one-way streets (of which there are many many in philadelphia and down which i have myself turned on several occasions, only realizing it when confronted with an entire street's width of headlights, barreling down on me at 55 mph even though the speed limit is 30, leaving me to admit that i am not the best possible chaperone for my dear car)) on two semi-passable tires and two completely bald tires. and to make things worse, the good tires were mounted catty-corner on the front and back, not both in the front like they should've been. in my defence, they had been put on back in august 2000 when i was driving around the country and got flats in (a) western pennsylvania and (b) western arizona. so, i guess without that i probably would've had 4 bald tires. but at least they would've matched. anyway, it cost me $93.

on the way back from tires, my car started sounding like a hot-rod. exhaust problem. i alternated between feeling kinda cool, driving a car that sounded like a 69 camaro with flames painted on the front, and feeling like a dork for feeling that way about a 1987 honda accord 4-door sedan. anyway, i would've left it that way for a bit, except that i've got to get it inspected because i just changed my registration to pa.

so, today, i took it in. sigh. $266 later, i have a new exhaust system. tonight, i'm going to get it inspected, so that the overly enthusiastic philly traffic cops don't tow it away for not having pa inspection stickers. bleh. [later] oh! i didn't tell you about the cashier guy at the exhaust place. godDAMN was he a moron. so i walk in, right? and explain that i think i have an exhaust leak and could they look at it and give me an estimate. moron says "what's it doing?"
"making a low, growley noise"
"what does it sound like"
"it sounds like a hot-rod, like a harley"
"but what's the problem?"
"it's making a low, growley noise"
"but what does it *sound* like?"
"it sounds low and growley"
"can you describe it?"
"it's low and growley. i can't actually make the noise for you, as i am not, myself, a car."
"i need to know what it sounds like"
"it sounds like it doesn't have a muffler."
"OH! it doesn't have a muffler!"
"it has a muffler--"
"you just said it didn't."
"nooo, i said it SOUNDED like it didn't have a muffler."
"oh."

at this point, he finally seemed to get it (may i remind y'all that dude works IN A MUFFLER SHOP), and went away to (presumably) get someone to look at it.

later, as the work was actually being done, moron was chatting with me. he had seen the university of virginia sticker on my window and asked if i went there. sure did. what did i major in? russian (at this point, i was very clear on the fact that this guy was not going to understand the concept of linguistics). oh, he says, did you learn that so you could go to germany?

um...

"you mean russia?" i asked. "yeah, that's it."

anyway, all the trouble aside, i do love this car. it has treated me right, and doesn't ever break down. things just wear out occasionally, but what can you expect from a 15 year-old car with 163,000 miles?

in other news, what gives IK*A the right to stop selling my favorite bookcase in my favorite finish (light oak)? now, it only comes in birch (too light) and beech (too red). grrrrr. what, i ask you, WHAT am i supposed to do with the box of books that has been sitting on my floor for a year because not only is all the traditional-stand-up book space on my bookshelves taken, but all the lay-other-books-sideways-on-top-of-the-standing-books space is too! book emergency at my house! i need cheap-yet-pretty bookshelves!

so that was my weekend. welcome to my life.

tonight, i'm auditioning for the und*rground sh*kespeare company's fall production of 'as you like it.' even though i'm actually going to be in england with karl during the first week of rehearsal celebrating karl's grandad's 80th birthday. ah well. right. so. off to do that, then. [later] didn't get cast. probably for the best, really.